All language subtitles for Amazing.Interiors.S01E10

Welcome to the Pink Palace...

where everything is pink, including me.

I didn't consider convention
when I was designing the space.

The plan is to convert
an old office building into an art space.

We're knocking down walls.

There's no going back.

My name is Victor Ehikhamenor.

I live and work in Lagos, Nigeria.

I'm an artist.

I would say I'm one of the most
recognizable artists from the continent.

I've had exhibitions
around the world,

creating site-specific
installation pieces.

My dream is to create
a very unique art space

from an old office building
in the middle of Lagos.

I want to create a space where you can
live with art and live inside art.

I've got a young and talented
architect to work with me on this.

Victor is a very contemporary
African artist.

To be asked to work with him
on this project,

I just thought that was really cool.

The ground floor
is in a very bad condition,

and when I first went there,
I was a bit worried about

what we could actually achieve.

It was quite bad, you know,

when you look at it,
but I saw the potential.

It was like seeing a raw canvas,

or seeing a piece of wood and saying,
"Okay, what can I do with this?"

Victor's brief has been
to just create an interesting space

that we can adapt to a variety of uses.

One of the interesting things
that we plan to do

is to create a secret doorway.

We have a mirror
that's gonna cover it.

You go through this passageway
into a magical world, you know,

and it's not expected.

It will lead to
a multi-purpose room,

so when we have workshops there,
or exhibition programs there,

younger artists can come
and benefit from that.

There's a space that we need to carve out
for short-let accommodation.

There's going to be a kitchenette
somewhere here.

There's going to be a living room here.

I want to create two rooms for
anybody that is going to be sleeping here.

So then, I'm going to look at
one room and say,

"How can I really funk up this room

with my signature artwork?"

So that when you come in there,

you are living inside an artwork.

You are a character in
one of my paintings.

So the plan is to convert
an old office building

into an art space where you can live
and also show artworks.

I want to knock down interior walls

to create a studio space
that will inspire creativity.

A secret doorway will lead into
a private apartment for visiting artists,

with a mini living room and two bedrooms.

I will be covering one of the bedrooms
entirely with my signature artwork.

I work with lines a whole lot.

They were an old, ancient writing form

from my village.

At some point,
they have become my own signature,

because I've worked
with these lines for so long.

It can be difficult and hard
to make a living as an artist.

Outside of Lagos,
there are so many young artists

looking for places where you can
come and express yourself.

This place, I'm hoping, will be able
to serve those kind of people,

giving them an opportunity
to do what they can do best.

- Hi, Victor.
- Hello.

- How's it going?
- Nice to see you.

Nice to see you.

I've been able to produce what I think
is an appropriate design for the space,

and we have the plans here today.

We're gonna sit and discuss with Victor,

and he's gonna give us his input.

I want to show you the working drawings
that we've done for the project.

It shows the outline of the site.

So the red lines are the walls
we're bricking off completely.

- Yes, and the green lines are the walls that we're...
- We are re-creating. - We're re-creating.

We're literally starting
from stripping everything away

and putting everything back in.

And then we get to the figures.

Which is what I don't like.

Well, it has to be done.

Our biggest challenge, really,
is the budget.

Victor is self-funding this project.

I'm a bit worried about that, you know,

because it's gonna definitely...

I don't have that amount of money
right now in the bank.

There is no funding...

loans in Nigeria are very expensive.

The ground floor is
in very bad condition.

The wiring has to be completely redone.

The plumbing has to be completely redone.

I mean,
it's in quite a bit of a dire state,

so we're really starting from scratch.

There's quite a lot of work to do.

We have to try and see how we can achieve
as much as possible

within the funds that he has available.

I'm David Ling.

I am an architect...

...and I live in Manhattan.

There are 50,000 buildings in Manhattan,

and 17 years ago, I bought one of them.

You probably wouldn't notice it
standing out very much if you walked by.

From the street, you enter
through this sort of decaying portal.

Some people might think this space
is unconventional,

but when I came in,
I was able to create my own world.

I built a waterfall in my apartment.

I didn't consider convention
when I was designing the space.

During my travels to Japan,

I used to go to Kyoto
to visit the temples,

and I was inspired
by some of the water features that I saw.

Instead of having walls and doors
separate function,

I wanted water to form that transition

between work, living, and sleeping.

I love how it sparkles.

Sometimes, it's a string of water,

and sometimes,
it kind of forms these blades of water.

In order to cross the pool,
I use this stepping stone.

This used to be a floor here,

and we removed it
to create this two-story space.

I like this sort of floating plane.

Everything is floating approximately
nine, ten feet off the floor.

When the artist finished painting
this blue wall,

the moisture
was making the paint peel off,

then you get this wonderful texture here.

And then we have the metallic cone.

It's clad in regular sheet metal

stretched over a metal frame.

I like the way it kind of
floats off the second floor.

It's the shower above on the second floor.

I love flowing open spaces.

No doors, no walls, the bathroom is open.

This is a really beautiful toilet,

regardless of its history...

of being a prison toilet.

The whole construction period
was three months,

so that's very, very fast.

The cost to renovate this space
was under $24,000.

The first time I ever saw the apartment,
it was, like, on our second or third date,

and I looked...

...and I'm like, "Oh my gosh!!

This is one of the most amazing places
I've ever been in my life."

When I first moved in,

I think probably my biggest adjustment.

Was how open the bathroom
was upstairs.

Hey.

This might get a little rocky for ya.

Have to make sure you're not too tired
to kind of walk over

off the edge there.
It can be a little tricky.

The most common question is typically,

"Oh, has anybody fallen out of bed?

Nobody's fallen.

I've lost a pillow,

a lamp, a remote control.

And one time, the cat fell over the edge.

She kind of brushed it off.

I mean, she's got another eight lives.

Tonight, we have
our office friends coming over

for drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

None of the people have seen
the apartment in its full glory.

It's definitely one of the more
unique things I've seen in a home,

especially an apartment, in New York City.

I've never seen...

a bed overhanging... water.

When you're asleep,
you're sort of at your most vulnerable.

Oh, my gosh.

I feel very peaceful in this space.

I like the meditative nature
of the pool.

And that's very important to me
as a refuge from outside at the city.

So it's very home-like for me.

We are two weeks into the project now.

We are knocking down walls.

Everything is ugly right now.

White dust all over the place.

Everyone is going crazy!

I'm here today to do a site visit

to check the quality of the work
that's been installed.

Make sure that everything
is going according to plan.

We are checking the electrical work,

make sure that the power is in properly,

make sure that the plumbing is working.

We've had to be very hands on
because we have a limited budget.

Mistakes do cost money.

Tosin is not a very calm person.

I'm very firm.

Listen, I'm not gonna pay you
anything else

until I see the job completed.
Am I clear?

There's tension, you understand?

So everybody's kind of like
on top of their game right now.

Please change this one.

Any one that is scratched, change it.

I don't compromise. I don't compromise.

It's important to do things properly.

There's a lot of pressure
in doing a build project.

As an architect, I don't like it,
necessarily, when your client...

keeps coming to site.

We always advise them
to stay away until it's done.

He passes in on his way out,

and he does call to mention
one thing or the other.

Sometimes it's of merit,
sometimes it's not.

Where is the bookshelf going? Here?

Bookshelf?

It's exciting,
but crazy, because...

we have started, there is no going back.

So this is where I'm going to be
starting my work.

Now that the architects
and the people that are working

are almost done with what they are doing,

this is my time now to really come and put in my stamp on this space.
My signature drawings are lines that I borrowed from the village.

It's like an old alphabetic
way of writing.

An old writing system
that has gone extinct.

This is the first time
I'll ever put my DNA in a building.

Calm blue...

you know, reflects something
like a sea, like water.

That is what I want to replicate
in this place.

We're not going to make deadlines,

because some people are delaying things
that they are supposed to fabricate.

Somebody who is supposed to install
the door has just disappeared.

We have to look for alternatives
for a few things.

Victor's very concerned about the cost.

For us to get the feel,
the aesthetic, and the quality,

to ensure that it is sustainable,
it's important that we do it properly.

The budget has gone over
the roof.

Everything's coming out from my pocket.

So a major concern for me now...

when are we going to say,
"Okay, let's stop"?

We were looking at $16,000,

but now we've gone three times over that.

I've had to scrape my savings.

It's a big sacrifice
for me and my family as well

to be able to, like, pull this through.

My name is Kelly Kidd,

and Christian and I have known Kitten
for about close to 30 years.

She is like the sister we never had.

We are quite inseparable.

Her home is incredible.

When looking from the outside,

you will never believe what awaits you
when you walk through the doors.

Trust me, you've never seen
anything like this.

Welcome to the Pink Palace,

where everything is pink, including me.

When people come to the house
and they open the door,

the first word that comes
out of their mouth is, "Wow.

I knew you liked pink,
but I didn't know it was this level."

Off the Richter Scale pink.

I grew up in Houston, Texas.

Growing up in the '70s,
I didn't really wear much pink.

I remember having, like, other colors,

and big bell bottoms was the look.

I was sort of a tomboy.

But then on my 20th birthday,
pink just chose me.

I just said,
"I love pink. I want to wear it,"

and on that day, I just got rid
of everything that was any other color,

and then I was totally in the pink,

And now I'm like all girl.

I don't own this stove,

but I try to make it pink by putting,
like, you know, stuff on it,

so I make it pink.

When I first moved in, this was all brown.

It was all brown.

Nobody loves brown cabinets.

So here we go:

Pink, pink, pink, pink, pink, pink, pink.

This is my fabulous round bed.

I love the bed because it is unique.

We had it professionally hand painted
with a proper paint,

and look how beautiful it is.

Now I love it.

It's has to be custom painted or dyed.

Whatever has to be done. I'll do it.

This is like pink crocodile.

Quilted sort of look.

Phone is even pink.

This organza dress that I wore
in Harper's Bazaar.

This could just be
in the closet hanging up,

but why? It's so high drama.

I mean, it could be drapes.
That's how hot it is.

So this is my new pink toilet.

I believe it or not.
This is painted pink.

It was white when I moved in,

and I put this beautiful seat on there.

So it's great.

I just love it.
And my toilet paper's pink.

So I'm just, one by one,
getting everything pink.

So, Miss Kisses.

I did tell you I use
beet juice to color her fur?

Totally safe and vet approved.

Oh, Miss Kiss.

She's fun.

Every year you come in here,

it's pinker and pinker.

When people come to Kitten's home,
They're just stunned.

They don't know where to look.

It's, like, layers deep.

I think a lot of people
fantasize about...

wondering what their life would be like
in a home like this.

It's not just about
painting it all pink,

or buying a bunch of pink crap
and putting it here.

It's all layered.

Pink is the color of happiness,
in my opinion.

It makes me happy,

and that's why I do it.

Victor and I have turned
a rundown office

into unique live-in art space.

Creating this space
has been very stressful.

We've had fights.

We have gone over budget.

But it's an amazing space.

It's done now, and it looks great.

So you coming to the building,

and then we have a mirrored wall,

which really is about going through
this Labyrinth entrance.

Coming to the space
and it's very dark,

and there is no clear direction
of where you're going,

and I think there's something
beautiful about that movement of cause.

It's kind of like it taste
of things to come.

When you turn to your right
you get into the multidisciplinary space.

It's got
a beautiful ash gray color.

This is the space that is going
to be used for many different functions.

The flat lighting would be great

for a kind of work environment.

The LED spotlights are specifically
focused on the walls for art.

Once that one goes off,
the whole thing changes.

So this is a nice mood, yeah.

I begin to see now shadows
that were not there before.

Yeah.

It's very cool.

I knew from day one
what I wanted to do with this space,

and I think a whole lot of people
will be surprised.

The room works. It works.

I can actually see people staying here

and enjoying the experience of it.

We can't see where
the ceiling starts and ends.

We can't see the floor.
We can't see the doors.

We can't see the wardrobe.

It's something very beautiful,

and and that almost makes it feel bigger
than it actually is.

Victor pushed beyond
the boundaries of normality.

People will always remember
this room.

I'm very excited.

We've got friends, family,
colleagues all coming.

It's the first time
that we're really showing the world

what we've been able to achieve here.

It's exciting seeing friends
and seeing their reaction.

This is the first time
that all of them are seeing this

and knowing what I've been up to
for the past four months.

I'm speechless. I love it.

It's amazing.

You actually see the appreciation
on people's faces.

The expressions they have
when they walk through the space...

I'm very happy.

It's like this kinda
unending feel to it,

as if the room just go on and on.
It's brilliant.

I'm really proud of what
we have been able to accomplish.

I'm happy that you brought me.