“I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills.” If you’re an avid reader or film enthusiast, you’ll likely recognize that now-iconic line: Written some 80 years ago by Karen Blixen (also known by her pen name, Isak Dinesen), it opens her bestselling 1937 memoir, Out of Africa, about her life in colonial-era Kenya. Nearly half a century later in 1985, Blixen’s book was adapted into a film, directed by Sydney Pollack, that quickly became a timeless classic.
Klaus Maria Brandauer plays Baron Bror Blixen, Karen Blixen’s husband of convenience. Antiques like the revolving library stand and painted screen were sourced from Denmark, Europe, and Karen Blixen’s own pieces in Kenya, which had been sold to pay off the farm’s debt.
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURESMarking its 40th anniversary this year, Out of Africa stars Meryl Streep as Blixen, a Danish baroness who moves to Kenya in the early 1900s with her husband, Bror Blixen (played by Klaus Maria Brandauer), and starts a coffee plantation. She soon meets Denys Finch Hatton, a dashing and enigmatic big-game hunter played by Robert Redford, and falls in love. The film’s breathtaking visuals, romantic storyline, and cinematic adventures—all set against the sweeping Kenyan landscape and accompanied by John Barry’s idyllic soundtrack—earned it 11 Academy Award nominations and seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
While Streep and Redford have a magnetic on-screen presence, the true star of the film is the stunning setting, shot entirely on location in Kenya. The rolling Ngong Hills near Nairobi, the Maasai Mara National Reserve (home to the iconic scene where Redford washes Meryl Streep’s hair), and the Shaba National Reserve are just a few of the captivating locales featured.
Light, painted furniture in the bedroom is more in keeping with period Scandinavian style, along with mosquito net canopies that, while romantic, also served a very practical purpose.
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURESThe production was not without its challenges, as the crew faced severe drought and malaria (not to mention some very demanding actors in the form of territorial lions and hippos). To authentically bring Blixen’s house back to life, the late British production designer and art director Stephen B. Grimes studied original photographs and blueprints of the real-life home. (Today, visitors can tour Karen Blixen’s actual farmhouse, now a museum, in Nairobi.) The house was reconstructed at the former Ngong Dairy, which had become the home of Ngina Kenyatta, the wife of Kenya’s first president. The production crew added rooms to replicate the farmhouse-style home, complete with a veranda, brick columns, and a stone fireplace.
In the kitchen, simple plaster walls, farmhouse tables, and unlined curtains have a utilitarian beauty.
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURESIrish set decorator Josie MacAvin combed the Kenyan countryside to source Blixen’s real-life belongings, many of which had been sold. Antiques, lamps, window treatments, and sofas were shipped in from Blixen’s native Denmark, including her Limoges collection and a scene-stealing cuckoo clock. Using vintage photographs as her guide, MacAvin captured an idealized vision of safari and British-colonial style—think swirling ceiling fans, sun-bleached chintz, Victorian wicker, polished mahogany, campaign chairs, and expedition trunks.
In addition to the Blixen residence, the crew also replicated buildings from 1914 Nairobi, including a railroad station, hotel, bank, church, and the men-only Muthaiga Club, of which Bror Blixen was a member (funded by Karen Blixen’s inheritance, though she was not allowed to enter, until a climactic scene at the end of the film). Legend has it that founder Berkeley Cole wanted a place where he could ring a bell and be served a drink on a “spotless tray”.
Afternoon tea is set with starched white linen-and-lace tablecloths and proper china on the veranda.
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURESWhile Grimes and MacAvin’s work on the film earned them the Oscar for Best Art Direction, it wasn’t just Academy voters who were enthralled: The film’s release set the stage for a revival of turn-of-the-century safari style across fashion and design in the 1980s and ’90s. It was epitomized by Ralph Lauren, but also seen across the market via retailers like Banana Republic and Bombay Company, who sold British colonial-style mahogany and leather furniture, animal prints, and lots of khaki. Today, its timeless sets continue to inspire a sense of wanderlust.
Out of Africa can be purchased on digital and disc, and is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Apple TV.
Experience Africa at These Luxe Camps and Lodges
As a big game hunter turned conservationist, Denys Finch Hatton was one of the first advocates for setting aside land for wildlife preservation in the form of national parks in Africa. His legacy was the inspiration behind the luxe Finch Hattons Safari Camp in Kenya—just one of many high-style safari camps and lodges throughout Africa. Read on for a few of our favorites.
The Karen Blixen Lounge at the Finch Hattons Luxury Safari Camp captures the spirit of the Blixen home in early 1900s Kenya and includes authentic memorabilia.
Courtesy of Finch Hattons Safari CampFinch Hattons
Tsavo West National Park, Kenya
For those who want to experience safari life firsthand, take a sojourn to Virgin Limited Edition’s Finch Hattons Luxury Safari Camp, located in the heart of Tsavo West National Park, at the foot of the Chyulu Hills. Guests can embark on twice-daily game drives and guided wilderness hikes, set against views of the famed Mount Kilimanjaro, before retiring to pampering tented suites that blend vintage and modern indulgence like copper bathtubs and early 20th-century antiques. The lodge is filled with personal artifacts from the collections of both Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen (don’t miss the cozy Karen Blixen lounge), and even offers nighttime showings of Out of Africa under the stars.
The Samburu Bar at the soon-to-open Suyian Lodge, overlooking the savanna.
Courtesy of Suyian LodgeSuyian Lodge
Laikipia, Kenya
A departure from the typical lodge aesthetic, Suyian Lodge from And Beyond (opening in July 2025), located in a private conservancy in northern Kenya’s Laikipia region, offers an unexpected blend of rugged wilderness with modern chic. Design features include open-air thatched cottages, oversized daybeds, handcrafted wooden furnishings, and earth-toned textiles that evoke the surrounding savanna. Each suite (there are only 14 in total) boasts an outdoor terrace with a private plunge pool and deck, offering magnificent sunrise views.
Cottages feature living rooms with fireplaces, polished parquet floors, vintage collectibles, and French doors opening onto private verandas.
Courtesy of Singita Sasakwa LodgeSingita Sasakwa Lodge
Grumeti Private Reserve, Tanzania
With their luxurious blend of old-world elegance and modern amenities, it’s no wonder the Singita collection of lodges, camps, and villas have earned a cult following. Located in Tanzania, Singita’s stately Sasakwa Lodge evokes Edwardian grandeur with chandeliers, clawfoot tubs, four-poster beds, and tennis courts. The surrounding Grumeti Private Reserve is an ideal setting to spot the “Big Five” (lions, leopards, African buffalos, elephants, and black rhinos), a plus for first-time safari-goers.
Luxurious open-air, furnished tents give a taste of true safari style at Singita Sabora.
Courtesy of Singita SaboraSingita Sabora Tented Camp
Grumeti Game Reserve, Tanzania
If it’s more of an open-air experience you’re craving (coupled with all the accoutrements of luxury, of course), check out Singita’s Sabora Tented Camp. Set in the Grumeti Game Reserve on the edge of Serengeti National Park, the camp takes the art of glamping to another level. Guests reside in tents with their own private verandas, complete with views of the Grumeti River and the Great Migration. Decor celebrates safari style and the best of local African craftsmanship.
The Linvanti Bar at Chobe Game Lodge is designed in traditional Bedouin style.
Courtesy of Chobe Game LodgeChobe Game Lodge
Chobe National Park, Botswana
Chobe Game Lodge, one of the oldest five-star lodges in Africa, offers an unrivaled Chobe National Park location that ensures views of nighttime animal activity. Perched along the banks of Botswana’s Chobe River, the lodge features Moorish-inspired architecture and vibrant furnishings—a striking departure from traditional safari decor. The lodge also boasts a Hollywood connection as screen legends Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton tied the knot (for the second time!) at the reserve in 1975.
The Safari Lodge at Ulusaba offers treehouse-style rooms accessed by swing bridges, with views of animals passing by on their way to the watering hole.
Courtesy of Virgin Limited EditionUlusaba Private Game Reserve
Mpumalanga, South Africa
At Ulusaba, situated in Sir Richard Branson’s private Sabi Sand Nature Reserve near Kruger National Park in South Africa, guests can choose from rooms in a cliffside lodge offering panoramic views or treehouse-style suites connected by rope bridges, each with a private plunge pool. The secluded Treehouse Suite offers a front-row seat on Xikwenga Dam, a favorite bathing spot for hippos and elephants. There is also a high concentration of leopards, thanks to the region’s rich and diverse ecosystem.