About · Maven SIDD

A school for people who cannot stop rearranging the room.

Maven opened in 2009 on a single conviction: that interior design in Nigeria deserved to be taught properly. Not as a weekend hobby. Not as a matter of cushions and curtains. As a profession.

Established

2009

The first school of its kind in Nigeria, now teaching across two countries. Taught by practising architects. Assessed on portfolio.

A letter from the founder

Role

Founder

Practice

Architect and interior designer

Since

2009

We built a school for people who cannot stop rearranging the room.

In 2009 we opened on a single conviction: that interior design in Nigeria deserved to be taught properly. Not as a weekend hobby. Not as a matter of cushions and curtains. As a profession — with drawings, with sites, with materials in the hand, and with enough business sense to survive the second year.

Several years later, that conviction has not moved. Our students still learn to read an architect's drawing before they choose a fabric. They may still climb scaffolding. They still stand in a tile showroom and learn the difference between what looks expensive and what lasts.

And they still leave able to run a practice — not merely to decorate a room.

If you have ever walked into a space and felt certain you could have done it better, you already have the instinct. Instinct is the part we cannot teach. Everything after it, we can.

Olaniyi Gbolahan

Founder · Maven School of Interior Decoration and Design

The school in figures

A prospectus should be checkable.

Here is the shape of the school, in figures you can hold us to.

2009

Established

One of the longest-running interior design schools in Nigeria.

3,000+

Graduates

In residential, hospitality, commercial and retail design — and running their own practices.

12

Modules

From the visual language of design through to running your own practice.

10

Students per class

An average class of ten. Enough room to work, enough attention to improve.

3 months

Full-time

Twelve modules, taught in twelve weeks, in a morning or afternoon belt.

3 months

Minimum internship

Compulsory industry placement. Not optional, not shortened.

3

Campuses

Ikeja and Lekki, and Abuja — plus the online programme.

AAID

Membership route

Eligible for student membership of the African Association of Interior Designers.

The standard

Interior design is not decoration.

You are not learning to have taste. You are learning to be trusted with someone else's building. Anyone can choose a cushion. Very few people can plan a room, price it, draw it, specify it, defend it to a paying client and hand it over on schedule.

Architects

Who teaches

Practising architects and designers, not career lecturers.

Portfolio

How you are assessed

Nine pieces of coursework, a jury presentation and a final project.

How we teach

Half of this course is not in a classroom.

Theory in the morning, practice in the hand

Classes are hands-on and mix theory with practical work. Every module ends in something you have made, measured, specified or defended.

Excursions are part of the course

Material sourcing, measured drawing and live site briefings put you in front of real interiors and real practice.

You will supervise the trades

Tiling, floor finishes, painting, wall preparation, wallpaper and all ceiling types including P.O.P. A designer who cannot supervise the trades is at the mercy of them.

Assessed by people who hire

Nine pieces of coursework, a jury presentation, and a final retail, residential or corporate project.

Professional membership

A route into the profession, not just a certificate.

Students on the Certificate are eligible for student membership of the African Association of Interior Designers, with access to its networking programme and continuing professional development.

On completion, graduates may apply for full AAID membership. Forms are available at every branch, and should be submitted one month before examinations.

The school is itself a member of the International Interior Design Association, the profession's global body — which is what anchors a Maven qualification to an international standard rather than a local one.

IIDA member school

AAID student membership

Compulsory internship

Portfolio assessment