Happy Black History Month! This month (and every month), I want to celebrate Black achievement and bring it to the forefront. My intention is to share the amazing contributions Black interior designers have made to the design industry. During a month specifically celebrating the contributions of Black community members, I am thrilled to share with you some INCREDIBLE Black interior designers who are shaping our world with their layered and rich approaches to design.
I firmly believe that we need diversity in every space in every part of the world. Without diversity, inclusion, and love, we will not go far. We will go, you know, where we are now….which isn’t great. Amplifying Black voices, supporting Black owned businesses and showing support is how we build inclusive communities within our own community.
One of my favorite Black artists, Melissa Koby, says perfectly, “Reminder: The goal is to honor Black achievements, normalize Black excellence and invest in Black communities all year round”. Black History Month is a great time to recalibrate and double down our efforts to lift up Black greatness all year!
Black Interior Designers to Follow
The designers I am featuring today (there are so many amazing ones!) showcase their talents blended with their rich culture, giving beautiful recognition to the diaspora. So sit back and let me take you on a visual journey showcasing some of the best Black interior designers out there.
PS: This list doesn’t even scratch the surface of all the talent out there. I encourage you to browse other talented Black artists and designers via Black Artists + Designers Guild. Support them, hire them, share them, publish them.
Shakoor Interiors | photo: Rayon Richards
Principal Erin Shakoor has a background in fine arts and surface design. Her skillset is very evident in the multi-faceted and textural designs that grace her portfolio. Her inspiration comes from top artists and designers, as well as culturally and historically rich locations around the world. Erin was named as one of the Top 20 African American Interior Designers for 5 years running.
Follow: Shakoor Interiors
Nina B Design | photo: David Land
Nina is Ghana born and London raised, before moving to NYC in 2007. Her style is a delicious melange of African and Scandinavian, honoring both space and structure, light and dark. Nina uniquely understands the emotion of a space and she seeks to maximize the human experience through her rich designs.
Follow: Nina B. Design
Beth Diana Smith | photo: Mike Van Tassel
Beth Diana Smith is a hard to miss tastemaker expertly merging diverse culture with interior design. She is known for spaces that tell a story through her use of art, color, and creatively layered textiles. Her spaces are warm, emotional, and tell the unique and varied story of her clients.
Follow: Beth Diana Smith
Revamp is a forward thinking design studio here in NYC. With their client focused initiatives, their designs exude personality and modernism while maintaining an eclectic elegance. Revamp encourages clients to lean in to their interior fantasies and they translate these visions into spaces that authentically reflect how clients feel, work, and live.
Follow: Revamp Interior Design
I had the privilege of meeting Kesha last spring when she designed a room for Kips Bay Decorator Show House in my neighborhood. She talked me through her design and told me about the Black artists and artisans creating custom pieces for her show space. Kesha is so warm and inclusive and her spaces reflect that level of care and community in her livable luxe designs.
Follow: Halden Interiors
Named a House Beautiful Next Wave designer in 2022, Candace is known for creating visual experiences for people and highlighting the personality of the home. She feels that home staging and design is more than aesthetics, it’s the feeling you get. And I couldn’t agree more with this design philosophy.
Follow: Candace Mary Interiors
This design studio focuses on vintage furnishings and styling, amassing a large and enthusiastic following under the Dress My Room instagram account. A former worker in HR, Ariene Bethea started with redesigning her office. It was a huge success and showed how functional design truly has the power to transform how people work and live. Her boss said, “you should do this for a living”, and the rest was history. Dressing Rooms is now a top design studio creating moments that tell a story through objects and intentional design.
Follow: Dress My Room
Founder of full service design studio, Beauty is Abundant, Leah leads her team in creating inspiring interior experiences that reflect clients’ perspectives on life. She uses spaces as a living testament of her clients’ dreams.
Follow: Leah Alexander
Hilton is unlike every other designer on this list. He’s a plant designer! If you follow him on Instagram, you might enjoy his ‘Plant Rant’ series (I know I do!), and you might have also read his book(s) and seen his line of planters in Target, and listened to his podcast. And, and, and…the list goes on. Hilton brings passion and comedy to his message of helping indoor plants thrive in your care.
His latest book, Wild Interiors, ships out March 30th!
Follow: Hilton Carter
David is a MAGICIAN in the form of a multi-hyphenate creative powerhouse. He has been featured by many publications including Architectural Digest, Forbes, and HGTV. He also has a successful collaboration with famed wallpaper brand, Chasing Paper. His aesthetic is playful, wacky, but deeply grounded and oozing with soul and life.
Shop David’s wallpaper collection.
Follow: David Quarles
Designer, author, and entrepreneur, Nicole White is one to watch. Specializing in luxury interiors, Nicole’s style is a delicious combination of expert layering, architectural details, soft luxe textiles, and pattern. Sometimes soft, sometimes loud, but always with a wow factor.
Her book, Iconic Home, features interiors and stories from 50 Black designers.
Follow: Nicole White
Aquilo Interiors homepage reads, “We’ve got the magic” and nothing could be truer. They describe their style as fierce, boundless, and expressive. Also extremely true. Aquilo is guided by three values: soul, precision, and wonder. Their spaces are truly art, leaving no inch without a special detail. Led by Principal Designer, Carmen Rene Smith.
Follow: Aquilo Interiors
Debuting in 2022 on the Elle Decor A-List, Courtney McLeod leads Right Meets Left Interior Design through creative process and innovation. The ‘Right Meets Left’ in the name represents both sides of the brain working in tandem: creative and analytical. Using a kaleidoscope of impactful elements, Courtney and her team expertly create spaces embodying the fullest expression of their clients.
Follow: Right Meets Left Interior Design
Laura Hodges leads her full service boutique interior design studio based in Baltimore. Her attention to details and ability to create soft, transportive spaces sets her designs apart from others on this list. Her designs are dreamy and calming, deeply grounded and a direct reflections of her clients’ most thoughtful desires and ways of living.
Follow: Laura Hodges Studio
Joy Street Design | photo: Thomas Koah
I mean…it’s in the name! It’s JOY. Kelly Finley founded Joy Street in 2011 with the simple mission of creating spaces to live and love in as well as blending comfort with functionality. Joy Street spaces are alive with fun and personality, color and of course, JOY.
Follow: Joy Street Design
Brigette is *the* tastemaker in the luxury design space. A highly sought after designer in LA, Bridgette makes luxury feel vibrant and lively. Spaces are characteristically fresh and ‘aesthetically alive’. She relies on her lived experience and travels to impart unique style and FUN into every design. Also- she’s favored by many celebrities including Beyonce.
Her book Livable Luxe is available now.
Follow: Brigette Romanek
Keita Turner is a star in luxury residential and commercial design. She seeks to uplift the human spirit while creating beautiful and functional spaces to serve as a safe haven. Keita wants her designs to create a spiritually uplifting experience for her clients. She balances natural tones with vibrant energizing colors to create a memorable experience.
Follow: Keita Turner Design
This is Paula. If you’re a fan of vintage, thrifting, and have English countryside dreams, then let me tell you…PAULA IS FOR YOU. I’ve been a huge fan of Paula for eons. Her instagram is so charming and really makes me want to live in the English countryside. Paula is an expert gardener and curator of delightful vintage oozing with historic charm. Her whole vibe is just goals, goals, goals, as they say. While not a ‘designer’ per se, she’s an interiors obsessed former fashion industry editor, and her ability to curate and create the dreamiest of spaces is exactly what a designer does. You’ll notice this is the only photo on this list with a person in it; that is intentional. You need to capture Paula’s pure vibrant energy.
Her mystery novel, The Potting Shed Murder, is available now.
How about that beautiful line up of amazing Black interior designers? I hope you enjoyed this article and give these people a follow (and a hire if you’re in the market!). Sharing the work of forward thinking designers and collectively honoring the accomplishments of the Black community will give us the brightest of futures with the sweetest of collaborations.
Follow: Hill House Vintage
More inspo:
January was all about bedroom design. Here are the posts in case you missed it–including a FREE BEDROOM DESIGN!
