D. Bryant Archie is a textile designer whose work combines artistic, intelligent design with ancient handcraft. Working with global artisans and women's cooperatives employing centuries-old, indigenous techniques, Archie creates beautiful handmade home textiles and accessories. She lives in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
Question: What's your favorite room in your home and why?
Bryant: Our living room. Living in a 2-bedroom apartment, for us it's a multi-purpose space. Living room-slash-famly room-slash-dining room-slash creative, communal space. It's the place we gather to enjoy movies, to both play and listen to music. It's where we set up a long dining table for family-style dinners, and where we gather as a family of four (including our dog) to talk, read and relax. It's serene, the furnishings simple and minimal.
Malene Barnett is the founder and design director of Malene B, a company specializing in handcrafted custom carpets, inspired wallcoverings and artisan tiles. A cultural enthusiast and passionate entrepreneur, Malene collaborates with international artisans. She also avidly shares her business sense with creative entrepreneurs via her Malene B Essentials e-guide series, public speaking engagements, her Huffington Post and Design Sponge columns, and her interview spotlights in both national and international press, including print, web, TV and radio.
Question: If you could create a new room in your home, what would it be?
Malene: I would creat an art studio/gallery. I'm actually working on making this a reality.
www.maleneb.com
Angela Belt is the principle designer of Angela Belt Art and Style, an interiors stylist and a market editor. A graduate of Howard University, Angela has a keen eye for what is on trend and a passion for interior design. As an interiors stylist, Angela has worked with many magazines and on the book REMIX: Decorating with Culture, Objects and soul. As an interiors designer, Angela works on residential, commercial and outdoor projects. She lives in West Hartford, CT with her husband and daughter.
Question: What's the most treasured object in your home?
Angela: The broom that hangs above our kitchen sink. It's the broom that Leon and I jumped over at our wedding.
As co-owner of Ishka Designs Inc., Anishka Clarke has built her company into a global interior design firm that has worked across continents since 2008 producing residential and hospitality interiors, as well as custom furnishings.
Niya Bascom is the co-owner of interior design firm, Ishka Designs Inc. He is also a seasoned photographer having worked across most fields in the industry. Born in England to Guyanese and Jamaican parents, and raised in New York, Niya lives happily in Brooklyn with his son.
Question: Where would your fantasy home be and why?
Anishka: Jamaica...it's where half my heart is. Plus, you can't beat the weather or its diverse natural beauty.
Question: What's your favorite piece of furniture in your home and why?
Niya: My vintage Ethiopian Jima Chair. I purchased it on my first trip to Ethiopia.
After an extensive career in event planning, Kathleen Hyppolite created and founded kat flower, a boutique full-service floral and event design studio based in Brooklyn, New York. Kathleen’s approach is seasonal, textural, thoughtful and personal, with notes of romance and whimsy. Her work and expertise has been featured in The New York Times, New York Weddings, Bride’s, Elle Decor, The Knot, Huffington Post, Essence.com and many wedding blogs.
Question: Name something in your home that describes who you are and why.
Kathleen: The Haitian painting that hangs on my living rom wall. I am 1st generation American — my parents (and extended family) came to the states from Haiti. The painting reminds me that i come from the first black republic, that freedom is my birthright. That I come from a culture rich in creativity, art, color and beauty. So I am free to pursue my dreams as colorfully and creatively as I can imagine. Being a floral designer fits into that so seamlessly, wouldn’t you say?
Danielle Colding was born in New York City and is the principal of her own firm, danielle colding design, Inc. She is an interior designer who is known for her classic elegant spaces with comfortable, layered eclectic charm. Danielle’s design work has appeared in design magazines in the US and abroad. She has made consistent appearances on television and was the winner of HGTV's Design Star in 2012. She works closely with charities such as The Ronald McDonald House and DIFFA. With degrees from Stanford University and FIDM, Danielle studied culture and design and in particular the way we choose to live in the world. After several years working with the prestigious New York firm Irvine & Fleming, she embarked on her current adventures in design. An avid traveler, Danielle’s roving eye, and love of different cultures, informs each of her projects. Danielle lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.
Question: What was the jumping off point for your design scheme?
Danielle: Every project is different and every one has a different jumping off point. There is inspiration everywhere so I never know I will be impacted. However, for many of my projects and in my own home art is often the catalyst for my design process. Art sets the tone and often can inform the color palette and the overall vibe. It is my favorite way to work. Give me a client with a dynamic art collection any day!
Nicole Gibbons is an interior designer, blogger and on-air personality best known for her fashion-forward point of view on style for the home. Nicole's distinctive design sensibility is sophisticated and multi-layered, blending classic with modern and mixing rich color, pattern in fresh, exciting ways. You can spot Nicole's design work in major magazines and catch her sharing design tips on shows like Home Made Simple on Own, the Oprah Winfrey Network and the Rachel Ray Show.
Q: What's your design philosophy?
Nicole: I believe color is a critical design element and the importance of color often gets overlooked. I love using color in fresh ways to invigorate and totally transform spaces.
Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason are the creators of AphroChic, a leading content creator in the area of modern design and culture which has grown to include interior design services and a line of culturally inspired home decor products. Formerly a policy attorney and a Ph.D. student, Jeanine and Bryan are the authors of REMIX: Decorating with Culture, Objects and Soul. They have also pioneered Sneak Peek with Aphrochic, a house tour series exclusively fro HGTV's Facebook Live channel. The two live in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
Question: What's the most treasured object in your home?
Jeanine & Bryan: The most treasured object in our home is the secretary in the kitchen. We love it because it's a family heirloom. It was originally Bryan's great-grandmothers. When his mom was little she used to use the piece to do her homework. When we moved to New York it was the first piece we brought into the apartment and it fit in the kitchen perfectly. It felt as if it were meant to be there. We've repurposed it as a China cabinet, and every time we open it you see a part of family history. A little scratch, the mark of a pen. Things that let you know this is a piece that people lived with over generations. It holds within in many secrets and memories.
Lucie and Jerome Lagarrigue, both raised in Paris, share their Clinton Hill, Brooklyn home with their son Jules. Lucie, who is passionate about health and nutrition, is currently transitioning from fashion consultancy to wellness and lifestyle coaching. Lucie is a trained Reiki practitioner and practices yoga and meditation. Jerome is a painter. A graduate of RISD, Jerome has taught drawing and painting at the Parsons School of Design and in 2005 was the recipient of the grant and residency program at the Villa Medici in Rome. He has had several solo and group shows in the U.S. and abroad.
Question: Where would your fantasy home be and why?
Lucie:
My dream house would be in the South of France, probably an old “mas” in the “arriere-pays”, nothing fancy...simple and rustic with lots of light...somewhere between Montpellier and Avignon...surrounded by pine trees and not too far from the sea. There would be a vegetable garden where I would grow all kinds of delicious greens, aromatic herbs, tomatoes, peppers, etc. It would have a big open kitchen with a view on the garden...cooking while looking at nature is definitely on top of my “favorite-things-to-do” list. And it would have a great sound system for dance parties, a terrace to drink rose while looking at sunset...and a cellar of course to stock up on good wines.There will also be a big bathroom with a clawfoot bath tub and some beautiful azulejos tiles...and lots of plants. And finally a fire place and a big library with all my favorite books...for long winter evenings. It would be cozy and inviting...for friends to come visit and feel at ease.
Jean Brownhill is the founder and CEO of Sweeten. An architect by training, Jean spent a decade in design and construction. After a challenging renovation of her own Brooklyn townhouse, she realized the need for a free service to match renovators to the best general contractors, providing support from start to finish. The concept for Sweeten earned Jean a prestigious Loeb Fellowship from Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. She is the co-founder of the African American Student Union at Harvard's GSD and one of only 11 African-American female entrepreneurs to raise over $1M in venture capital funding in 2015. Jean lives in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.
Question: What is your favorite color in your home?
Jean: My favorite color in my home is the color green when the sunshine hits my plants.
A trip to Spain at age 14 set Joy Moyler on her career path. Having earned a Bachelor of Science Architectural degree, Joy went on to work with some of the most prestigious names in design; Armani Casa and Polo Ralph Lauren. As an interiors designer in her own right, Joy's projects have been featured in myriad shelter publications in the U.S. and abroad. Her focus on custom detail from tiles to furnishings and selection of art and antiques set her apart. Joy's network of the world's most gifted artisans ensures a complete design vision. Joy lives in New Rochelle, NY with her husband, Nick.
Question: What was the jumping off point for your design scheme?
Joy: Comfort and great lighting are so important. These should be found in every room of your home (daily). These two simple elements will make you and visitors linger as they create the foundation for entertainment, relaxation and enjoyment. Without them, even if the elixirs are good, everyone is leaving your party early!
Karen Young is the founder & CEO of Oui Shave, a modern shaving brand made for women, by women. Since launching in 2015 Oui Shave has won the hearts of editors from Vogue, Town & Country, Harper's Bazaar and Real Simple. Karen has been featured in Forbes, and most recently Entrepreneur, for being a force of change (and good design) in the stagnant women's shaving market.
Question: If you could create a new room in your home, what would it be?
Karen: I've always wanted a real library. Dark walls, moody tones and textures, a great candle burning (I think Bibliotheque by Byredo would be fitting), and some glorious wingback chairs covered in velvet. Oh and wine, it should definitely have wine.
Artist Lisa Hunt creates one-of-a-kind patterns with lyrical repetition and the ability to mesmerize. After over 20 years of contributing to the publishing world's top brands as a creative director, image maker and designer, Lisa decided it was time to get back to what makes her happiest: creating art with her own hands. From her studio in Brooklyn (which she shares with her husband, also an artist), she begins her designs with paper cutouts, playing with scale and pattern. In this hands-on experimentation she makes exciting discoveries that grow into her unique designs. Once finalized, the work is screen-printed and gilded by hand - a labor of love that allows her to work with each print individually and personalize them. Lisa is currently in the process of making her line of modern ornamental patterns available in more accessories and textiles for the home.
Question: What's your favorite room in your home?
Lisa: The living room and dining rooms are the first rooms you see when you enter the apartment and they immediately draw you in and with the natural light during the day and warm cozy lamp light in the evening. From the comfy couch you can watch the beautiful colors in the sky as the sun sets and there are lots of personal mementos throughout the space. Some from my travels and others from family and friends. Kyle and I also have prints and paintings that play well off of each other and I love the connection we share through out art.
