black interior designers network

Grace Bonney, the founder of Design*Sponge, has always been a thoughtful voice in the world of design. Now she’s stepping back from her influential Instagram account and allowing important new voices to take centre stage. As Bonney explains, “Starting this week I will be working to turn this from a blog-turned-personal platform into a community page dedicated to the voices and work of designers of color.”

Up first on the Design*Sponge Insta is designer NeKeia McSwain, the president of the Black Interior Designer’s Network and owner of Kimberly + Cameron Interiors, who’ll be sharing her style with the account’s 890,000 followers.

Cheers, Arren

O.M.G. Those chairs!

This snap is of one of designer Benito Escat’s latest finds, a set of vintage Missoni rattan dining chairs. I could decide to stop right here for today, and it would be fine - They’re just that good!!!

Escat and his partner, Pol Castells, are the creative duo behind Spanish interior design firm, Quintana Partners, whose look is defined by layered history and vintage fabulousness. It’s all about the patina, baby!

You can glimpse one of their latest projects, hotel La Bionda on Spain’s Costa Brava coast, in that second snap below. Oh, and the Missoni chairs? If you fancy your own, you might just be able to score a set right now on Chairish…

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I do love a good kitchen design, especially one as handsome as this in a palette of mixed woods with a few hits of gold and black for good measure. We can thank designer Nikki Klugh for this thoughtfully planned space, but for me I’m completely taken with those herringbone floors.

Which got me thinking as to what else was out there for wood flooring. Parquet, anyone? While the name might strike fear into most, and make you think of golden oak flooring in 80’s condos, there is lots out there that’s worth a look.

While it’s not strictly parquet, the Bloc wood tiles by Studio Job for Bisazza, certainly have a similar vibe and backstory. It’s that feel, for sure, but so much more contemporary. And hexagon - yes, please. Anything hexagon with a trompe-l'œil effect will definitely get a high-five from me.

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We’ll finish off today with a bit of inspo from Ikea, with a look forward to what our Swedish friends will be releasing in their new catalogue in August.

The styling is on point and I’m loving the colour palette, and hey, I’m already a fan of the mid-century inspired Rönninge chair in that great mossy green. Oh, and that storage workhorse, the Ivar shelving system, gets an on-trend update with swish bamboo doors. What’s not to love?

I’ve been quiet for the last week, taking time to step back, check my privilege and ask how the ugliness of racism affects the design world (it does), and how I can work to become actively anti-racist.

People I follow and admire on Instagram asked a simple question - Why don't I know more black designers? And then I reflected on the fact that since the blog has been up and running again, I haven’t featured one designer of colour. Not one.

I must do better, and will be working within the design community to make space for BIPOC creatives, to discover and celebrate new and talented voices, and be part of positive change within the industry I love.

Follow, donate to and support these groups, and hire their talents for your projects -

Black Artists + Designers Guild

Black Interior Designers Network

Black Canadian Designers

And, since it can’t be said enough - #BlackLivesMatter

Cheers, Arren

Gobsmacked is such a lovely word, meaning the feeling of intense surprise. To me it’s a good thing, since it means I was stopped in my tracks by something so utterly fab I’m practically speechless.

That word is a perfect fit for this room by interior designer Rodney Lawrence, in a Tribeca loft designed by him for a young collector. While much of the loft is bright and white, the private spaces revel in rich, saturated colours. Here de Gournay’s stunning Whistler Peacocks gold-on-silk wallpaper definitely does the trick, set alongside a low and louche velvet sectional and agate print cushions.

Scroll down and you’ll see Lawrence’s passion for art history and contemporary design blend seamlessly in the space he created for the Brooklyn Heights Designer Showhouse. It’s another showstopper for sure. You’ll note the perfectly placed art by Omar Chacon, Patrick Carrara, Sam Still and Georges Noël is not an afterthought, they carry the same weight and importance as the rest of the furnishings in the room. Love.

Thanks to Jordan and Russell at 2LG Studio, I discovered the work of young designer, Mac Collins whose award winning Iklwa chair is a definite design classic.

Just. Look. At. It.

Collins describes this standout chair perfectly on his website - “Drawing inspiration from his African Cultural heritage, Mac has created a furniture piece which is in tune with the ideas of Afrocentrism and Afrofuturism. Through a composition of powerful, spear-like forms, an encompassing backrest and a vivid, ultramarine hue, the designer has created a visually intense object designed to dominate and overwhelm its surroundings.”

Up next for Collins? A collab on seating with Benchmark furniture.

I love the work of illustrator and animator Aurélia Durand - It’s graphic, direct and political.

Snap up her Black Lives Matter poster here, your walls will thank you.

Plus, I’ve added This Book Is Anti-Racist to my reading list. Written by anti-bias and anti-racist educator Tiffany Jewell, the 20 lessons within are illustrated by Durand. You’ll find it on Amazon, but please do support your independent bookstore to pick up a copy. Speaking of support, through the month of June the publisher, Quarto Group, is donating 100% of their proceeds to Black Lives Matter and Color of Change.

Something old and something new

Design for a movement, not a moment

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