For some, design is a passion. For others, it’s a career. For Laquita Tate, it gets to be both. The design mind behind her self-named studio, Laquita Tate Interiors used to spend all of her professional time shaping minds instead of rooms. As an elementary school principal in Memphis, Tennessee, design was a passion that was reserved for after-school hours only. But then 2020 came and an opportunity appeared amid the chaos of the year. Now, in addition to her school duties, Laquita is a budding entrepreneur whose studio is well on its way.

Treci Smith is a woman of many talents. As the head of her self-named studio, Treci Smith Designs, she is an interior stylist, a successful house-flipper in collaboration with her husband, Amir, and a self-styled “purveyor” of fine vintage furnishings. For more than a decade the entrepreneur has made her home in an expansive ranch-style house in San Diego, California, with her husband and four kids, along with their dog, Rose, thirteen chickens and one duck.

Hayet Rida is living a very creative life. She is the founder of KHOI, a sculptural jewelry brand. And in her glam Chicago apartment, she shows that she also knows a thing or two about interior design. In 2020, this busy Chicagoan was searching for a new place to call home. She found what she was looking for in a 1300-square-foot, 2-bedroom corner apartment.

Katrina Blair lives in a beautiful Sacramento bungalow with her husband Hasani, their two boys and their chocolate lab Oliver. The design blogger and social media influencer is always tweaking things at home, and during the summer of 2020 — the first of the pandemic — she and her husband made the decision that it was time to create the outdoor space of their dreams. They did just that, turning their back patio into a retreat with a lounge, dining area and a cottage studio where Katrina can focus on her creative work.

In 2011, Nasozi Kakembo founded her lifestyle brand, xN Studio. Offering beautiful pieces handmade by artisans in Uganda, Ghana and Tanzania, Nasozi’s love of African home decor accents is evident throughout her own home located in the suburbs of Washington DC. “My aesthetic is Brooklyn Afro-Scandi Modern. I love a functional minimalism that doesn't sacrifice personality and comfort. I also love the versatility of Danish modern furniture, which can be easily paired with more vintage elements, which I am also drawn to,” says Nasozi about the design of her home.

When people ask Shayla Owodunni why she loves plants so much her answer always starts at home: she grew up around them. However, the Minnesota native admits that they weren’t hers ,they were her mom’s - and back then she didn’t get it either. But seeking familial comfort, Shayla brought a few plants into her Seattle apartment and, from there it was the start of something big. Now back home in Minnesota, the accountant-turned-business-consultant and chief creative behind The Plant Penthouse has turned her loft-style condo into her own verdant oasis.

Ariene Bethea is the creative force behind Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio. For thirteen years, Ariene has perfected her style in the space that she shares with her husband Daren and their dog Mini.

Chris Glass has been living around the world for nearly twenty years. He takes inside his stunning 1200-square-foot, 2-bedroom apartment in Berlin, that he has worked extensively to turn into a reflection of his global lifestyle and tastes.

Rayman Boozer is the founder and principal designer of Apartment 48 Interior Design, a Manhattan-based firm with a varied client list and a deep portfolio of impressive spaces to its credit. With clients ranging from major companies to individual residences, the firm provides Rayman ample opportunity to be creative with interiors. Here, the sought-after designer takes us inside his gorgeous Manhattan home.

Olaniyi Swarn is a Chicago-based interior stylist and the writer behind the decor blog, J’Adore le Décor. For the past 25 years, the stylist and her husband have had a 900-square-foot duplex condominium to call their own. Designing the home to their tastes has been an ongoing project, one Olaniyi would be the first to call a labor of love.

Educator by day, artist by night, Rachel Crouch has a unique style that shines through in her Hyattsville, Maryland home. As principal of a preparatory school, and owner - alongside her twin sister, Rebecca - of Signed Rachel & Rebecca, Rachel knows the importance of art in education and personal expression. Her four-story interior is part home, part gallery space, with an ever-growing collection of art that can be experienced in each and every room.

“My life is art,” remarks Julio Leitao, upon entering he and his wife Kenza’s five-story brownstone in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. The home that the Leitao’s have built is truly a work of art. A home that had been in the family for generations, the Leitao’s were tasked with a modern update. Transforming an outdated interior into a refreshing interior, perfect for them and their girls, Luena and Zeza. 

Breegan Jane’s home in Marina del Rey became more than a living space, it was a symbol of her resilience and transformation, a place that honored her independence and clarity of self, and where she faced the challenge of starting over as a single mother of two while running a thriving interior design firm in Santa Monica. 

British born Sudanese artist, Huda Hashim, is an interior designer, 3D rendering and contemporary artist best known for her abstract works depicting life in Sudan. Huda was born in Liverpool, England, while her father was attending medical school. When she was just three years old, she and her family moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a city known for its growing medical infrastructure, where she spent her formative years. During her time in Jeddah, Huda experienced a city defined by its cultural diversity.

Connecticut-based interior designer, Naïka Andre, founder of NJA Interiors, designs a mid-century modern dream home in Georgia for Juneteenth cookbook author, Nicole Taylor, and her family.

Staten Island isn’t the first borough people mention when they think about Black cultural design in New York. But for India and James “Tep” Imhotep, it’s the place where years of love, movement, and making finally landed—where a layered life of family, travel, and heritage has found a home.

For a city that’s famously only seven-by-seven in square miles, San Francisco carries a lot of history, a lot of stories — and even more dreams. One dream that’s come true in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood is that of Swiss-born interior designer, Eva Bradley of Studio Heimat and her husband, artist Cory Bradley. The creative couple’s Victorian home boasts 3,000 square feet, including 5 bedrooms in addition to generous outdoor space, breathtaking views and a historic, century-old facade. But for them, the magic started years ago and thousands of miles away.

For Hana Getachew, the Bolé Road is a lot of things. It’s the name of her celebrated textile line, a gorgeous collection of traditionally-inspired Ethiopian pillows and accessories, currently enjoying a collaboration with West Elm. It’s a popular thoroughfare in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the designer was born. Most of all it’s a metaphor for all of the important journeys she’s been on in life, starting with the first one.

Malcolm Simmons has been designing all of his life. A native of Virginia who spent years living abroad before studying graphic and interior design, he’s now known as the owner of the design consultation company, Mas Means More. For the last two years, the self-styled “environmental graphic designer,” has made his home in a 2-story colonial-style condo in Arlington, Virginia.

New York City is full of hidden gems, places that seem ordinary enough on the outside, but inside they are marvels of design creativity. Interior designer Heavenly Gaines has created one such oasis. Her apartment in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn is a beautiful mix of colors, textures and eras.