This article was originally written by Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason in 2021. Photographs by Andrew Sherman.
When Shawna Freeman bought her home in North Carolina she was an interior design novice. However, this executive leadership expert has turned her 4-bedroom Charlotte residence into a space that many A-list designers would love to have in their own portfolios. Having opened the doors of her beautiful home to us, this DIY all-star interior designer explains how she fights free from the “tyranny of beige”, as she calls it, in this vibrant house tour.
For Shawna, design isn’t a job, it’s a passion. More importantly, it’s a way to express herself in a way where the only meaningful critic is her. “My major focus was giving this newly built house some character and soul,” she says. “It was a new build with no renovations to do, so I focused on the decor.” Her focus started with the home’s gorgeous entryway. The white walls come alive with a series of large-scale paintings purchased from a local Charlotte artist. Meanwhile, elements like the side table, rug and brass vase give the space a warm and grounded feeling.
The room past the light-filled entryway is the parlor, where Shawna gives the first hint of how deep her design skills actually go. The walls use black as a neutral, making it a canvas for all of the room’s other colors to pop against. The centerpiece of the room is a breathtaking painting that also serves as the foundation of the color palette, featuring every color that’s present in the space, from bright fuchsias to the deep yellow reflected in the upholstered side chair.
The living room is a study in neutrals with a subtle layering of objects, textures and color. “I am eclectic,” Shawna says of herself, “you can actually find a bit of every design style in my house.” It’s a personal combination that she refers to as “glamohemian”. But pulling influences from everywhere doesn’t mean that she wants a crowded space. “I don’t prefer a space to look overly crowded or over-done,” she says. “I like to be elegantly eclectic.”
For Shawna, picking out the pieces to fill her bookshelves wasn’t just a search for interesting objects, it was a study of her personal history. “Because I didn’t get to build it or pick out any of the architectural features, it fueled my interest in trying to truly personalize the decor to make it feel like me." From black-and-white family photos to an ode to her hometown in Virginia Beach, every piece in her living room has a story.
Between Virginia Beach and North Carolina, Shawna spent fourteen years in Brooklyn, New York. As excited as she was to buy her first home, she felt she needed to grow her apartment-based design style to fill a whole house. “I didn't want to lose my urban vibe,” she confides, “so I did my best to incorporate glimpses of my old life in this new home.” Art became a major way to bring a bit of New York City street style to her Charlotte home, and can be seen in her gallery wall on the stairs.
North Carolina homes have room to spare and Shawna’s is no exception. The dining room boasts a classic use of blacks, whites, browns, and green plants. It’s elegantly simple, but, surprisingly, presents one of Shawna’s bigger challenges: “I actually find styling and decorating with neutrals to be more challenging,” she confesses.
One of the ways design helped Shawna explore her creative side was by giving her a chance to explore her bolder side — something she did by going big with color in her second-story rooms. “I started slowly,” she remembers. “I had to keep reminding myself that I could change it if I didn’t like it, or just close the door.” Her experimentation led to masterpieces like her Moroccan-inspired room. The blue walls are amazing, but the gold ceiling simply steals the show. Together with poufs, masks and framed fabric, the room is an instant trip to a far-off land.
Shawna's use of color is one of the most intriguing parts of her style. She uses bold colors as if they were neutrals, allowing bright hues to stand out against the monochrome backdrop. Layering is an important part of pulling it all together, which Shawna does in this case by hanging a framed textile directly over the pillows.
Shawna’s first big foray into color was decorating the room she affectionately calls her “girl cave”. It constantly battles the blue room for the position of being her favorite space in the house. Again, in this space the layering of color and pattern is apparent between the painting and the chair. At the center of it all is a vintage secretary - the perfect “glamohemian” moment. Shawna admits that in the process of decorating her home she’s “become fairly bold and confident” in her use of color. “The more colorful areas of my home came together pretty effortlessly,” she tells us.
Global culture is as constant a presence in this home as Brooklyn or Virginia Beach. In the guest room the play of soft neutrals, natural wood tones and rich blue tones mixes with Shawna’s green thumb to create the perfect oasis. As in her other rooms, creating the aesthetic is a matter of mixing new pieces and vintage finds. Considering the whole of her collection she states: “I’ve thrifted a few really cool mirrors and objects. Pretty much all of the pieces I love are vintage.”
Shawna’s bedroom is a seamless mix of the opulent and the effortless. While she finds that natural colors make it difficult for her to create the bold looks that she prefers, her bedroom has been designed to be a tranquil retreat. Providing the flair she needs in the space falls to the mix of gold tones that she weaves throughout, including a pair of leopard print side chairs and the framed Egyptian papyrus art that hangs over the bed. The room is the final note in a song that Shawna spent years learning how to sing. Now that it’s out, she’s pretty happy with the results. “I love everything about my home,” she beams, “The windows, the plentiful art, the balance of bold and tasteful elements, and the fact that my decor documents the story of my life.”
See more of Shawna’s inspiring interior in our book, APHROCHIC: Celebrating The Legacy of the Black Family Home.
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