For Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason, a room should tell a story. The founders of AphroChic came to interior design from law and academia, and they have built a style that sits where modern design meets global culture, specifically the culture of the African diaspora.
In this sit-down with Ellen Gefen, they explain how AphroChic grew from a blog into products and interiors, why they call their rooms “narrative spaces,” and the stories behind the baskets, wallpaper, lighting and juju hats in the room around them.
Key Takeaways
- AphroChic began as a blog in 2007, moved into products two years later, and started designing interiors in 2013.
- Neither founder comes from a strictly design background, which shaped a style built on storytelling.
- They design “narrative spaces,” so no two of their rooms look the same.
- They argue that culture and modern design work better together, and that you should not have to choose between them.
- Handmade pieces can carry meaning and support the communities that make them.
From Blog to Products to Interiors
AphroChic started in 2007 as a blog about what inspired its founders and about culture in the design world. Two years later they began developing their own products, starting with soft goods and wallpaper. In 2013 they began designing interior spaces.
Their path was not a typical one. As Bryan explains, when they started AphroChic, Jeanine was a policy attorney working on anti-domestic violence law in California, and he was, in his words, “wandering around collecting master’s degrees,” including one in African diaspora studies.
What Is a Narrative Space?
That background helped them create an aesthetic they describe as narrative. “We always like to call our spaces narrative spaces,” the founders say. “There’s a story that we’re trying to tell.”
For them, design sits at the junction of modern interior design and global culture, and specifically African diaspora culture. Because everyone has a different story to tell, they enjoy the fact that no two of their rooms ever look the same.
Why Culture and Modern Design Belong Together
The founders describe their approach as starting with heritage and culture. One of them studied at Spelman, a historically Black college, learning about the many ways African Americans tell their stories through literature and film, and loves the idea of doing the same within the context of home.
The pair also describe AphroChic as “a humanizing project” that shows the Black home. Everyone has a home, they say, and everyone wants a beautiful space where they feel safe and comfortable.
When they started, the founders say, people often felt they had to choose between a space that was very modern but did not tell much of their story, and a space that was very cultural but felt dated. “We always argued that culture and design actually work better together,” they say. The work is in finding ways to blend the two seamlessly, so that a room has “a coherent thought behind it” and is more than nice things arranged in a room.
The Stories Behind the Pieces in the Room
Handmade baskets
The baskets behind the pair come from a collective that works with women in Rwanda and Ghana. The baskets are handmade with water-based dyes, and selling them helps the women build small businesses and support their children. Jeanine, who used to work in domestic violence prevention, says they love that a great piece can also give back to a community.
Artisan lighting
AphroChic’s lighting collection is made with artisans in Morocco, who make each piece and do the piercing by hand.
The Ailey wallpaper
One wallpaper in the room is called Ailey, and its design shows women dancing. One of the founders had a cousin who was an Alvin Ailey dancer, and the family was always proud to watch her perform. The paper is an homage to that. For more ways to use wallpaper, see Unique Wallpaper Ideas for Your Home.
Juju hats
The juju hats on the wall come from Cameroon, where, the pair explain, they are worn in ceremonies by the royal family and high nobility. Used in design, they now appear in new colors and styles. Read more in Juju Hats Make Traditional African Headdress Trending Home Decor.
How to Bring More of Your Own Story Home
The pair’s closing thought is that all of this is “a way to help people express themselves and create a space that really feels like home.” Drawing on what they describe in the interview:
- Start with your own heritage and the stories you want a room to tell.
- Choose pieces with a history or a maker behind them.
- Mix them into a modern room instead of treating culture and modern design as a choice.
Related reading: African Luxury Home Decor and Lighting by Ngala Trading Co., Patti Carpenter on Artisan Connections, Color Trends, and Why Markets Still Matter, and our roundup of interior designers’ favorite black and white paint shades, which also features AphroChic.
