Design Stardom: 3 Interior Design Mavens You Should Know

Interior designers are a dime a dozen these days. Alongside the foodie craze, living beautifully has spawned a movement of its own. And while black designers have remained, for the most part, a blip on the shelter magazine radar -- arguably the pinnacle of design acclaim -- some are actually making a way in the largely white-dominated field.

Perhaps it's the new wave of young, fresh-thinking digital publications they have to thank. Matchbook magazine, for example, made a bold step toward diversity this month, featuring lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Jeanine Hayes and stylist Manvi Drona-Hidalgo in a colorful spread at Hayes' Philadelphia home.

Or perhaps it's blogs and social media sites where credit is due. Twitter, the platform for all manner of creative musings, is where we discovered Atlanta designer Kimberly Ward and her homage to 20 of the best African-American interior designers of our day. It's also where we honed in on an idea that seems to be the real key to design success: having a point of view. A unique approach is about more than creating a beautiful room, and it's precisely where these three rising talents struck gold.

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The Master Thrifter

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For Rashon Carraway, thrifting began as a way to personalize his wardrobe. "Coming from a very small town in South Carolina, everyone practically dressed the same," he says. "When growing up we were not always fortunate to buy the latest labels and shopping second-hand for clothing was what we did."

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For Rashon Carraway, thrifting began as a way to personalize his wardrobe. "Coming from a very small town in South Carolina, everyone practically dressed the same," he says. "When growing up we were not always fortunate to buy the latest labels and shopping second-hand for clothing was what we did."

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[dyhnic]

04:35 AM on 10/11/2011

When I saw so haute more than one year ago, I was hooked. The site is simple yet full of style. The articles are well balanced with the images and text. The interior pictures were taken in clear, colorful, composition. The site is an inspiration. More people should pay attention to their interior, because there you come home.

[LeRapportMinori]

04:38 PM on 08/24/2011

Thank you for such a great article. Though it was not as extensive as I had hoped, it was still refreshing to see designers of color get some much needed spotlight. It is sad that in spite of the public's accessibility to information that has not been a reliable platform for minority designers to get fair and adequate press for consumers to see that we are out here. Hence the reason why we have devoted our all of our passions and energies to supporting such a platform at Le Rapport Minoritaire. Check us out today!

[celeste alexander]

08:21 AM on 08/22/2011

I cant believe you havent heard of me CELESTE ALEXANDER www.decoratingsista.vpweb.com I really went to school for interior design. Ive been "working" since 1999 and just finshed a day spa in Alpharetta GA Its amazing how bloggers and hobbiest get a lot of credit now days. I will have to hire some one to blog about me this is a no shame plug post

[kimberly ward]

06:21 PM on 08/19/2011

First of all thanks so much for sharing. I love this article because it shows the diversity in the design community. We are representing many more aspects of design and thats amazing. Thanks for mentioning the top 20 list from my blog. The designers on the list are on fire! Since posting the list, they have stepped up their public profiles and made themselves more accessible to those seeking insight into how we live. I feel that the best is truly yet to come. Thanks a million for this article!
Kimberly from Pinkeggshell

[trinettedease]

10:51 AM on 08/12/2011

Thank you for such an inspiring article. In 2007, I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design and since then has fortunately gained experience in commercial and residential design. I'm currently an Interior Design Instructor and I will definately share this article with my students. I hope it will serve as an inspiration for them as it has for me.

[CurvyDollBlog]

11:19 PM on 08/11/2011

This is a great article. I too like home decorating. It's great to see so many ethnic designers. Keep it up guys and thank you Jessica for sharing this with us. I checked out there respective blogs/website and will be visiting more often. I'm very inspired.