A Smart & Stylish New Bedroom for “Black-ish” Star Yara Shahidi
Yara Shahidi, who stars on ABC’s Black-ish (and an upcoming spin-off called College-ish) is living the dream—but she is also living at home, so she wanted her bedroom to reflect her personal style and to work as a functional place to study, conduct business and unwind. Because of her busy schedule, Yara turned to the online design service, Laurel & Wolf, to help make her goal of an organized and stylish bedroom a reality. Yara opened up her new bedroom for a room tour. Check it out.
What excited you most about designing your room?
I wanted my room to reflect my personality and uniqueness. To be able to design my room, I feel like it was a chance to finally have it become more of my space. My life is so vivid, and I like to think I’m just as vivid, and I wanted my space to match that.
What did your space look like before the makeover?
Even though I have been in this house for about a year now, my room had very minimal decoration. I had my bed pushed into the corner by the window. I had a few things taped on the wall and I had a lot of pieces that weren’t very coordinated. Because I felt like I was in this constant state of transition, I also didn’t have the chance to really customize my space and really make it mine. I think what’s nice is that now, my room is definitely more intentional. It was a room just to basically go to sleep in and then wake up and do other things in. But now, I can LIVE in my room.
It was a room just to basically go to sleep in and then wake up and do other things in. But now, I can LIVE in my room.
What were you hoping to change about your room?
Overall I feel like it was about how to utilize the space to the best of my ability. My room is really the center of how I run my personal empire. It’s the center of it —the kingdom and the castle. So, the fact that I have so much more storage space now is fantastic and I can be more intentional about what’s lying around now that the space has been fully optimized. It’s no longer: “This piece is laying out because I have nowhere to put it.” Everything has a place.
What was the design experience like working entirely online?
It was really cool. When I first got access to the online platform, I was like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I basically got to see my room before it happened. It’s super interactive and it works perfectly with the kind of schedule I have. I ranged from checking in on my project at 6:00 a.m. in the morning to 11:00 p.m. at night.
It’s also cool because it’s really interactive. When I mentioned, “Okay, I want a desk/side table,” they responded with, “Here are three options,” and then I would respond, “Okay, I love this one. But you know what? I’m not a huge fan of this blanket.” And then the designer would reply, “Let’s swap out the blanket,” so it was collaborative.
How would you say the new space reflects who you are at this point in life?
I feel like it’s a more mature Yara than my old space. It’s exactly what I needed. I can choose whether I want to listen to music and get some work done or have a mini dance party or whatever it might be. It’s definitely more functional to the kind of lifestyle I have as well. Everything in my life is all over the place, so I needed a room where I can not only put everything away that I need to put away but also a room that is a comfortable space to live in.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re hanging out in your room?
I have light bulbs that change color so I usually put on some blue light and listen to music. There’s something about it that enhances the songs. At one point, I used to have playlists on my phone that were titled “Blue,” “Yellow,” “Pink,” etc. – dedicated to songs that were different colors in my head. Because of that, my room has basically become my mini studio where I don’t make music but just take it in. I also love getting curled up and listening to either a podcast or an old radio show until I fall asleep.
What are some of your favorite new pieces?
That’s a difficult question! I would say the cork board is one of my favorite pieces. I know that in a matter of days it will be filled because I come from a vision board family and so I feel like cork boards have been the center of our life when it comes to projecting what you want.
I also really love my desk as I now have a space to do work. In a given hour it can range from AP stats to conference calls, so it’s really nice to now have a dedicated space for that.
What are some of your most important belongings?
I definitely have a lot of knick-knacks and books in my room that are very important. And my cameras—I have to display them. I feel those belongings are a key part of who I am.
What inspires your sense of style?
I feel like travel has made my design style ever-changing. My room includes a lot of mementos from where I’ve been—whenever we travel, I like to come back with one thing.
Resources
**Yara worked with Laurel & Wolf designer Kimberly Winthrop on her bedroom makeover.