12 Black Female Design Influencers To Follow on Instagram

Seeing people winning design competitions, starring in shows on HGTV, and building beautiful homes from the ground up truly inspires me. When very few (if any) of those people look like you though, that inspiration can easily turn into hesitation, and your goals can seem less attainable. It goes without saying: Representation matters.

In the world of interior design, celebrating diverse artists and designers opens the door for even more talent to be developed and one day discovered. If you’ve wanted to be part of that process and are looking for new influencers to follow, you’ll be so happy you found these 12 Black home and design tastemaker accounts. I know I am!

Designer Carmeon Hamilton’s star is on the rise. She was one of Apartment Therapy’s 2021 Design Changemakers back in January and recently won HGTV’s “Design Star: Next Gen” competition. Hamilton loves decorating with plants and using paint to personalize spaces. Her favorite shades? Dark and moody ones! She has confidently incorporated the color black into almost every room in her home, giving it a modern, bohemian look that I know she’s going to bring to all the spaces she’ll be redoing in her upcoming HGTV television show, too.

Ursula Carmona goes all in on DIY projects and pulls off custom touches that look totally pro. For that reason, O’Henry Magazine called Carmona the Queen of DIY in their spring home and garden issue, and I have to agree. Her kitchen makeover, featuring navy blue cabinetry, was one for the books! The perfect mix of traditional and modern with just a hint of glam, you’ll love her feed if you’re into light and bright interiors with luxe touches.

For a master class on how to style your home using nothing but neutrals, check out Eureka Haney’s Instagram account. She’s all about using texture and earthy tones to make any space calm and cozy. No matter what angle she captures her home from, you’ll always see a new, small detail you’ll likely want to recreate in your space. Luckily, you can shop her home and find great decor pieces and furniture at her online boutique, MCC Shoppe.

The Pinch Plate Party has probably made it to your Pinterest board at least once, and you just didn’t realize it. Well, now you will! One of the best parts about following Lauren is that all of her projects are budget-friendly and feel attainable. Her design style mixes bright colors and neutral tones with handmade touches. She has an approach to DIY and decorating that’s fun and inviting, which makes you feel like a guest at a her party… hence the name.

Beauty expert Anna Groves has a DIY home design aesthetic that’s equally fresh, bright and modern. She incorporates textured decor throughout her home with pieces like woven baskets and weathered vases full of tons of lush greenery. Groves’ feed is full of inspiration, from home to style to how to take care of your body and age gracefully. She isn’t shy about talking about her influencer journey and feeling like she “started too late.” When you follow her though, checking in on her day starts feeling more and more like catching up with a friend. She’s quickly become one of my favorites.

DIYer Kayla Simone is a literal ray of sunshine. There’s seriously so much to love about her design style, and every DIY project she does is better than the next. Watch her bring her ideas to life through her interactive Instagram stories and creative reels. She’s just as fun on Tik Tok, so you can follow her there, too.

In addition to her beautifully decorated home, content creator and blogger Elena Lohse of This House 5000 has a pretty cool vase collection, which is reason to follow her in and of itself. She and her husband, whom she lovingly refers to as “Bob The Builder,” team up on tons of jaw-dropping DIYs, so get ready for a laundry list of projects you’ll want to try yourself. Plants are a staple in Elena’s home, and her style is warm, neutral, and heavy on the cozy vibes. She recently finished a kitchen renovation she designed herself, complete with a skylight that’s to die for.

Ashley Basnight is a boss with a power tool, and her design style is just as impressive. Each room in Ashley’s home looks like it’s straight out of a magazine. Her guest room is modern and moody, while her living room is lighter and brighter. Basnight makes her own decorating rules and proves that you can successfully mix different design styles together, even under the same roof.

Is Sophia Cook the new Queen of Color?! Her home and personal style are so colorful and eclectic, you can’t not smile when she comes across your feed. In that way, following Cook is like a breathe of fresh air. In addition to her two-toned yellow kitchen cabinets, her home features walls painted fun colors like yellow, mint green, royal purple, and blush pink. There’s so much life and joy in her home that I know she’ll instantly become a favorite follow for you like she did for me.

Blogger and content creator Carli Alves of Made by Carli has an easy breezy design style that skews coastal, probably because she lives in Rhode Island and embraces that classic New England aesthetic. Paired with wicker and rattan, her use of whites and creamy colors make her home look like a retreat. Alves does play around with dark colors in certain spaces, too, but always in a way that’s still cohesive with the rest of her house. Check out her bathroom with black hexagon tile if you need proof, and get ready for all the inspiration if you follow her — she’s really turned her 1940s house into a home.

Kay Volmar has taken her 1912 fixer upper to new heights with lots of white paint and pretty rustic touches. She moved from New York to Florida, buying her fixer-upper sight-unseen, and has managed to turn it into the perfect charming cottage. One of the best parts of Volmar’s design style is all the natural elements she incorporates in her home. Wooden touches, from exposed beams to flooring, make her home look like the most Instagram-worthy Airbnb you’d never want to leave.

Janea Brown is joy personified. Her warm, inviting personality clearly translates throughout her home with hits of earthy colors and subtle luxe touches. Cane, wood, and white are consistent themes inside her LA rental, while gold accents and trailing plants placed throughout make it feel more personal and luxurious. If Brown’s apartment and feed aren’t goals, then I don’t know what is.