“I consider my home to be a temple, a sanctuary,” Sophia says. “It’s not enough for it to simply be functional, and beauty alone doesn’t constitute soulful. I believe there is an interior world residing inside each of us, a unique world that seeks to be expressed. As Emma Jung phrased it, ‘an inner wholeness that presses its still unfulfilled claims upon us.’ My work as a designer is to bring my interior world into reality.”

Even more impressive is that Sophia has only lived in the apartment for a little over half a year. As soon as she saw the original drab, gray walls, she rallied with her partner to paint each room in bold colors that pop — a project that truly tested their endurance over five days. Since then, Sophia has paired those hues with beautiful furniture and unique art, resulting in a home that expresses Sophia’s values and passions.

My Style: Wild Eclectic Glam

Inspiration: The concept of sanctuary, which stems from the Late Latin word sanctuarium, “a sacred place, shrine.” Thinking of home as a place for rest and worship (of whatever inspires you) is what inspires me. Also, giving old items new life. Vintage is beautiful because it’s oftentimes some of the most unique work you can find, it reduces waste, and breathes new life into pieces that have maybe lost some wind.

Favorite Element: My favorite thing about my home is the living room. The huge bay windows let in tons of light, and the gallery wall is my eclectic, glam altar to Black women and women of color. Between that and the bold colors, it’s the room that feels the most dynamic and expressive so I feel the most at home there.

Biggest Challenge: Painting. The apartment came with all cold gray walls, including some gray on the ceilings. It was brutal. I knew it needed to be painted before I could move in and I had a clear vision. A different color of paint in every room, alternating walls with white and color. My partner and I thought we could take a weekend to cover it, so I held off on moving anything in until we were done. But six rooms and two hallways (total of 36 walls) and seven colors? That took five days, working from morning until night, hiring help through Task Rabbit halfway through because we realized we were in over our heads.  I slept at my partner’s place and washed my two unpacked outfits every couple of days, used his shampoo and conditioner… it was a rough week, which finally ended with us moving my things into the apartment. We made it work, but if I ever have that big of a paint job again, I vow to hire help first thing.

Also, because I love handmade and vintage pieces, the biggest challenge has been getting pieces delivered safely from all over the world. I’ve lost out on a one-of-a-kind Lion in Frost coffee table, two 3’ tall sculptures, and so many other unique pieces just through shipping. It’s heartbreaking for a special piece I truly connected with to arrive in pieces. I’ve overcome it by shopping locally as much as possible. There are a ton of local vintage shops nearby that aren’t on IG or Yelp but have amazing finds if you dig enough. There are also a lot of vintage shops on IG that source amazing pieces, and you can always find a bunch in your area with some research. It’s been a lifesaver and an amazing community to connect with.

Proudest DIY: My leopard and gold vanity table. It started out as a broken table bought from Ohmega Salvage. The shape and the wood were gorgeous, but it needed a lot of work. I had to fill in gauges in the wood, stabilize the bottom tier of the table, reinforce the legs, and sand for what felt like forever. Once it was ready, I spray painted the frame gold and found self-adhesive leopard wallpaper to cover the tabletops. It’s one of my favorite pieces in the house.

Biggest Indulgence: My fabulous Joybird sofa. It’s the most expensive thing in my home, and it was absolutely worth it! I joke with my partner all the time that one side of the sofa is like a twin-sized bed. It’s deep and lush, so we can snuggle or snooze on it together and be totally comfy. It’s my favorite place to read a book, watch a movie, chat on the phone with family. Plus, it’s right in front of my gallery wall, so it’s the best place in the house for a killer Zoom background. It gets tons of use.

Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? The most unique thing about my home is my use of ceramic hands as hooks. I have pairs of ceramic hands that I painted gold throughout my home, holding everything from my masks and wallet to my jewelry and towels. Finding unique functionality in items others may perceive as just decorative is one of my favorite design hacks.

What are your favorite products you have bought for your home and why? All the homages to the female form. I have a 3D printed golden statue of a vulva, sculptures of the female body by Abigail Ahern, a handful of oil paintings by Senny Mau from her Little Labia series, and pieces by Marcella Colavecchio featuring unique angles and shapes hidden with the female form. It’s not just my gallery wall that is an altar to women, it’s my whole home.

Please describe any helpful, inspiring, brilliant, or just plain useful small space maximizing and/or organizing tips you have: Function can be beautiful and stunning. My style doesn’t make this obvious, but I’m a minimalist at heart. I only like having things in my home that serve a unique and specific purpose, and I prefer to shuck everything else away. Everything from storage of your pots and pans to where you store your shoes or dishes can be visually stunning. My trick? Use your walls — including your ceiling. Don’t let everything sit on the floor, bring it up. Hang your pots and pans from the ceiling, use a wall-mounted bookshelf, display your knives and cooking utensils like art, display your favorite wines and spirits on a floating shelf. By doing this, you increase floor space, which increases flow, and displaying functional things artistically forces you to keep them more organized and tidier because they shift from being simply functional to being beautiful. 

Also, even in a rental or on a budget you can do a LOT. Decals can work for everything from adding color, shape, and dimension to walls if you can’t paint, to changing the floor tiles in your bathroom, or adding a backsplash in a kitchen. I’ve done all three — the black and white tiles in my bathroom are decals and even my property manager couldn’t tell! Decals have been such an amazing find — reasonable cost, easy to apply, huge impact!

Finally, what’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? Introspection is my secret to decorating. Bring what’s inside of you out; splatter it on the walls, display it in shapes and colors, infuse it in your imagery, and reinforce it with where and how you source items for your home. Surround yourself, literally, with your innermost passions and values, and your home will transform into a sacred place of beauty and rejuvenation. 

For me, it involves raising Black women and women of color up and reflecting my sense of inner strength through bold colors, strong prints, imagery of lions, etc. When I’m decorating for myself or clients, getting a clear picture of the person’s internal landscape and reflecting that back through the home is the key to timeless and inspiring decor.

• Living Room – Sherwin-Williams “Blackberry”
• Dining Room – Sherwin-Williams “Butternut”
• Kitchen – Sherwin-Williams “Copper Mountain”
• Office – Sherwin-Williams “Bee”
• Bathroom – Sherwin-Williams “Grand Canal”
• Bedroom – Sherwin-Williams “Coral Island”

• Ridgley Faux Leather Bench — Wayfair
• Cast Metal Standing Coat Rack — Pottery Barn
• Rock on Hand Wall Mount — Interior Illusions Plus
• Hands Out Wall Mount — Interior Illusions Plus

• Lewis Sofa — Joybird in Royale Apple
• Leopard Slipper Chair — Desert Rat Vintage Home Decor, Reupholstered by Vintage on Point
• Exagoni III Side Table — Mercana
• Decorative Fishing Traps — Mood Goods
• “Hip Hop is Bigger Than The Government” Embroidered Pillow – Create the Culture
• Chi Chi Pom Pom Hook Pillow — Jungalow
• Iron Candleholders — Samaan

• Justina Blakeney
• Regina Felice
• juneandmars.com
• blkpillowcases.com
• Les Collection
• Vigan Sculplture
• 3D Printed Golden Vulva Sculpture

• Trina Dining Table — Article
• Madrid Pine Dining Chair — TOV
• Mikasa Currents Dinnerware Set — Soleil Monet
• The Everlasting Flower Arrangement — Saint Flora
• Profile Ceramic Side Table — Urban Outfitters (painted gold)
• Large Arch Decal in Yellow-Green — JL Water
• Collage Art — Adeshola Makinde

• Epicurean x Frank Lloyd Wright Chef Series Utensils — Crate & Barrel
• Copper Hanging Pot Rack — Old Dutch
• Custom Counter Shelf — Sun and Moon Designs
• Face Bookend Vase — Justina Blakeney
• Gold Solidarity Hand — Interior Illusions Plus
• Black and White Backsplash Decals — Sir Face Graphics

• Organic Mattress — Awara
• Grayson Platform Bed in Velvet Applegreen — Target
• Kate & Laural Decklyn Accent Table — Bed Bath & Beyond (spray painted teal)
• Arch that Back Vase — objet LA/NY
• Sitting Pretty Vase — Jude Jelfs
• Vintage Vanity Tray — Amo Domus
• Cast Iron Candleholders — Most Home Shop
• Andy Warhol Prints — Lab Art Italia

• Sun Shower Orient Squeeze Shower Curtain — Quiet Town
• Lola Leopard Bath Towels — Anthropologie
• Peace Hand Wall Mount — Interior Illusions Plus (painted gold)
• Squiggly Spanish Iron Candleholder — Tally Living
• Jose Ayala Sotelo Mexican Man Sculpture — Pochteca Gallery
• Lion Rug — Smallable
• Black and White Decal Floor Tiles — Snazzy Decal
• Eye Glasses Shelf — Beaver Lake Wood Company
• Ladorada Black and White Tissue Box — Alt Space Curated
• Wall Art — Marcella Colavecchio

• Sauder Coral Cape L-Shaped Desk — Houzz
• 1960s Ceramic Urn Lamp — Memento Assemblage
• WaterRower Rowing Machine Model #300 S4 — MoMA Design Store
• Retro Black Leather Heavy Punching Bag (5’) — Modern Vintage Player
• 8’x4’ Roll Up Wrestling Mat — AK Athletics
• Decorated Skull Bookends — Nichole Washington
• Double Arch Decals in Violet and Metallic Gold — Printex Designs
• “The Thinker” Bodhisattva sculpture — Tomoko Suzuki
• Vintage Filiform African Statue — Amo Domus

Thanks Sophia!

This house tour’s responses were edited for length and clarity.

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