A powerful, visually stunning celebration of Black homeownership, featuring inspiring homes and family histories of notable Black Americans—including chef Alexander Smalls and actor Danielle Brooks.

“The most important design book of our time.”—Stacey Lindsay, design editor, Camille Styles

Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason invite you into the intimate spaces of actors and musicians, the creative studios of artists and curators, the “boss” homes of entrepreneurs and executives, “off-the-beaten-path” homes that defy the stereotypes of urban living, and places filled with pieces handed down from generations past. Tour the creative and culturally infused Washington, DC, rowhouse of author Jason Reynolds. Take in the bursts of color and layers of memory that fill the Harlem Renaissance–inspired interior of renowned chef Alexander Smalls. And get inspired by the design of actor Danielle Brooks and her husband Dennis Gelin’s Brooklyn townhome, where Haitian heritage and South Carolina roots meet.
 
Showcasing the amazing diversity of the Black experience through striking interiors, stories of family and community, and histories exploring the obstacles Black homeowners have faced for generations, this groundbreaking book honors the journey, recognizes the struggle, and celebrates the joy that is the Black family home.

BIO

Jeanine Hays is an accomplished writer, interior and product designer, and together with her husband, Bryan Mason, is the founder and creative director of AphroChic, a brand dedicated to celebrating design, culture, creativity, health and wellness throughout the African diaspora. A graduate of Spelman College and American University Washington College of Law, Hays pursued a career as a policy attorney, working with the Obama administration to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Hays and her husband are the authors of “Remix: Decorating with Culture, Objects and Soul” and the new, “AphroChic: Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Family Home External,” which will be featured at the 2023 National Book Festival.

REVIEWS

“AphroChic transforms stories about home into reflections on plantations where ancestors were enslaved; a conversation about design into a recollection of the Great Migration that brought a generation of refugees north and west; and a homeowner’s stylish love of color into a rebuke of this country’s efforts to cover over its past with thin coats of beige and gray.” -- Robin Givhan, Senior Critic-at-Large, The Washington Post

“This book is an homage to cultural alchemists who transmute the material of everyday life—experimenting with color and texture, playing with pattern and placemaking, and crafting new stories of belonging that ripple across generations.” -- Ruha Benjamin, professor of African American Studies, Princeton University

“With AphroChic, Jeanine Hays and Bryan Mason have written the most important design book of our time.” -- Stacey Lindsay, design editor, Camille Styles

“Sixteen tours thrillingly document Black homes in Bryan Mason and Jeanine Hays’s AphroChic, at once a rousing celebration of Black homeownership and a salient reminder of the obstacles that many still face.” -- Parker Bowie Larson, style director, ELLE Decor

“Jeanine and Bryan laid down the magic recipe: design sparks the eye, story opens the heart, and space moves the soul. AphroChic continues to celebrate, elevate, and inspire us all.” -- Kim Myles, HGTV host

[H]  Clarkson Potter Publishers  /  November 15, 2022

1.02" H x 10.55" L x 8.27" W (2.8 lbs) 256 pages