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Home & Texture: How A Black Millennial Interior Designer Is Bringing Belonging To Her Peers Nationwide

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As an elementary school principal by day and designer by night, Laquita Tate first delved into her love of interior decorating in the hours when she wasn’t at school or spending time with her husband and two sons. However, the Memphis, Tennessee native recalls her love for design starting at a much younger age.

“I’ve always loved interior design, but didn’t realize it could be a career,” Tate, who used to spend hours looking at every intricate detail in the latest home decor magazines amazed by what could be cultivated within a space, said.

“Once I graduated with my Ph.D. in Education, I had all of this extra time on my hands, so I started redesigning my home room by room. I enjoyed every moment of the process,” she shared. From there, Tate knew that design was what she wanted to do as a second career. And while engaging in her own personal home decorating process, she decided to take her social media followers along for the ride. Tate grew amazed by her followers’ responses to her work and how quickly her reach began to scale. This prompted her to launch Laquita Tate Interior Styling & Designs in 2019.

For Tate, who now both transforms minds at a school she leads and helps clients create spaces where their passions come to life, she shares a key to her success has been starting with a comprehensive understanding of what each party needs. She’s now sharing those jewels of wisdom with Home & Texture, one of the first lifestyle brands to celebrate Black and multicultural millennial homes, on the brand’s signature new show House Tours.

Touring Tate’s Home With Home & Texture

Tate was excited about the opportunity to share her home with Home & Texture, given the unique storytelling angle of the brand. “I wanted people to be able to see the full scope of my home, not just snapshots. It is really a beautiful space that evokes a sense of belonging,” Tate said. Home & Texture House Tours aim to be synonymous with affording viewers the opportunity to feel like they are walking through a space and taking in all the elements of that space from designers that look like them and who hold a sense of connectedness to their culture.

“It offers Black millennial homeowners a destination to learn, grow, and find the products and resources they need to build their forever homes,” Melody Bostic Brown, Blavity Inc.’s Associate Vice President and Content Lead, said. By encouraging homeowners and decorators to go to the depths of laying roots in the spaces they call their own, Home & Texture is inspiring home transformations infused with Black heritage that’s couched in love and individuality. “Millennials can explore, connect with resources, and shop on a site by a brand that features a plethora of designers’ tips and products with them in mind,” Brown expands.

Tate’s Thoughtful Design Recommendations

When asked about the thoughtfulness that went into curating the spaces in Tate’s Home & Texture House Tour, she mentions that there were three key questions she has asked herself and encourages those decorating their homes to similarly ask themselves. With her clients, she has witnessed all design decisions flow easily from the answers to these questions:

  • What’s your aesthetic: There are over 20 interior design aesthetics. From modern to mid-century, bohemian, and contemporary. By knowing what clients are drawn to she’s found it easier to select the pieces that work with what they enjoy and what may visually inspire them.
  • What’s your budget: It’s easy to dream a million dreams for what a space can look like, however, Tate has found, when creating the space you want while not breaking the bank, it is important to budget in a way that creates ease to enjoy the fruits of your labor. “Knowing your budget will enable you to determine items that can be purchased to curate the space you desire and/or identify the renovations that will be needed,” Tate said.
  • How do you want the space to feel: “When you think of the activities you’d like to engage in within the space and the joy they may bring you, what is the outcome and how would you like it to feel?” she asked. She’s found this helps with planning the floor plan of the space and the items recommended that evoke that feeling.

For example, Tate describes her home’s aesthetic and feel by sharing: “I really wanted my home to reflect the people that live in it. We are an African-American couple, so I brought in artwork by Black artists. And textures are part of our heritage, so in came textures of all types. We are bold people, so I made bold choices like painting a room—including the fireplace—all black. My wallpaper choices also have bold colors and patterns because our culture is full of both. These are things that I am naturally drawn to that speak to who we are.”

Essentials For Curating Passion-filled Spaces

Tate also believes a successful design is one that speaks to someone’s passions. She has witnessed this occur best when the design process for a space feels timely, but not rushed. “You may pick up objects along the way as you are on vacation or you may want to incorporate family heirlooms. These things take time and that’s okay,” Tate said. Similarly, she’s found some home decorators end up purchasing a product, returning it, and then finding they are back at a store to purchase another–a process that can take multiple store visits and varied purchase and return lines to navigate.

The push and pull of this process, Tate believes, enables home decorators to ensure the spaces they design in represent the people that occupy the space with the items, objects, and/or colors that speak to them. “Buy pieces that give you life. Even if this means waiting until you have the budget to purchase those must-have items,” Tate closed.

Tate looks forward to continuing to build and inspire the next generation of homeowners and decorators.

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