House Proud

For too long, Black-designed homes have been omitted from discussions about influential architecture and interior design. With House Proud, writer and curator Kemide Lawson sets the record straight. She brings into view homes from across the globe – ranging from the pre-historic to the contemporary – in a stunning collection of Black design.

This carefully curated compilation of houses spotlights the unique and important design culture of Africa and the African diaspora: from the Tamberma Tatas of Togo and Benin and the chattel homes of Barbados, through to the grandeur of the Palace of Sans Souci in Haiti and Madam CJ Walker’s New York retreat. It features the homes of contemporary Black British creatives, such as Yinka Shonibare and Reggie Yates. Each home tells a unique story – of authentic living, heritage, innovation, resistance and power – and all come together in a colourful and insightful celebration of Black architecture and design.

Richly illustrated with archival and contemporary images, the book serves as both an inspirational resource for homeowners, architects and designers, and an important visual compendium of some of the world’s most beautiful – and overlooked – homes.

Kemide Lawson is a writer and cultural thinker of Nigerian and Jamaican heritage. Her work explores African and African-diaspora homes across time and place, celebrating what she describes as 'ancestral intelligence' – the creativity, technology and spiritual knowledge embedded in how Black people have historically made home – and how these principles can be applied to modern day life. She is the founder of Cottage Noir, a visual platform dedicated to Black homes of the past and present, and the creator of Afri-tectural Digest, her Substack publication exploring Black history and culture through the lens of the home. Lawson has curated an installation for the Museum of the Home, written for magazines including Livingetc and Harper’s Bazaar, and consulted for agencies including Stylus and Selfgood on future trends and cultural identity. She lives in an 18th century cottage in London with her husband and two daughters. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok @cottagenoir.