I moved into my condo almost five years ago, and I just decided to pour into my space. My move was a transition—from my mom’s place to a new home while attending grad school. Adulthood was a simulation I tried to negate, but my momentous lifestyle became overwhelming.
I lost my brother and aunt a few weeks apart, graduated, navigated my career, became unemployed, then pivoted as a freelancer while grieving again, when my beloved pup passed away. Tears of agony and despair echoed off my walls, and the remnants of not choosing to be intentional were reflected in my house, especially during shifts in the seasons.
My community supported me throughout my many phases. Summertimes, I stepped outside and showered my loved ones with my embrace, but every time I opened my front door, I only existed in a place where I lay my head at night.
Growing up, my childhood room was my sanctuary. I painted it with ultra-feminine hues of bright teal and pink and covered my bed with a chic zebra-print cover. How did my personality shine through every aspect of my childhood room, only to have my broken spirit wallow after leaving? I had had enough. It was time to redesign my space and finally feel welcome. After navigating depression from being laid off from her corporate job, Tishayla Williams used her inventiveness and Pinterest as her moodboard to refurnish her apartment. The owner of The TW Collective dedicated her livelihood to advocating for an equitable workplace for Black women. However, she matched her grandiloquent persona in her home.
The businesswoman connects her home furnishings and style to her view of the world. Enamored by Girlfriends—a show where Black women expressed themselves through their threads and careers—Williams used Black media as a beacon of creativity. Williams advises those to use their imagination and instill positive affirmations within their homes to combat seasonal depression. Whether it’s a novel, notebook, or knick-knack, to Williams, subtle home favors can bring warmth and delight to one’s space.
“You are your environment. Behind every successful Black woman is herself,” she said to EBONY. “If you deal with depression, sometimes you can feel like [your home] can kind of turn into a cave. Learn what you like and what you don’t like.”
As a true fashionista, Sarah Seung-McFarland began to blossom in her stylistic endeavors when she decided to pursue environmental in turn fashion psychology, an emotional support entity where colors, design, and fabrics intersect. Though she says as individuals we love to admire “beautiful things,” there needs to be a balance. “Having a million-dollar space or having a million-dollar outfits not going to fix [depression], but if you look at how art therapy is about using art to create well-being, or a sense of well-being, it functions like art,” she told EBONY.
Seung-McFarland emphasizes being intentional when revamping your home while recognizing the patterns of depression and the three cycles that trail with it—biological, psychological, and environmental. The psychologist recommends proper treatment for seasonal depression, whether that’s traditional therapy, mentorship, or companionship. With people suffering from seasonal spring-summer depression, where the behavioral patterns like irritation, sensory overload, and feeling unsettled, she suggests decluttering and rearranging one’s space with lighter fabrics to create a better feel and “flow” to the environment.
As someone who’s been in a rough space, Kia Weatherspoon acknowledges that those using design to heal depression should be treated as a multisensory, multi-textured escape, giving them autonomy over the visual and physical elements suited to their sense of their home. The interior designer said her journey was rooted in “sheer love” when she designed spaces for survivors of domestic violence. With the victims being women of color, she realized those who need well-curated spaces don’t have access to them. She built her practice, Determined By Design, which redefines equity with Black and brown design spaces.
She never plays it safe when it comes to design. Weatherspoon recommends highlighting treasured items, such as textures and shapes, and their contrasts. She says created spaces are not about coordination. Whether it’s the scenery of new drapes flowing in the wind or the combination of a textured, well-decorated throw pillow with a chaise, creating that dynamic fulfills one’s place. “It’s that tactile combination of what you see and what you feel around you to really help with touching all your emotional needs from a visual and a sensory perspective,” she told EBONY.
As a luxury connoisseur, I curated a wardrobe full of pre-loved and designer gems, and needed my home to reflect my “flyness.”I bought a leopard Art Deco pillow to add more eccentricity to my stone-brown couch. The theme for my “new home” became comfort meets très chic—an homage to the inner teen, I no longer mourned. When my friend departed for a new city, she gifted me a beautiful wood-framed mirror.
I left it in the same spot for two years. However, that mirror became my power source, and I hung it on the wall in my hallway, making sure that every time I pass by, my image remains both euphoric and real regardless of my circumstances.
My bedroom became the ultimate it-girl lair. I showered my room with my Y2K, maximalist aura. I draped a raspberry Juicy Couture bedspread over my Victorian-esque bedframe. I contrasted it with multicolored faux-fur animal-print and two pink-matching abstract pillows.
I bought a modern LED light vanity beside my bed. Not only is the vanity used for storage, but it is also used for content creation and as a final nod to my creativity. On opposite ends of my bed sat my white lip-shaped lamp and white bookshelf. I bought two tiger-print rugs for the area for a retro feel.
Lastly, I vowed to give myself flowers, both realistically and metaphorically, as I transform my home into what I dreamed of years ago. Though there is still more work to be done on decorating my personal palace, it has finally come to fruition.