AD ICONIC HOME

Elaine Griffin is one of 16 designers featured
in Architectural Digest’s Iconic Home Showhouse!

 

The Iconic Home, a first-of-its-kind partnership between Architectural Digest and the Black Interior Designers Network, is officially open! The history-making virtual showhouse features a roster of exclusively Black interior designers and architects. It’s the Met Ball of the design world, and the season’s not-to-be-missed cultural event.

ADPro reports:

“The Iconic Home, a first-of-its-kind partnership between Architectural Digest and the Black Interior Designers Network, officially opens its door this week. The virtual designer show house opened on November 18, and viewers can expect to see exciting and innovative design solutions conceived by leading Black design talents from across the country.

The architectural design of the home, envisioned as a modernist retreat in upstate New York, was conceptualized by Samantha Josaphat and Luis Medina of Studio 397 Architecture, who prioritized indoor-outdoor living and the home’s natural surroundings, which are highlighted through the residence’s many vistas.

Fifteen interior design firms fitted out the interiors, with every room from the garage and laundry room to the kitchen and living room fully transformed into inspiring, immersive spaces featuring products from established brands and emerging makers alike. Elaine Griffin created her entryway and powder room in homage to the late hip-hop executive Andre Harrell. She chose luxurious details that Harrell would appreciate, ranging from the powder room’s leather floor to its Caesarstone surfaces that resemble tiger’s eye. Lee Jofa’s Niels bench, Circa Lighting’s Bayview chandelier, and Jomo Tariku’s Nyala chair are stylish touches that enliven the foyer.

The virtual experience provides 360-degree photorealistic renderings, shoppable products, insights into the talented minds of the designers, and more. Take the tour of The Iconic Home.

The show house was made possible by Caesarstone, CB2, Crate & Barrel, Gaggenau, Interface®, LG Signature, Purple Innovation, Inc., and The Shade Store, whose products also grace the dwelling.

About the Black Interior Designers Network:

Founded in 2010, the Black Interior Designers Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion within the interior design industry by highlighting designers of color and supporting Black designers with business development opportunities. The Black Interior Designers Network works to create a rich network of resources for members, colleagues, suppliers, manufacturers, and media entities that showcase the breadth of Black interior designers’ creativity, influence and professional contributions, ultimately helping to close the opportunity and income gap of the minority community.”

— Allie Weiss

 

Room Inspiration & Design Concept

My foyer and powder room are in homage to the late hip hop executive Andre Harrell. Andre was an iconic trailblazer of style, elegance and savoir-faire. He didn’t grow up with the finer things, but was blessed with a scholar’s eye, a showman’s sense of style, and a passion for learning how the other half lived. Whether conquering a sound, a trend, a look, or a lifestyle, his grasp was both firm and authentic. He took the time to understand the nuances of luxury and the stylistic differences between shouting, whispering, and innuendo. No matter how grand and fabulous his lifestyle, though (and very grand it was), it was still always deeply grounded in soul.

I’m indescribably honored to have been asked to design the Iconic Home’s foyer and powder room — for designers, these are the two most important rooms of a house. Foyers set the style, tone and taste level for the rooms to come and introduce you to the people who live there. If Oprah says that "your home should rise to greet you," then your foyer is where your house says "hi.” And waves hello! Foyers send you out into the world every day and welcome you home nightly — they’re like the nurturing “Mom” of your house in her Sunday best. (Mudrooms are House Mom in her yoga pants!) Foyers should never be overlooked spaces; they should never be excessively cluttered; and they should always be the best- and most strategically-lighted public spaces in your house.

While foyers should be task-oriented and autobiographical, powder rooms and half baths, on the other hand, are meant to be theatrical — they're the drag queens of your home! If guests don't exit your powder room still talking about it the first time they visit, then honey, you have not finished decorating!! They're one of the few spaces where more is always better and where lavish is but a starting adjective.

Every surface in a powder room should be loved up and tricked out — walls, flooring, ceiling and furnishings (good taste typically dictates that only one of these should be the star; the rest, relegated to quieter, supporting roles).

What I most hope showhouse visitors take away is the layers of warmth and humanity that permeate my spaces. It’s both humbling and empowering to have the eyes of the world upon America’s Black interior design professionals today, the long-sought dream of an overlooked community.

Andre Harrell commanded an industry by artfully monitoring the pulse of all America, but he never forgot that his vision was from the perspective of a man of color, no matter how stratospheric his success. I hope you feel his signature warmth, style, soul and groundedness in the rooms I've designed in his honor.

 
 

Take the 360 degree AD Iconic Home tour