Feature in Architectural Digest: 10 Black Women Changing the Architecture and Design Space

When Neffi Walker gave birth to her daughter, Nile, and moved to the suburbs of New Jersey, the experience would be a blessing in ways that she could never have imagined. “I was struggling with postpartum and needed an outlet to get my creative juices flowing, so I leaned into the construction and interior design of our midcentury-modern gem,” she explains. “After the full renovation was complete, I realized how therapeutic and soothing it was for me to recreate an environment and started to look at my hobby as a profession.”

Now with a decade of experience under her belt, the interior designer has become a household name within the Black community. Walker is all about embracing her Afro-Latina heritage, so she pours that rich culture into every aspect of her curations. Last year, she opened the flagship store for The Black Home in Newark, New Jersey—a location that allows her to preserve a piece of one of the few remaining Black cities in the region. For those who didn’t have the honor of growing up in a Harlem brownstone next door to Dapper Dan like Walker, her welcoming shop is the next best thing. She currently has another store opening in the works slated for the late spring.

Architectural Digest: From your point of view, what should the future of design look like?

Neffi Walker: I believe designers of color should be more of a normality in the industry. To help push that narrative forward, I mentor high school students and have them accompany me in the store and on projects so they can see firsthand what a day in the life of this business entails. 

What piece of advice would you give to BIPOC who are interested in design but don’t know how or where to start?

I always suggest starting at home with small projects or offering your friends free design [services] to get active. Take photos and videos of all your projects and create a social media page. To date, all of my clients slid into my DMs and every project has been [secured through] word-of-mouth referrals. I started without schooling at first but knew I had an eye for design. So just start, that’s my advice.

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https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/black-women-architects-and-designers