Obsidian House Taps into Africa’s Ancestral History and Creativity for Inspired Contemporary Living
The Obsidian House is a pioneering virtual concept home created with the needs of the African American family in mind. Conceived pre-lockdown and developed during the pandemic by the Black Artists + Designers Guild, led by Malene Barnett, Obsidian House is a carefully thought through space that taps into Africa’s ancestral history and creativity for an inspired take on future contemporary living. Obsidian House takes into consideration the physical, health, well-being, emotional, spiritual needs of its occupants and explores the different definitions of what it means to be a family in today’s society.
The house presents beautiful spaces individually designed by 25 members of the Guild, among them, Revamp Interior Design, Me and General Design, Shakoor Interiors, and Kelly Finely. Obsidian House is decorated with features products from talented designers and makers, among them Ethiopian/American furniture designer, Jomo Tariku, lightning designer Lani Adeoye of Studio Lani in Nigeria, South Africa’s Modern Gesture by Candice Lawrence, and Malene Barnett’s large scale ceramic Legacy wall that serves as a family timeline laden with African ancestral stories.
Detailed floor plans on the website enable you to view and explore each room and get to know the stories and meanings behind the different designs. Obsidian House is the first in series planned series of virtual homes to be situated across the US.
As part of the launch, I was invited to contribute a couple of articles to the online journal, one of which focuses on how an ancient African philosophy of belonging and community responsibility reminds us to connect and uplift each other. You can read it here.
– Tapiwa
To explore the full house visit: https://obsidianbybadg.house/
[Image credits: All images belong to BADGuild. If downloaded and used elsewhere please credit accordingly.]
