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@BlackHomesUK, the Insta collective celebrating the homes & culture of the UK's Black community
Up until recently, it was hard to find any visible Black Instagram accounts focused on interior design or home renovations. 'There was nobody that looked like us in this forum of home accounts,' says Michelle Healey, who created her own Instagram account, @BlackFamilyVictorianRenovation in September last year. 'I changed my account name three times to make it very apparent that we were a Black family doing a renovation.'
Over time, as Michelle’s followers grew, she embarked on a mission to find more Black home accounts that she could relate to – but it wasn't easy. 'I was having to look for people's hands and feet, then I'd message them,' Michelle reveals.
Soon enough Michelle set up a community on Instagram – Melanated Renovators – with 31 members.
'It became our safe space to have those conversations that you wouldn't have in another arena,' Michelle explains. 'We were sharing tradespeople, renovation woes and interior styles. Then as the George Floyd murder happened, it shook us within our community, and we just felt like it was a really good time to create our own table, instead of begging others to let us join the table.'
From there, Black Homes UK was born. Today, there are seven co-hosts – Michelle, Gemma Miller, George Man, Christianah Afeniforo, Maria Shod, Sabrina McIntosh and Olivia Likosso. They are all original members of the Melanated Renovators collective, and together, they actively run the @BlackHomesUK Instagram account, alongside working full-time and renovating their own homes.
So what exactly is Black Homes UK? 'It's normalising Black home life and showcasing Black excellence,' says Michelle. 'It’s showing Black families and diversity in culture and design, with African and Caribbean influences. It’s creating that positive safe space and just showing how vibrant and full of joy Black homes are.'
You'll find inspiring new accounts to follow, tons of home and interiors inspiration from small makeovers to big renovations, Black-owned businesses, and a welcoming space to join in with conversations. They discuss cultural moments on the calendar too, from Jamaican Independence Day to Carnival to Black History Month. 'We can all relate to it and it’s our identity,' says co-creator and co-host Gemma Miller.
Importantly, the group are keen to relay that it's not just for Black people to follow, it's for everybody to follow.
'We always say, you don’t have to be Black to follow @BlackHomesUK, it's acknowledging that yes, this is our space, but you're more than welcome to follow, see, and understand our culture. Just like Carnival, we welcome everybody,' Gemma emphasises. 'It's a place where you can diversify your feed and for people to know that Black people can and do have nice homes.'
The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown restrictions have meant the co-hosts are unable to meet in person, but for now, the team attend a fortnightly meeting, albeit virtually via Zoom, and communicate often via a WhatsApp group. Everyone takes on a role and makes a valuable contribution to building the Black Homes UK brand.
'It's a lovely group of people and we're all so lucky that we can all work together so well,' says Gemma. 'We've become friends. The majority of us have known each other since May and we've really become invested in each other's experiences with renovating.'
Since launching the @BlackHomesUK Instagram account, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, although Michelle recounts the one time they were challenged.
'The first and only time someone has challenged our ethos was somebody saying what we're doing is actually creating a divide. She was a young mixed-race woman and we ended up having a private conversation. I explained that all of these spaces that are out there, without them actually saying that they are a white space, naturally they carve a white space by only showing whiteness, and that creates a divide.
'Black Homes UK gives us a space where we can actually be seen and for our voices to be elevated and celebrated. We’re not here to divide anybody.'
Representation and visibility is so crucial to Black Homes UK, yet for so long it was commonplace for Black people to have faceless Instagram accounts. It’s something interior designer Alimah Sitta spoke about in our recent interview, where she revealed, 'With home accounts on Instagram we all didn't know that we were Black for a long time'.
Michelle says this new community has somewhat helped: 'A lot of people have said that Black Homes UK has allowed them to feel confident in showing themselves. Especially with George Floyd's murder and the Black Lives Matter movement, the amount of people who shared their trauma in being scared to show their faces was shocking. Even people with relatively decent sized accounts, once they started showing their faces and family, they were losing followers.
'Even with tradespeople coming round to the house and realising that we’re a Black family, you get people taken aback or they never come back with a quote. It’s just mad how this conditioning has got us to this point. The fact that you would actually second guess showing your joy because you're scared of the repercussions or someone being unkind, it's just crazy.'
Apart from the 'random picture' of the back of her son's head or her hands holding a cup of coffee, Gemma initially didn't want to post a photo of her face either.
'I just didn’t want to be judged,' Gemma reveals. 'By not showing my face, I felt safer in a way, just to get by. It’s not like anyone was actively going out of their way to be spiteful, but it's just the way in which the homes and interiors community was on Instagram – there weren’t any other Black people.'
Over time Gemma questioned why she was hiding herself and was encouraged by other members of the Melanated Renovators group to show her face.
'Even just pressing "post" on that picture, I was so nervous, and that’s my highest performing photo too; it practically went viral! From that, so many other people were showing their faces and it was so nice to see.'
The other thing Black Homes UK has helped to highlight is the positive representation of Black men. 'Black Homes UK has highlighted Black men who renovate and Black men who renovate with their family. It’s nice,' says Gemma. 'We don’t see that. If I couldn’t even see a Black home on Instagram, how was I going to see a Black family renovating on Instagram? But now there are so many and it's so beautiful to see.'
So what's next for Black Homes UK? It's more than just an Instagram account and a hashtag. Future plans include an expo event, website and magazine. The team are dreaming big and they're here for the long haul.
'The feedback and response is really humbling and quite emotional actually because you just can’t believe it's taken until now for this to happen,' says Michelle. 'I can’t actually believe in 2020 we’ve only just got a platform to celebrate Black interior design. The amount of love and support has been amazing. Honestly, it's one of my proudest moments. I just love everybody in our group and the passion we all have – we all seem to be creating an amazing movement.'
Where do you live? Bolton, Manchester
What's your favourite room and why? It would have to be our boys' room. It’s such a beautifully calm space to retreat too that complements both their ages and celebrates their love for nature and books. But as more rooms are becoming more complete I am falling in love with all the spaces we are making.
Describe your Insta feed... My feed is just me, not fancy, with transparency and realness. You will see the warts and all snippets of what it’s like to renovate a home in a global pandemic, pay cheque to pay cheque, with colour, vibrancy, empowerment and lots of cost-effective upcycles – all whilst I have my little four-year-old sidekick in tow and whilst managing a chronic illness.
Where do you live? Surrey
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced with your home so far? The biggest challenge we've faced is actually COVID-19. We started the reno in January 2020 and it abruptly stopped mid-March. I was devastated, however, in August it picked up again and we will definitely be in by Christmas!
Describe your Insta feed... You'll definitely find lots of homeware shopping and hauls (high street and charity shops), inspo home pics relating to my interior style and reno-realness sprinkled with funny reno polls (I am really indecisive). Also, I am an advocate for creating generational wealth through property investing, so there is always something regarding that too!
Where do you live? South London
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced with your home so far? I’ve had my fair share of issues with tradesmen – from a runaway builder to an aggressive electrician and a rude carpenter! Oh and there were those two times when the house got broken into... Rebuilding a house for the first time as a solo woman is definitely a challenge, but the result so far has made it all worth it.
Describe your Insta feed... I am the winging-it renovator, hapless DIY-er and naïve property investor. I keep it real and I am (a bit too) transparent, sharing all of the highs and lows. I like to take my 'Insta-fam' along with me on the journey of renovating #TheNarrowHouse and turning it into two flats! I share information which I hope will be useful to others (like the three major mistakes I made buying #TheNarrowHouse at auction), my design ideas, and thought processes in designing such a small space with a focus on functionality. You’ll also find snippets of my life and family on my page!
Where do you live? Surrey
What’s the best thing about being part of the Black Homes UK community? Being able to interact with so many people and seeing the positive impact this account is having on the homes community as a whole.
Describe your Insta feed... My Instagram feed is my renovation journey. The highs, the lows and the lessons learned from the point of view of a young(ish) Black male from South London creating a home for his family. I show some key stages of the renovation process and share information that hopefully will help others along the way.
Where do you live? Birmingham
What’s your biggest home-related indulgence? I tend not to spend a lot on individual pieces in our home but I am obsessed with tailoring something to suit my style when I can’t find the exact thing I’m looking for. Making the roman blinds in our living room was probably my biggest indulgence. It took time (and a lot of learning) but it is so satisfying to look at them and know I made them from scratch.
Describe your Insta feed... You’ll find tons of colour and pattern, videos showing large upcycles, as well as quick crafts. But mostly, a woman trying to make the visions in her head come to life in front of her while acquiring the skills to do so. And perhaps the occasional silly Reel (OK, more than occasional, I’m becoming obsessed)!
Where do you live? London, UK
What’s the best thing about being part of the Black Homes UK community? The constant love and support we all have for each other! It has definitely been one of the best things to happen to me this year! I have so much love for them.
Describe your Insta feed... Definitely expect some reno reality; I do like to share the highs and the lows of renovating, plus some DIY tips and antique finds.
Where do you live? London
What makes a house a home? Family and Friends. Also, just a comfortable space that is your own personal sanctuary from the rest of the world.
Describe your Insta feed... People can expect to see an unpolished home account that talks through the highs and lows of renovating solo, advice in terms of the home buying process, and detailed posts on the DIY journeys as I go through renovating each room around the house. A lot of the time I’m winging it but I know my followers enjoy seeing how I get to my final results.
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