How We Live Home Tour: N'Ckyola Nikki Green
N'Ckyola "Nikki" Green has a passion for creating beautiful spaces that are functional and sustainable. Her interior design company, Extraordinary by Design focuses on green design and her knack for up-cycling and reusing items you already own is inspiring. Let's take a look at her Texas home decked out in holiday flare.
How would you describe your decor style in three words and who or what influenced that style? Modern Southern. I think my style is influenced by the elder women in my family who had a very clean but traditionally Southern aesthetic. Our current home is a little more modern contemporary but incorporates many of the traditional Southern touches.
Have you completed a brag worthy DIY project? If so, tell us about it. If I had to choose, it would be between my Grandmother’s high boy & the console table we built from the wood we tore out from our deck. Both are perfectly functional & versatile and speak to my eco-friendly & sustainability goals. Both projects make me smile every single day!
Do you have keepsakes or family heirlooms incorporated into your home decor? If so, what are they and why was it important to incorporate them? I absolutely do! We have a room that I call the “Nostalgia Room”. It’s filled with old family photos & most of the furniture has been in our family for decades – from 30 to 60 plus years.
My grandmother’s favorite quilt adorns the bottom of the bed. But even beyond this room, we have special items in practically every room in the house from my Grandmother’s high boy to china from my mom & “big sister”. I believe these are the things that make a house a home & give it soul.
Why was it important for you to incorporate African decor into your home? What types do you have? (e.g Art, pillows, bedding, masks ect.) In a word, culture. For me it’s important to always be true to who I am – as a person, as a designer, as a Black woman. And to foster a love of self in my children. Infusing our home with African décor helps keep us grounded in our culture & creates teaching moments. Our youngest (10 year old Avery) is always asking seemingly random questions.
We have a few pillows, art prints, sculpture (my favorite is “The Thinker” gifted to me when I graduated college & now passed down to Avery) & of course Reflektion Design wall baskets.
At Reflektion Design our mantra is, See Yourself at Home. How does your home reflect who you are? Practically everything in our home has a story. Whether it’s the story of us, our family, our heritage – this family reunion or that birthday – WE are represented here. Our elders, both alive & passed, are represented here as is our future.
For those that are hesitant to incorporate African decor into their space or don’t know where to start, what's one piece of advice you’d give them? Start small. African culture is extremely colorful, stunning, & dramatic. It is also very diverse making it easy to find items that can fit into any décor style. I would say to start with either neutral items or items in colors you already know you love.
Where can we find you online?
Business: Xtraordinary by Design
Blog: 4th House On The Right
Instagram: @nikkig_xbydesign
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Looking for items to bring more of you into your home checkout the shop: www.reflektiondesign.com
Thanks for checking out the home tour please share your comments or questions below!