While friends are always welcome, Yanise felt it was important to craft a home that felt like a refuge for both of them (Sam largely and happily deferred to her design expertise). With Sam often on the road and Yanise shifting her professional focus from commercial to residential spaces, the brownstone really reflects who they are and how they share the home. While the colors and wall coverings are all Yanise (“I was born in the ’80s, so, baby, wallpaper me up,” she says), the more muted tones in the primary bedroom bring some of Sam’s taste into the shared environment. “Normally, in the other spaces I wouldn’t have out Legos or Star Wars pieces, but I tried to implement my baby in more,” Yanise adds. The big couch in the living room is perfect for hosting, but it’s also Sam’s spot when she comes home from tour—where she can sit and relax and take in the home they’ve made together.
Brownie is full of carefully selected pieces, from the largely secondhand furniture to their growing art collection. Yanise loves thrift shopping and clearly has an eye for putting pieces together, but she also wanted to reduce their carbon footprint. She acknowledges that it can be slow, painstakingly slow sometimes, to fill a space, but it’s ultimately worth it. “She’s really into it,” Sam says. “But [Yanise] really knows what she’s looking for and that helps her find stuff.” The couple worked closely with art consultant Anwarii Musa on building a collection of vibrant contemporary art, primarily by Black artists. Pieces by Naderson Saint Pierre and Alteronce Gumby share a home with Yanise’s original paintings and with pieces from Sam’s show, Pause: With Sam Jay.
