Right: A mood board for a Housotn townhouse commission hangs in her office.
“I love how its hard, industrial lines offset the softness and curves of the seating - even if you do occasionally have to be mindful of your shins.” Left: Barnieh-Blair poses while inspecting a custom de Gournay Jardinières & Citrus Trees wallcovering for a current project in New York’s West Village.
“Each piece basically tells a story about us,” says Barnieh-Blair, who arrayed all the seating around a glass coffee table on wheels by Gae Aulenti. In addition, there are iconic pieces by Charles and Ray Eames: a molded fiberglass chaise longue and a black-leather-cushioned lounge chair and ottoman that Magnus has owned since his early 20s. Of the last, she says, “I love how its hard, industrial lines offset the softness and curves of the seating - even if you do occasionally have to be mindful of your shins.” Photo by Alexandra RowleyĪlso adding distinctive character to the space are furnishings that nod to her marketing executive husband’s Scandinavian roots, such as an Eero Saarinen Tulip side table and a pair of Danish-modern-inspired Dinamarquesa chairs by Brazilian designer Jorge Zalszupin that the couple fell in love with on a trip to Rio de Janeiro. “The place just didn’t feel like home until I hung this particular artwork.” In addition to the Arflex sofa, the living room features DANISH MODERN–style armchairs by JORGE ZALSZUPIN flanking an EERO SAARINEN Tulip side table, a molded-fiberglass La Chaise by CHARLES AND RAY EAMES and a coffee table by Gae Aulenti. “When I first saw it, I thought, ‘I could have been in this scene with my grandmother holding my hand in the market, as we always used to do on Wednesdays,’ ” says Barnieh-Blair. The kaleidoscopic piece, an abstracted bird’s-eye view of a bustling outdoor market, evokes loads of memories. Photo by Alexandra RowleyĪbove the living room’s Arflex Marenco sofa, whose eye-catching rust-hued upholstery reminds Barnieh-Blair of Ghana’s reddish earth, is a large work by Ghanaian painter Ablade Glover. It can function in any space.” The photo on the desk leaning against the wall is by Nancy Borowick. That, she says, “is one of my favorite design pieces. In Barnieh-Blair’s home office space, a vintage Pretzel chair by Norman Cherner for Plycraft and a trio of Zulu baskets add warmth and gentle curves to the modular 606 shelving system by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ. In the Upper West Side apartment the designer shares with her husband, Magnus Blair, and their two elementary-school-age children, classic modern furnishings are mixed with Ghanaian pottery and Zulu baskets, an Ashanti stool (a wedding gift from her parents), accent pillows in spirited African fabrics and an indigo throw by Malian artist Aboubakar Fofana. And I want to take that with me no matter where I go.” “I used to call my grandmother every Sunday, and I remember just looking forward to those calls and sort of hoping that I would move back to Ghana,” says Barnieh-Blair, now based in New York City, where she makes a habit of surrounding herself with choice objects that remind her of Africa. “When I think of the idea of home, I always return to my first happy place. “I want to take that with me no matter where I go.” She poses here in the living room of her home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, also seen at top, where she hung a painting by Ghanaian artist Ablade Glover above above an Arflex sofa. Photos by Alexandra Rowley
“When I think of the idea of home, I always return to my first happy place,” says interior designer NINA BARNIEH-BLAIR, referring to her early childhood in Kumasi, Ghana.
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