PHOTOGRAPHY // Erica J. Simmons
ROBE // ASOS — SHIRT // ASOS — JEANS // A. Golde
The living room is slowly but surely coming together. If you’ve been following me on Instagram Stories, you know that I have been waiting for some work to get done in the living room.
Since January, I’ve been planning and daydreaming and having deadlines pushed back. Good news – the built-ins are (finally) done and now it’s time to decorate. First things first, I got some amazing Black coffee table books. I love books and while I don’t want the shelves to be solely for books, I wanted to find beautiful Black coffee table books that celebrated Blackness to be showcased throughout the living room.
Still on the hunt for more, but here are 9 Black coffee table books you should buy (and I’m so glad I did).
I absolutely love the cover of this book. Her skin pops against that pink. I’m still waiting on this one, but the cover alone is worth it in my opinion.
This book is actually in my master closet – because, fashion – and it was an instant favorite. Seeing all the Black supermodels throughout history in this book is amazing.
3. Kwame Brathwaite: Black is Beautiful
Just ordered this one doing research for this post, but the photo on the cover is striking. It’s art. The title of the book speaks for itself. That’s something I want affirmed daily in my home.
Me and Maizah looked through this book when it arrived and literally ooh’d and ahh’d at all of the beautiful women in this book. I was so encouraged that Maizah was drawn to everyone in this book from Nina Simone to Diana Ross. It is an absolute treat. And the cover is fabric!
Became a fan of Kehinde after the Obama portraits like many others and this book is a collection of his art which is colorful and deliberately Black.
6. Rihanna
I couldn’t believe how huge this book was. I haven’t even gotten a chance to truly dive into it, but I love me some Robyn Rihanna Fenty, so I’m sure I’ll love it.
7. How To Slay
This book talks about how Black culture has shaped everything from fashion to music. It was great to go down memory lane with some of these trends and artists that I loved growing up.
Such a beautiful book that features Black creatives in stunning portraits. This is the newest published book out of the bunch – it was released in February of this year.
9. Unseen
Old portraits are really so lovely to see, so I was excited to purchase this book with archives from the New York Times over the years.
I remember being on the wait list for both Vintage Black Glamour and How to Slay. Having those in my collection is such a treat. Awesome selection. Still getting my coins together for Rihanna.