HUDSON VALLEY—NY
From left: Green Paint, Farrow & Ball; Middleton Pink Paint, Farrow & Ball; Vintage Sofa; Bongo Stool, EQ3; Yeabridge
Clockwise from top: Odyssey Chandelier, Schoolhouse; Tallow Paint, Farrow & Ball; Bedding, Dazed
But Amazed; Hugget Pillow, Bearaby; Uma Rug, Lulu and Georgia; Place Square End Table, EQ3; Glass Tile, Fireclay Tile; Farris Basket, EQ3; Rug, Salon; Native Plants Mural, Nina
Barry; Artifacts Freestanding Bath, Kohler; Mysa Mirror, Oka.
From left: Light Fixture, Kohler; Dining Table, Woodward Throwback; Ceiling Lamp, Faucet, and Sink, Kohler.
Every single aspect of the Mae House was done with intention: from the colors of the rooms and the makers of the furniture, to the glasses in the cupboards and the soap in the linen closet, to the women who work with it and for it and the people it serves. Mae was my grandmother’s middle name, and it’s my daughters’ as well. The name is derived from May, which is when I closed on the property, and is connected to Maia, the Roman goddess of motherhood. Like I said, you just know.
Right before I started looking at houses, I had finished reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer for the second time. I felt connected to the premise that we are here on earth to be caregivers; that land doesn’t belong to us and we’re just timekeepers of it. I was also thinking about how Black people and people of color have always taken care of each other and allowed each other space to rest. So part of the Mae House is a free quarterly residency for BIPOC to connect with nature. Beyond my family and friends, guests can book three- or seven-night visits, which provides us the opportunity to offer sliding-scale rates to BIPOC guests who cannot afford a full-price stay and aids in maintaining the program. We see so many residencies focused on work in exchange for lodging, and I wanted to reframe the concept that labor is required for rest.
— LaTonya Yvette
“The more you spend time
In the kitchen and bathrooms, we used Kohler fixtures and Fireclay Tile, which is a certified B Corporation that is sustainable not just in how its products are made but in who it hires. However, a lot of what I did was not actually things you could see—the changes were about longevity. We moved outlets in both of the bathrooms so they weren’t so close to the sink. In the basement, we had to reorganize all the cables and lighting and get rid of years of neglect. In the third bedroom, we knocked out a closet to make room for a queen-size mattress under a twin XL bunk bed so the home can sleep six.
Ninety percent of the items in this house, I’d say, had a life before they entered the space. The dining room table is an art table from a high school—there are still etchings from the students—that I purchased from Woodward Throwbacks, which is a Black female–owned business in Detroit. It was really important for me to not sand it down or stain it, because it feels so rooted in community. The seafoam green vintage couch in the living room reminds me of a white leather sofa my mom had in the ’80s. If a piece isn’t secondhand, it was likely made by a person of color; the coffee table was handcrafted by Tshidi of Bontleg, who creates functional cement art. We tried hard to partner with companies that focus on BIPOC not just as their customer base, but as their employees.
I don’t know if it's because I’m a writer or a Cancer, but the more you spend time in this house and peel back the layers, the more it reveals itself to you. Its spirit is very distinct, and everyone who visits says much of the same. Over time, it has told me that it was once cared for, that it wanted to be cared for again. That it didn't want big changes; just a little TLC and people will do. It’s welcoming and makes room for our complexities. I spent the winter coming up here during the renovations while I was grieving over some personal matters, and I don’t believe any other home could make me feel safe enough to collapse into its arms and sob, then wake up, clean, and tend to it—and myself—come morning.
Right now the property is definitely more for me and the guests than it is for my kids. But it’s also teaching them about stewardship and taking care of things: They help me vacuum; they’ve learned how to put covers over the mattresses; they’ve planted flowers in the garden. Their hearts are woven into the house.
It took six months to renovate and decorate. It’s so old—173 years—but I like it that way. That’s part of its charm. While I was in the middle of the process, it was becoming clear what this space would look like. I wanted it to be filled with color and lots of layered textures. I collaborated with Nicole Collado, a Latina color consultant at Farrow & Ball, to create a story that worked with the mood and spirit of the house; we gravitated toward muted tones like James White, Ammonite, and Peignoir. We also gut renovated two bathrooms because the plumbing was outside (which meant no insulation) and a pipe freeze waiting to happen. For one, we moved the tub out of the primary bedroom and into what was previously the walk-in closet.
After seeing three houses in the Hudson Valley and submitting an application for one, thinking that was going to be it, my real-estate agent showed me something that was off the market—he had put an offer on it himself but decided to pull out because he’d found a different spot. I saw a photo of the Colonial exterior and overgrown lawn and knew I was looking at my home. I didn’t have any sort of prerequisites besides being near a train station and having a little bit of land. This property had both. It’s weird that when you know, you just know. I bought it in February 2021.
Throughout the buying process, I was confronted with the idea that I, a single and self-employed Black woman, could be a homeowner. I felt like I was caught between two conflicting narratives: that purchasing a house is the projection of a successful Black life because we are so often left out of homeownership, while at the same time the numbers surrounding that have only continued to
dwindle. I decided I wanted my home to be a shared space—it felt the most equitable.
Assured
Photography by DANE TASHIMA | Words by LATONYA YVETTE | As Told to ERIN CUNNINGHAM | Styling by NAOMI DEMAÑANA
Relaxation as residency is at the heart of stylist, blogger, and author
LaTonya Yvette’s Hudson Valley weekend home and rental property.
Rest
I
was born and raised in New York City, and when the pandemic hit, my children and I stayed home in Brooklyn. We didn’t leave our neighborhood for more than a year.
But that summer of 2020, I sold my second book, Stand in My Window (it will be on shelves in 2023), which has to do with home, Blackness, Indigenous life, and migration. The research and the labor of it—I’m still writing and editing it now, actually—left me craving a place for ease and peace, where I could lay my burdens and challenge our biases on art, color, care, and community. The advance was like the seed money for the down payment.
Window Covering,
Jen Hewett; The American Friend Rug, Cold Picnic; Pavilion Gray Paint, Farrow &
Ball; Bedding, Dazed But
Amazed; Vintage Sconce and Stool, Holler & Squall.
From left: LaTonya Yvette; Cherokee Lynn, head of community engagement and outreach; innkeeper Nicole Gonzalez.
in this house and peel back
the layers, the more it
reveals itself to you.”
Tablecloth, Ace&Jig; Vintage Chairs, Holler & Squall.
In the kitchen and bathrooms, we used Kohler fixtures and Fireclay Tile, which is a certified B Corporation that is sustainable not just in how its products are made but in who it hires. However, a lot of what I did was not actually things you could see—the changes were about longevity. We moved outlets in both of the bathrooms so they weren’t so close to the sink. In the basement, we had to reorganize all the cables and lighting and get rid of years of neglect. In the third bedroom, we knocked out a closet to make room for a queen-size mattress under a twin XL bunk bed so the home can sleep six.
Joss & Main believes style
is what you make it—in life and at home.
Shop the brand's summer edit
of soon-to-be style favorites.
Shop Now
Joss & Main believes style
is what you make it—in life and at home.
Shop the brand's summer edit
of soon-to-be style favorites.
Shop Now
SUMMER 2022
Read Now
Home Is Where You Are
More From the Issue
This Must
Be The Place
SUMMER 2022
SM22: Home Is Where You Are
More From the Issue
This Must
Be The Place
A light-filled Northern California property was home at first sight for interior designer Emily Ward.
Carving His
Own Path
When he’s not at his corporate 9-to-5, catch Robby Simon in his personal playroom: the woodworking shop.
A light-filled Northern California property was home at first sight for interior designer Emily Ward.
Carving His
Own Path
When he’s not at his corporate 9-to-5, catch Robby Simon in his personal playroom: the woodworking shop.
