Color Stories: Warm, dramatic hues rule for 2025
Strategically chosen to embody social sentiment, the colors of the year encapsulate trends, moods and moments. The colors are the culmination of cultural insights and extensive research on consumer preferences. From home design and fashion to cosmetics and technology, the colors of the year inspire and set trends, connecting with consumers through carefully curated hues that resonate with contemporary culture.
The Pantone Color Institute pioneered the concept of the color of the year in 2000, enlisting collaboration from brands, the design community and color enthusiasts. This year’s color, Mocha Mousse, represents a global desire for comfort. Pantone recommends the warm chocolate and coffee brown hues for home design projects beyond painting, such as wallpaper, furniture and accent pieces.
Three new-ish shops expand the options for luxe, sophisticated home furnishings in Richmond
Setting up shop at 604 Hull St. in historic Manchester earlier this year, 87-year-old Roanoke-based furniture manufacturer Txtur offers four Nordic-style collections of made-to-order pieces. An extensive range of fabrics, leather, and wood options empowers total customization. From textured, muted neutrals to vibrant jewel tones, there’s something for every room, taste, or corner of the home.
Whether you’re choosing glam or something more traditional, you’ll get a sense of the possibilities in this cozy yet sophisticated 1908 Richmond Seaboard railroad freight terminal turned furniture gallery. The stately restored floors, exposed brick walls, and vaulted ceilings with exposed beams offer the perfect space to succumb to design inspiration.
Jewelry for the Home: A local artist’s homeware designs win a prestigious award
Richmond’s dynamic art scene, infused with the creativity and ingenuity of its thriving artists, is widely regarded as a hub of artistic expression. Yet, when local ceramic artist Hali Armstrong of Hechizo expanded her creative vision into ornamental homeware, she didn’t know her new artistic path would bring her home to Richmond — and she didn’t know whether the pivot would actually pay off.
It turns out that winning Garden & Gun magazine’s 15th annual Made in the South Awards has given her a newfound validation for her homeware designs. It’s also providing much-needed sustainability for her small business. Armstrong won the home category and was also named the overall winner, which garnered her a $15,000 prize.
“To be recognized is gratifying,” Armstrong says, “and being the overall winner is exciting. I’m hoping it sets the tone for my business going forward.”
Animal Magnetism Folk art-inspired prints with a naive simplicity
Capturing the essence of animals and plants in her designs is more important than precision for local artist Katie Pelikan Baselj. Her limited-edition silkscreen wall prints, with bold shapes and colors, celebrate the magic and mystery of the natural world.
“I like the idea of capturing the unattainable, quiet aspect of human and animal relationships — the wildness and uncontrollability,” she explains. “I lean into the playful aspect, like the bold shapes and colors.”
Her company, Pelikan Print Co., is a screen-printing venture she started in 2018 to keep her limited-edition prints unique, affordable and accessible to all. The rich colors of her intuitive drawings are almost naive in their simplicity. Influenced by ancient pottery, pictorial quilts, medieval tapestries and folk art from her British and Czech ancestry, she describes her illustrations as rough and playful. She draws inspiration from artists such as Elizabeth Cobbold, known for her paper cut-outs, and self-taught artist Mose Tolliver.
Jackson Ward preservationist steeled by cultural bearings and designs
By tackling design and restoration projects no one else would touch, Zarina Fazaldin brings her love of art and historic preservation to the arts community in Richmond.
Kenyan-born, Ms. Fazaldin wanted to pursue the American Dream while growing up in Tanzania. In 1987, she arrived in Richmond for graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University after attending college in India in 1986.
With dogged persistence, she worked with resolve to make ends meet—from waitressing at the Jefferson Hotel to teaching Swahili at VCU. Other pursuits included elder care and teaching special education courses. She toiled to remain in America because returning to Tanzania meant few opportunities in her homeland.
“I had to either work or go back home, and I didn’t want to return home,” she explained. “There was nothing for me there. I wanted to do more with my life. Many immigrants work hard to stay in the U.S. because we don’t take the opportunities here for granted.”
Ms. Fazaldin and her team at L&Z Historic LLC have spent the last 20 years successfully preserving and designing historic Richmond properties, which she’s turned into affordable housing.
Dr. Shirlene Obuobi prescribes comedy for health and healing
Dr. Shirlene Obuobi, a third-year general cardiology fellow at the University of Chicago, uses creativity to process what she sees and learns while pursuing a medical career.
Through her comic alter ego and personal experiences, Dr. Obuobi creates narratives promoting change and advocacy in health care, while also tackling complex topics of sexism, racism, micro-aggressions, and physicians’ frustrations with medical insurance. As such, her work has been featured in academic journals, museum exhibitions, the Washington Post and on “Good Morning America.”
During a recent interview, Dr. Obuobi discussed the emergence of the medical humanities movement and how graphic medicine is the intersection between the medium of comics and the discourse of health care.
ICA exhibit explores race, class and gender
Artist Patrice Renee Washington isn’t interested in mainstreaming her creative talents to fit into the white-dominated spaces of the commercial art world. Instead, she focuses on exploring the roots behind racial identity. She’s the artist behind “Tendril,” a solo exhibition of her works at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU (ICA at VCU).
African-Americans and other people of color have long used code-switching -adjusting one’s normal behavior to fit into a particular environment—to navigate interracial interactions, typically in the workplace. Unfortunately, code-switching can be exhausting and potentially stifling, especially for creatives. Ms. Washington is intentional about creating and framing her work on her terms.
“It’s a conscious choice not to hide my blackness, and it makes sense to be out about it,” Ms. Washington explains. “It’s more comfortable when you don’t have to hide your blackness. It makes the art easier.”
An early-20th-century American foursquare home is reinvigorated for a new era
Creating comfortable, beautiful and functional spaces is at the heart of Marissa Tago Whitley’s design philosophy. Now owner of The Whitley Co., her path to interior decorating zigzagged from stints as Miss Teen USA, an MTV veejay and a struggling actor, yet her love of making spaces better than she found them was the one through line.
When Whitley moved to Richmond in 2022, she wanted to do something proactive to introduce her decorating business, so she began to invest in real estate. Her latest venture is a 1922 American foursquare — an Arts and Crafts house style dating back to the mid-1890s — on Semmes Avenue in Woodland Heights. The style, distinguished by square rooms (four per floor), a center dormer and a large front porch, remained popular until the late 1930s. The duplex is now a thriving two-unit Airbnb.
Crafting a Narrative: Tips for creating a memorable holiday gathering
Elevating Richmond’s fine-dining scene is what drives Micheal Sparks, CEO of experiential dining company The Underground Kitchen. The fashion industry veteran blends his design expertise and global culinary experiences to unite people through shared dining adventures, community and a sense of occasion.
R•Home asked Sparks to divulge some tips for planning and creating an unforgettable holiday dinner party.
R•Home: How do you plan your holiday dinner parties?
Micheal Sparks: First, I clarify why we’re coming together. It’s the thread that ties everyone together to set the experience that tells the story. I also consider any dietary restrictions my guests may have. Then, I build my menu around that, infusing it with the creativity of storytelling.
Once I’ve set the menu, I choose my place settings, creating a color palette around the story. Next, I shop for accessories. Everything I choose must add to the story — the flowers, the breadbasket, the glasses — everything!
Hampton University’s sailing team boasts winning record
The Hampton University sailing team won its third straight regatta, capturing the Grant Trophy on April 13-14 at Strawberry Banks in Hampton.
The Chesapeake Bay race against colleges and universities including Christopher Newport, Drexel, Washington College, Princeton, UVA, Rochester, William and Mary, Syracuse, and Stony Brook was the Pirates’ first home regatta in five years.
The two-day regatta had a rough start on Saturday as strong winds over 30 knots canceled the race, although multiple starts were attempted. Sunday’s conditions improved to winds of eight knots.
Hampton’s A division consisted of skipper Tyler Brown and crew Asia Warren. Mr. Brown and Ms. Warren competed in two races, winning the first. The skipper went overboard due to the high winds.
The team opted to change to a heavier paring with Mr. Brown moving to crew and Valerio Palamara becoming the skipper. The Pirates A division won two out of the three reaming races.