By Eric Moody<\/p>\n
A major health scare forced Lauren Nolan-Sellers to reconsider what she wanted to leave behind \u2014 and ultimately transformed the way she saw her own work.<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia-area interior designer had already built a career helping clients transform their homes. But after losing her mother in 2021 and facing her own serious health battle the following year, Nolan-Sellers began thinking bigger: What if those same spaces could do more? What if they could tell stories, teach history and inspire people?<\/p>\n
\u201cThat scary health challenge forced me to take a look and say, \u2018What do I really want out of life? What am I really doing here?\u2019\u201d Nolan-Sellers told Metro<\/a>.<\/p>\n That question eventually became H.O.U.S.E.D. Inn Blaque<\/a> \u2014 a design initiative that uses interior spaces to honor the overlooked stories, achievements and legacies of Black Americans.<\/p>\n The birth of H.O.U.S.E.D. Inn Blaque<\/p>\n Serving clients in the Philadelphia metro area, Nolan-Sellers is the co-founder of Trust the Vision Decor<\/a>. Since 2018, she has met traditional interior design needs and even launched an Aspiring Designers Academy to help newcomers with tips and advice to start their own businesses in the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to flip a house, and I did that. I wanted to do a documentary\u2026 and it was going to be about all the stories you never heard about surrounding Black people and their contributions,\u201d she said. \u201cOur history is made up of more than George Washington Carver, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.\u201d<\/p>\n While nurturing this vision, Nolan-Sellers recalls hearing a distinct internal message stating: \u201cYou have everything you need.\u201d She quickly realized she could ultimately tell these historical stories of Black culture through her existing craft.<\/p>\n That spark led to the launch of H.O.U.S.E.D. Inn Blaque<\/a>, an acronym which stands for \u201cHonoring Our Unique Story with Excellence through Design.\u201d The mission Nolan-Sellers explains is to spotlight the unsung heroes of Black history through interior spaces.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like design is my gift, and I feel like design is my art,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen people go to the Art Museum in Philly, what is this art saying? What is it speaking about?\u201d<\/p>\n Nolan-Sellers says she decided to use her room transformations to make a statement rather than chasing the latest trends seen on HGTV. The core message Nolan-Sellers explains is: “Thank you.”<\/p>\n The inspiration behind merging these connections of interior design and Black historical culture, Nolan-Sellers adds, is to use design as a tool, instead of simply an end product.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if it can be a tool for teaching? she asked. “What if it is a tool for education or empowerment?\u201d<\/p>\n