We’re spotlighting five Black-owned homeware brands and shops with different ideas about how a room can feel. There is expressive glassware, considered pattern and art with something to say. These are pieces we would start with, whether you are making a rented bedroom less anonymous or finally doing something about the living room.

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Yinka Ilori Objects

Start with the glass you reach for every day. British-Nigerian artist Yinka Ilori brings the colour and playfulness of his wider practice into homeware, with objects that give everyday habits a little more attention. The Oorun Didun drinking glasses in green and purple, made in collaboration with MoMA, are where we would begin. There is a pink-and-amber version too, if those are more your colours.

We like the idea of letting something this useful do the decorating. Keep the glasses where you can see them, use them for water on a Tuesday and resist saving them for a table that is dressed for guests. If you are still working out what colours you enjoy living with, glassware is a manageable place to experiment. A pair of glasses asks considerably less of you than a new sofa.

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Dar Leone

Dar Leone is a good place to look when you want pattern with a clear point of view. Founded in London by Sierra Leonean-American designer Isatu Funna, the studio draws on her memories of Freetown and her travels. Its Ronko Hibiscus collection brings florals into cushions, trays and lampshades, with lilac and lemon among the colours worth lingering over.

Our first move would be a lilac lampshade on a lamp you already own. It changes something you look at every evening without requiring the rest of the room to start again. If you enjoy a more layered look, add a cushion in a related colour and let the scale of the pattern vary. The attraction here is having enough choice to make a combination that feels personal, rather than buying every item in the same print.

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Eva Sonaike

Eva Sonaike is for the person ready to give textiles a bigger role. The London-based designer, who was born in Germany to Nigerian parents, works across cushions, pouffes, fabrics and wallpaper. Her Aburi collection includes yellow and pink cushions, while the wider range allows the same interest in colour to move onto larger surfaces.

We would start with the Aburi cushion in yellow, particularly against darker upholstery, or look at a pouffe when a room needs another place to perch. There is useful flexibility in being able to buy a finished piece or work with a fabric. You can introduce one design slowly, then come back to it when an old chair needs recovering. That gives a room time to develop, with the things you already own still part of the picture.

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La Basketry

Storage deserves a bit more imagination than another box pushed under the bed. Founded by Tabara N’Diaye, La Basketry connects her Senegalese heritage with woven objects for everyday use. The Anta storage bowl in red, turquoise and white is a particularly good introduction. Handwoven in Senegal from grass and coloured plastic strips, it has enough presence to stay out in the open.

We would use it for fruit on the kitchen table or the collection of small things that otherwise seems to spread across a sideboard. The colour combination is already doing the work, so there is no need to arrange the entire surface around it. La Basketry also offers weaving kits if you would enjoy making something yourself. There is a different sort of satisfaction in being able to say you made the basket everyone keeps asking about.

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The Cornrow

The Cornrow gives this edit a broader view of what makes a home feel personal. Founded by sisters Kemi and Lara, the shop brings together homeware, art and books informed by their African and Caribbean heritage. It is a retailer as well as a creator, so the pleasure is in browsing different makers and ideas through the sisters’ selection.

Begin with the art collection, which includes The Palm Wine Drinkard book-cover art, then have a proper look through the books. A literary reference you love can be a far more satisfying starting point for a wall than a print chosen simply to match the curtains. The shop’s mix encourages you to think about the stories and interests you want around you. That is useful whether your walls are already colourful or the landlord insists they stay magnolia.