HABITATS

T H E I M P O R T A N C E O F LIVING BEAUTIFULLY Designer Carmeon Hamilton creates a comfortable, stylish space for her family.

B Y C H R I S M c C O Y

The wall of windows in the great room is what sold the Cordova home to Carmeon Hamilton. The wide bar serves as her workspace, and, during the pandemic, has been her son Davin’s schoolroom. Hamilton took the photograph which graces the far wall. (right) Hamilton is a designer, an Instagram infl uencer, and lifestyle blogger. She may be one of the most sought-after designers in the Mid-South, but Carmeon Hamilton didn’t set out to have a career creating unique interior spaces. “I actually didn’t recognize it in myself,” she says. Her life path became clear while attending the University of Central Arkansas at Conway. “I went to school for physical therapy,” she says. “When I became a resident assistant, I got my own dorm room for the fi rst time — you know, you typically have to share.”

For the fi rst time in her life, Hamilton was free to decorate her space to her liking. To her surprise, it was a

hit with her fellow RA. “My now-best friend Denise recognized it then. She was just surprised at what I could do with four cinder-block walls and a little wood twin bed. So it was actually her who suggested that I check out [the school’s] interior design department. I did, and I changed my major the next day.”

While at UCA, she also met her now-husband, Marcus, who inspired her to start writing — another fateful decision.

“I started my blog talking about my relationship with my then-boyfriend, now my husband, because

(above) Ample natural light floods the dining room. Hamilton bought the painting above the table at The Find Designer Home Outlet in Memphis. She patterned the walls herself. we had moved away,” she recalls. “That’s how I stay connected with friends from college and people I follow. They read my blog.”

Cohesive Randomness, the blog Hamilton began in 2011, is still going strong at carmeonhamilton. com. Over time, the content would evolve from purely personal stories about post-collegiate life into something that reflected her wide-ranging interests in living spaces.

“I got my first apartment, and we started to decorate it,” she says. “I had to come up with creative ways to get what I wanted when I couldn’t afford things. So it grew into a DIY home interiors blog. And that’s what it’s been pretty much ever since. Every now and then, I’ll

still talk about lifestyle stuff.”

In the social-media age, Hamilton gravitated towards Instagram (@carmeon.hamilton), where her playful but comfortable style quickly gained her followers. “It was almost inevitable since I had been blogging and sharing for so long,” she says. “A lot of brands are really focusing on influencer advertising.”

In 2018, she got her first sponsorship. Now she works with national brands such as Grove Collaborative, Mrs. Meyers, and Home Depot. When the pandemic hit, her existing online audience meant she was well-positioned to help people spice up their spaces. She started offering virtual client services on March 10th. “Things exploded from there,” she says. “I was booked through the end of the year by June.”

It’s not just her clients who are taking notice of Hamilton’s work. She has been featured in Southern Living, and last month, Architectural Digest named her as one of nine rising stars in the design world.

Hamilton says the pandemic lockdown forced everyone to take a closer look at their lives. “My workload increased dramatically with everyone being at home and wanting to improve their spaces,” she says. “A lot of people have realized that they have neglected their homes for a really long time. Most people have just been able to avoid it — you don’t want to be at home, so you leave. You can travel, or you can spend the day shopping, so you don’t really

pay attention to your surroundings, because you’re not there all day. But now that people are at home all day, they’re realizing, ‘Oh, I haven’t bought furniture in 15 years. I haven’t painted this room ever.’ So a lot of people are just wanting to be in spaces that look better and make them feel better about being at home 24/7.”

The changes her clients are seeking “depend on their own personal stories,” she says. “Kitchens, bathrooms, living spaces, bedrooms — it varies. From what I have experienced with my own personal clients, it’s things that they’re noticing now, not necessarily things that they’ve put off for any particular reason.”

Hamilton knows the feeling her

self. The seriousness of covid-19 was driven home to her in April, when her father, a healthcare worker who specializes in patient transport, contracted the disease. “We were among the people who were told to stay home, and we did. So, not a lot of going out in public and keeping our circle small.”

The Cordova home Hamilton shares with Marcus, who works as a leadership development facilitator, and their son, Davin, 11, came into their lives four years ago. She says it was love at first sight. “My husband found it in a listing and reached out to our realtor to show it to us the next day. He walked in and knew it was the one. And I walked in five

minutes later and agreed.”

The 1,900-square-foot home dates from the 1970s. “My husband and I both had our list of must-haves coming from an apartment,” she says. “This one fit everything on our list. As far as spatial needs were concerned, I had several things. I didn’t want my garage on the front of the house. I didn’t realize that I wanted a ton of natural light until we found this house.”

The centerpiece of the home is the great room, where two-story windows flood the space with sunlight. On the north side a wide bar emerging from beneath the windows provides an informal focal point. For Hamilton, this is her workspace, a place to communicate

(above right) Hamilton also did the creative line work in the foyer, which is reminiscent of graffiti art. The cabinet in the foreground once held her great-grandmother’s radio. (bottom right) Artist Francis Berry, whose work hangs elsewhere in the home, painted this bathroom. (bottom center) The wallpaper in the hallway, which depicts an African savannah scene, is a new addition Hamilton added this year. The framed art on the right is the floor plan from the home’s original blueprints.

(below) The line art motif continues in the main bedroom, although in a more subdued manner. The green headboard and matching ceiling create a relaxing atmosphere.

(bottom) Hamilton created this guest bedroom in partnership with Crate & Barrel. The day bed is a comfortable and flexible space for reading or napping.

with clients and try out new ideas and inspirations.

Since school started, it has also been her son’s virtual classroom. After spending four years in a small apartment, this was the space that sold her on the house. “Walking into this home, with the natural light and the high ceilings, it just felt a lot more spacious,” she says. “Even though the house is not a big house, it feels big and open. Also, I’m a plant lover, if you can’t tell. So the natural light is important when it comes to taking care of my plants. Now, light is a must-have on my list if we ever look for another house.”

On the south side of the great room, a low table piled with art books and flanked by plants defines the beginning of the family room. Comfortable couches point toward the television and fireplace. The color palette is black and white atop the rich shades of the hardwood flooring. Hamilton, who likes to work with shades of black, added white to bounce the natural light around the room. She says the color scheme is the result of a burst of quarantine creativity.

“We’ve been here for four years. The first three were like, ‘Oh, I changed the light fixture or I painted the bedroom.’ There was nothing major. I would rearrange our furniture all the time to freshen things up. But this year, we’ve done the most work in our house. We had this space painted because I knew I couldn’t reach it myself, with the tall ceilings. We would just put it off and put it off, and this was the year we’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to do this.’”

Another 2020 addition is the ornate gold-and-black wallpaper in the hallway, which depicts natural scenes from the African savannah of lionesses moving among baobab trees, known on the continent as the “Tree of Life.” In the hall is one of Hamilton’s most prized pieces, a radio cabinet that belonged to her great-grandmother.

Patterned walls are a recurring theme. In the cozy dining room, where four modernist chairs circle a dark wood dinner table, Hamilton painted the walls black and added a handpainted pattern of horizontal and vertical white stripes. In the foyer, guests are greeted with exuberant lines that recall the work of famed New York graffiti artist Keith Haring. In the hall bathroom, across from her son’s room, the explosive line art motif continues.

Visually, the main bedroom is much calmer. Although the line art is echoed in the platform bed, the headboard is a calming green. Adjustable smart bulbs power the

lamps on the paired bedside tables. Double doors open to the spacious backyard. There, a concrete patio provides the setting for an inviting outdoor entertaining space. Guests can gather around a long wooden table or sit in a circle beneath solar-powered Chinese lanterns.

The latest room to get a makeover is the guest bedroom, which benefitted from Hamilton’s new partnership with Crate & Barrel. The burgundy walls set off an inviting

white day bed, well-apportioned for a quiet read with a cup of tea or an afternoon nap. Above the day bed is art by Hamilton and her friend Chassidy Jade, whose piece depicts a woman with curly hair. “She’s a film editor and photographer, so the hair is actually film,” she says. “She’s actually the senior editor for the NBA right now. She just moved to Florida when the season started. She edits all the commercial sequence, and things that you see before the games come on.”

For Hamilton, her home is the purest expression of her style. “The biggest thing is, everything I do here, it comes from what I want and what feels good — as long as my family is okay with it,” she says. “I have carte blanche. I don’t have to consider anything beyond function, just making sure they’re comfortable sitting on it or eating at it. I get to test out what I want, or if I have a gut feeling about something, I can go for it without hesitation, because it’s ultimately my decision and I get to live with whatever the fallout is from it. So I don’t have to second-guess myself.”

In a time that is psychologically challenging for many people, Hamilton says having a well-designed space of your own is more important than ever. Her design ideal is to create synergy between comfort and style. “Ultimately, I just want people to live well, regardless of where they are in life financially, or where they are geographically,” she says.

It’s important that the spaces she designs help their owners in “loving the way that they live, and taking those things that most people call the minutiae of life — those smaller things — and really understanding that every single element of the day, whether minor or major, really adds up to how well we live. Whether you’re eating off a paper plate or a ceramic plate, those minor moments allow us to understand that we can be grateful for the smallest things. That’s really the philosophy behind what I do — making sure my clients understand the importance of living beautifully.”

The back patio is an inviting space for outdoor entertaining. The bunched solar lanterns from Ikea appear to be paper, but they are actually made from a durable plastic.

Leading by Serving

The Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis marks 25 transformative years. BY ERICA HORTON

This year, the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis (WFGM) had big plans for their quarter-century celebration of community impact and philanthropy. A nonprofi t that serves as a “backbone organization,” WFGM’s mission is to improve the well-being of “economically vulnerable women and families annually through philanthropy and grant-making initiatives, leadership, and collaboration.”

above: Ruby Bright has served as president and CEO of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis for more than 20 years.

 eir Annual Tribute Luncheon and Symposium, a signature fundraiser that draws more than 2,000 people over the course of two days and two events, generates a large portion of their over-$2.5 million annual fund campaign. Typically, the 10-member staff , 11 trustees, and 32 board members prepare all year for the event, dedicating thousands of hours to planning, phone calls, and number crunching.  ough 2020 marks the organization’s 25th anniversary, they quickly shifted that celebratory energy to serving a community hit hard by covid-19.

Ruby Bright, president and CEO of WFGM, says when the pandemic hit, she had several immediate thoughts and questions as a leader.

“We looked internally and asked, what are our obligations and commitments? How can we operate if we do not raise money for three months?” she recalls. “ e main thing was to be sure that grantee partners we supported were okay, and how do we ensure that?”

Bright notes the nonprofi t arena was faced with a daunting situation, with many questions to answer, and quickly.

“We couldn’t panic,” she says. “We had to look at the state of the organization. How do we keep our relevance, and how do we continue to be a leader in addressing the needs of the community? Is the team well? Can we pivot from offi ce to remote? How are our organizations doing? How is our community?”

Bright kept a solutions-driven attitude. Ultimately, with the support of board and trustees, WFGM staff decided to focus on addressing food insecurity, ensuring home stability, and bridging the digital divide.  ey reached out to long-term donors and partnered with organizations that had the resources and expertise to move forward.

Hosted in May 2020, the WFGM covid-19 Response Project featured the support of many long-term public-private partners. During the event, more than 500 families received over 1,000 household products, food, hygiene kits, and community resource packets stuff ed with information on the virus, testing locations, fi nancial literacy, domestic violence, health and wellness, and

employment opportunities. organizations.  ey can tell our story and we can tell

Urban Strategies, Inc., a longtime WFGM partner, their story as well.” played a key role in the covid-19 Response Project. Eva Together, the organizations have also focused on the Mosby, a former WFGM board member and current students of the neighborhood. regional vice president at Urban Strategies Inc., says In July, WFGM distributed laptops and $100 gift they worked with the foundation to help determine cards to every senior from Booker T. Washington High the community’s most acute needs through an orgaSchool’s 2020 graduating class as part of the 38126 nized assessment. Digital Inclusion Plan. Within 38126, more than 55 “The Women’s Foundation stepped up and provided those ser“This has been a journey of percent of households lack access to the internet or a computer. vices to our families,” says Mosby. labor and love. I have had an Additionally, the organization “One of the biggest things for our opportunity to grow not only was named a Tennessee Community families was being able to locate those immediate needs.” as a professional but also as an Cares Grant Administrator, one of six nonprofi ts and the only women’s  e organization has ample exindividual. My experience with foundation in the state responsible perience to inform its present efWFGM elevated my ability to step for part of the distribution of $150 forts. Back in 2004, WFGM worked in collaboration with the City of up and step out even more.” million in coronavirus relief funds. During their fi rst annual meetMemphis, Urban Strategies Inc., — Ruby Bright, President and CEO of WFGM ing ever to be held vitually, WFGM McCormack Baron Salazar, and the Memphis Housing leadership announced $400,000 in grants distributed Authority (MHA) to secure the Choice Neighborhood in March for immediate relief during covid-19.  ey Implementation (CNI) grant of $30 million from the have already approved nearly $600,000 in distribuU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tion for fi scal year 2021, and another $445,000 was al(HUD).  is grant helped fund the development of ZIP located for research, responsive grant-making, and code 38126, also known as South City, a mixed-income special projects. housing community, formerly the home of the city’s last housing project, Foote Homes (now Foote Park). HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, BIG GROWTH According to Mosby, Urban Strategies served as the people’s lead for the CNI grant, working diligently F or 25 years, WFGM’s mission has been to encourage philanthropy and foster leadership with the foundation to serve 38126. “We worked with among women and support programs that enable womfamilies there to provide case-management services. en and children to reach their full potential. Funds from WFGM help provide services to families In 1995, philanthropist Mertie Buckman (1904-1999) that HUD will not allow — for instance, childcare, gathered 10 women and invested her personal funds transportation, utilities — as well as more immediate to start a task force known as Women in Philanthropy and personal needs,” she says. “We are both data-driven (now WFGM). During the foundation’s fi rst grant cycle

Ruby Bright (left) and Eva Mosby (right) work with a volunteer to assemble food packages for needy families.

Rosemarie Fair (left) and Nisha Powers, shown here at the Children’s Museum of Memphis, currently serve as co-chairs of the WFGM board.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE … OF WOMEN

Under the leadership of Bright as well as vice president Shante K. Avant, the foundation has fostered relationships and partnerships across the country. In 2015, they visited the White House as part of the Women and Girls Economic Security Council. Avant was part of the team that fostered a partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and helped Memphis become one of seven cities to implement the Evidence2Success framework, which uses an evidence-based approach to promote healthy outcomes for children and youth in ZIP code 38126.  e organization has also secured support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in recent years. Bright says that growth did not come without vulnerability, some self-doubt, and tough conversation.  ere were times where WFGM represented voices that are not often heard. “Challenges are strong. Resources are low and raising money is tough,” Bright says. “We have gotten some no’s that were disappointing, but we don’t stop. Per one of our founding board members Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis, ‘We don’t quit, we win.’” WFGM’s board is culturally and professionally diverse. Bright describes these women as entrepreneurs, executives, philanthropists, and friends who are a formidable force with which to reckon. in 1996, they awarded $60,000 to 18 programs. As of Rosemarie Fair and Nisha Powers serve as current 2020, the organization has an annual fund campaign board co-chairs. Both have demanding professional of more than $2.5 million. Since its inception, WFGM careers: Fair is vice president and mortgage-division has awarded more than $31 million to more than 530 head of Brighton Bank; she also founded and leads programs involving more than 115 nonprofi ts. One Source Commercial, a commercial real estate

Ruby Bright, president and CEO, has steered the brokerage company. Powers is president of Powers organization for 20 years now. “This has been a journey “Urban Strategies served as the people’s Hill Design, a local, small, women- and minority-owned civil of labor and love,” she says. lead for the CNI grant. Funds from WFGM engineering fi rm. “I have had an opportunity to help provide services to families that HUD Yet, they always have time for grow not only as a professional but also as an individual. will not allow — for instance, childcare, the Women’s Foundation. Fair says her lengthy involvement My experience with WFGM transportation, utilities — as well as more with the foundation has been elevated my ability to step up immediate and personal needs.” emotional, challenging, and and step out even more. Our organization has set a model — Eva Mosby, Regional Vice President at Urban Strategies, Inc. “hugely gratifying.” She says many WFGM volunteers begin for demonstrating a commitment to support a woman their journey as members of the grants committee. of color in leadership, when they didn’t have to; it has During site visits, potential partners pitch the commitallowed me to create a national and international tee on programs and initiatives for funding. presence for WFGM.” “I did that in 2005 and with Kleenex in hand, I went

Five years after inception, WFGM grew from being a to my site visits,” she says. “I was so enamored with supporting organization of the Community Foundation the work that the Women’s Foundation was doing in to securing its own offi ce.  at same year, WFGM was our community.” named Foundation for the Year by the Association of Mentored and encouraged by board member Tajuan Fundraising Professionals. Stout Mitchell, Fair grew from volunteer to board mem

“ at level of momentum incentivized me to engage ber by 2010, becoming deeply involved in the grants more and more people, be bold, and really demonstrate process and eventually co-chairing events. that WFGM is a key driver to community change for Powers was introduced to WFGM through an inand by women,” Bright says. “We have gone from having vitation to the Tribute Luncheon by board member a seat at the table to hosting the table, inviting leaders Shirlee Clark-Barber. Powers also served initially on from across the country to join us, being a thought the grants committee. leader, and being part of change on the city, state and She says she could not have guessed the impact on national level.” her own life from working with the foundation for the

By 2005, WFGM celebrated 10 years of service to the past decade. One of her fi rst grantee partner visits was community and awarded $367,401 in grants to 21 proto the Renewal Place, which provides transitional housgrams. Five years later, for their 15th anniversary, the ing for women facing and recovering from addictions. Annual Tribute Luncheon grew to 1,500 attendees, and She wept as she listened to the women’s stories and the by 2015 they announced the Vision 2020 Strategic Plan. work of the organization.

above: WFGM board members gathered for the 2019 annual meeting.

“It was a place that preserved family unity.  ey Vision 2020 focuses on fi ve key investment areas understood the basic human condition and allowed including case management, employment training, women to be with and raise their children while getting early childhood education, youth development, and the resources they needed. It was thoughtful and loving fi nancial literacy. work and it changed me forever,” she says. Over the course of four years, the organization and partners have invested $5.8 million into 38126, with VISION 2020 signifi cant results. More than 1,431 more residents are

Developed during a board retreat and employed, 90 individuals started businesses or milaunched in 2015, the Vision 2020 Strategic Plan is cro-enterprises, and 14 residents purchased homes. an ambitious initiative to reduce poverty in ZIP code Average household income increased by 51 percent, 38126, one of the poorest areas in the city, by 5 per151 resident-support programs received funding, and cent with investment and support from more than 60 2,654 individuals benefi ted from special projects and partners.  e 1.2-square-mile community is bounded by Beale Street Vision 2020 focuses on five initiatives. More than 782 children were enrolled in early education and on the north, East and Neptune key investment areas including childhood programs, 996 caregivers Streets on the east, McLemore Blvd. on the south, and Second and  ird Streets on the west. case management, employment training, early childhood and parents engaged in early childhood development and parenting education, and 3,635 young people

The neighborhood is predomieducation, youth development, participated in programs supporting nantly African-American, and when and financial literacy. positive youth development. Vision 2020 was launched, the area With all their accomplishments, had a population of approximately 6,000 residents. WFGM board, trustees, and staff know there is still Poverty statistics collected at the time by the University more work to do. covid-19 has only highlighted the of Memphis Center for Research in Educational Policy work that remains. revealed that 62 percent of adults and 76 percent of chil“We are at the 25-year mark, an incredible miledren in 38126 lived at or below the poverty line, almost stone,” says Powers. “ e work is like none other I’ve triple the citywide rate of 28 percent.  e 2015 median witnessed as a volunteer or otherwise. I want to say, household income for South City was just $15,303. ‘More of this.’”