Although Robin and Regina Reaves have been traveling all over the country for the last few years, taking on big home design projects, they still couldn’t believe it when they received a call saying their services were requested to redesign the abode of an Academy Award-nominated actress: Taraji P. Henson. They literally couldn’t believe it.
“A friend of one of her employees was already following us, and we didn’t know,” Robin recalls of getting an unexpected phone call from Henson’s team in 2024. “She’s like, ‘We’re looking to get her house done. Do you guys think that you could travel immediately?’ And we’re like, yeah. But in the back of my mind, I’m like, this is not real. This stuff doesn’t happen in real life. This has to be a prank phone call.”
By the time he passed the phone to Regina, she was even more suspicious that they were being “Catfished.” Skepticism was high. “I wasn’t sold, let’s put it like that,” she admits. “I wasn’t sold until we got off the plane in California, and I called the person and was like, ‘Hey, we’re on the way.’”
But it was legit, and the couple is still pinching themselves. “It was definitely a very surreal moment,” she says. “We have been big supporters of T for such a long time. So it was just a very out-of-the-blue call for us, but exciting at the same time.”
For more than a year, they flew back and forth from Charlotte, where their R&R Interior Design 365 company is based, to California for consultations, meetings with vendors, strategizing, and getting Henson’s approval on plans. They first started working on the home, starting from the outside in, back in November, with the outdoor project. Then, they went indoors in May and completed everything else by August. The result is about 10 rooms inside the A-lister’s California home being redesigned, bringing her hopes for the abode to fruition.
“One of the biggest things that she would mention to us is that she wanted the home to feel very comfortable. She wanted it to be a great representation of her personality, which is very playful, and she definitely wanted it to be ultra feminine,” Regina says. “She wanted people to know, this is my home, this is my place of comfort. She wanted people to know that a woman lived there—a confident woman.”
It was a match made in heaven, as the star client and the design pair were on the same page regarding the use of color, eclectic wallpapers, various patterns, and textures throughout the home. Because of that, every room has a distinct personality, but all areas work together cohesively. This approach to designing a residence is becoming increasingly popular, according to the Reaves.
“I have a real estate background and I practice real estate to this very day. What I’m seeing with buyers is that they want homes that have the colors that represent them, because it’s moods that you go through,” Robin notes. “So when the home actually speaks to your mood, we have clients that have testified to this; it actually changes your mood. It becomes a true sanctuary based on how your home is laid out and designed. This was especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if you have a strenuous job or stressful job, or a job that you travel quite often, your home can become your meditation.”
A career in Hollywood can certainly come with its fair share of strain. So Henson’s new sprawling space, filled with rooms that are treated like colorful vignettes, has truly become a haven. A dwelling that celebrates her brilliance, from a mural of her magazine covers, a wall filled with her awards, to nods to her entrepreneurial pursuits throughout.
“I finally have a home now,” Henson tells ESSENCE. “So I’m never going to go out. It’s beautiful! I don’t know what to do with myself. It’s sexy!”
It is indeed an enchanting residence. You too can bring character to your dwelling, whether you’re in an expansive house or living in an apartment, have a big budget or you’re sticking to a smaller allocation.
“The easiest way to bring a vibe or bring personality to your home is paint,” Robin says. “It’s inexpensive, but man, when done right, it can literally change and elevate your space tremendously.”
“And honestly, even now, they make some really impressive tools and stick wallpapers as well. I wouldn’t shy away from wallpaper if you’re in a renter-friendly space, because that can ultimately set a whole different vibe,” Regina adds. “And from an accessory standpoint, sourcing vintage accessories, it’s always been a thing for us. It’s become a trend at this point, and I love that it is a trend. Hopefully it stays. Your accessories don’t have to be sparkling, brand-new from the newest home decor store. They can be the green glasses that everybody’s grandma had back in the day.”
If you try these tricks, you too can end up in a home that embodies the design style of Soulfulism. It’s one coined by the couple and classified as “a bold, expressive style that celebrates the richness of Black heritage through layered textures, vibrant colors, ancestral symbolism, and eclectic decor. It merges storytelling and cultural pride with an unapologetically abundant aesthetic.”
You can certainly see that throughout Henson’s updated home. Flip through for an exclusive look at her vibrant digs, and get insight into how the Reaves would describe each space in this digital Home Style exclusive.
01
The Kitchen
“Something that the client loves to do, is cook,” Regina says. “It’s very inviting. And the views are insane.” Robin adds, “And it allows you to entertain too with the big island. It also has great access to the other rooms. It’s like a meeting point between the majority of the house. It’s kind of generic to say, but it’s the heart of the home.”
02
Pool Area
“It’s such a vibe. It’s so much different seating creating different vibes wherever you are out there,” Regina says. “So under the covered patio porch area, there’s a fire pit space right there, and it kind of gives you a lounge, especially at night with the lights that we installed out there, it gives you a high-end lounge feel.”
03
The Great Outdoors Continued
“It is literally a vibe,” Robin says. “At night it’s truly a vibe. Takes your breath away.” Outdoor furniture was secured through a partnership with Bernhardt, the furniture company.
04
Chase a Feeling
“You can still create cohesiveness throughout your home with the feeling that’s created in the room,” Regina says, pictured here with Robin in the outdoor area of Henson’s home. “It doesn’t have to be matching like, ‘oh, well, that space doesn’t match the same color in this room or that room.’ Maybe you just pull a color from that space and you pop it in through a pillow or through your rug. But I think it’s really important for clients to evoke emotions from spaces. One of the main things we ask our clients during consultations is how do you want to feel when you come home? How do you want to feel when you walk through the door? Of course, we can ask, what’s your favorite color? And those are important things as well, but the feeling that you’re looking for, that’s what we’re chasing.”
05
Living Room
“Speakeasy,” the couple says when asked for one word to describe this space. “It’s a speakeasy because of the fact that you have your music, your libations. And then the mood is very cool and it’s very swanky, like a seventies type of vibe. It’s very low-key where you come, you enjoy your drinks, you relax, maybe light a cigar or whatever the case may be, but it’s very low-key. Just somewhere that you relax and chill and listen to your old 45s on,” Robin says.
06
Dining Room
Imagery throughout the room, particularly the artwork, leads the couple to describe the dining room as “revolutionary.” As Robin says, “I think it’s revolutionary because it honors the past, but also paves the way to the future with the green, which in some cases show growth and prosperity with the jewel tones, but then also from the mirror to the different pieces within the room. Even framing in the wallpaper shows you that you’re being seen, you’re being highlighted. So it’s revolutionary that we honor the past and we represent the future.”
07
Family Room
“Nostalgic” is the best way to describe this space. “It’s a very comfortable sunken family room, so it’s kind of nostalgic,” Regina shares. “It goes back to that era of when sunken family rooms were a thing. And there’s a resurgence of that in the design community.”
08
For the Record
In the living room, in addition to classic records that she loves, Henson’s face is displayed on records thanks to a partnership with Oliver Gal. “That was kind of something that just came to us last minute. And I was like, what if we just blow her face up on records, have them spin, put a great quote on it? That’s still one of my favorite parts,” Regina says.
09
Art Gallery Hallway
Painted in an ever-changing gray violet, the art gallery hallway highlights up-and-coming artists around the country, including Ariel Shipp, who captured the beauty of Black women. “It’s meant to be like a woman empowerment hall because it’s all women throughout the hall. All Black women. Empowerment,” Regina says. “That’s something that’s really big to the client. It’s just women empowerment, and the client supporting small business.”
10
Glam Room
Henson spends a lot of time in the glam room. The mural of her magazine covers and shoots certainly make it an inviting space. “The thing I really like about that space is that it also tells a story about the client and different moments of her career. They’re highlighted through all the different magazine covers through that mural. So it’s a really special place. It’s one of the client’s favorite rooms,” Regina notes. “It also displays her products that she currently owns,” Robin adds. “It displays her legacy. It points towards the future when you look at her products now that she’s launched.”
11
The Bedroom
The Reaves use the word “tranquility” to describe the primary bedroom. “Because it’s an overwhelming sense of peace that comes over you when you go into that room,” Robin says. “From the way that the sun comes in on that side of the home to the reflection of the different patterns on the wallpaper, and then the softness of the textures and the mixture of the textures and patterns, it feels very tranquil. You just want to relax when you come in here.”
12
Primary Bathroom
The main bathroom is a retreat. “We purposely use that specific wallpaper in there to help kind of create that zen feel. To me, it’s a retreat,” Regina says. The wallpaper in this room is from York Wallcoverings. “It has the rainfall shower, it has the sauna in there, it has a soaking tub,” Robin adds. “It’s literally it’s own retreat.”
13
A Job Well Done
Retro. Boho. Bali-inspired. Soul. This house has it all thanks to the Reaves. “I finally have a big girl’s house,” Henson says. “It’s everything.”
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