Tahirah Hairston’s Customized Daybed Does it All
Tahirah and her dog Yohji on the daybed.
Who?
Nowadays, Tahirah Hairston is the Brooklyn-based editorial director at Topicals–a Gen Z skincare brand with bubbly marketing breaking down industry norms. Previously, she worked as a fashion beauty director at Teen Vogue. “I’ve always been super into clothes and fashion. My style is easy with a bit of fun and quirk,” Hairston shares. “I wanted to translate that same taste into my apartment.”
What?
While living with roommates, splurging on furniture was not something at the top of Hairston’s list. But after scoring her first solo apartment in Brooklyn in 2019, contemplating an investment piece became a bit more realistic. It would be hers for the long run. As a longtime Donald Judd fan, Hairston scoured Etsy for something that mimicked the artist’s infamous, easy daybed. After finding a furniture maker from California who had built a few similar items, she asked for a custom job. The resulting piece is built in a sleek dark wood, custom-sized perfectly for her space, as well as her body (doubling as the ideal napping nook during her WFH days). “It was my first piece of furniture I didn’t buy on Craigslist!” she recalls in excitement.
Hairston collaborated with a furniture maker in California to get the dimensions of her daybed just right, as it serves as both a place to relax and as a room divider.
When?
Designing the piece itself was a process–and still has yet to receive the finishing touches. Originally purchased in September 2019 around the same time as the apartment, it arrived about four months after Hairston had moved into the her space. A friend who works in design agreed to help her do the cushions in a simple white canvas, fitted to the custom dimensions of the daybed. Up next? A white bouclé to add a bit of texture for when she wants to change it up. “I’ll have two different couch covers,” Hairston adds, “it can grow with me, it’s always changeable”
Where?
The sofa was the first piece of furniture in the apartment, standing in the middle of her alcove studio to separate the bedroom and living area. The layout of the space was one of the deciding factors when choosing the daybed, since its dimensions and construction were ideal to create enough of a subdivision while keeping the openness she wanted.
