AN ETHNIC MIX

When Kenneth and Kenyatta Carter bought their Cottage Grove home in 2003, it was plain vanilla. "Just white walls," Kenneth recalled.

Last year they asked designer Angie Scott of Access:Dezign to give their home a makeover. The Carters had some African-inspired artwork and accessories but weren't specifically seeking an African look, said Kenyatta, who was named for Kenya's former president.

"We have some pieces that are really strong, but we didn't want to overpower the house. It's a small space," she said. "We wanted it to reflect an African feel but we didn't want things all over the place."

Scott, who specializes in green design with an ethnic twist, aimed to create a home that reflected the Carters' relaxed personalities, while also accommodating their two young children. The design evolved into African-accented contemporary, in a chocolate-and-robin's-egg-blue color palette. Scott incorporated many pieces that the Carters already owned. She took their two small African masks, for example, and mounted them on tall rectangular panels she found at Pier 1 to create larger-scale artwork above the sofa.

Large African baskets were used as part of a grouping above the staircase. The arrangement includes a tribal drum that looks African but is actually from India, Scott said. "There are Vietnamese and Indian pieces you can incorporate." Textured window treatments from West Elm and bold geometric patterns also add to the African vibe. However, Scott views the design as "an eclectic global mix," that draws from many ethnic influences.

ART AND EARTHY ELEMENTS

Singer Jevetta Steele has always surrounded herself with African-inspired art and decor. "My style is warm Afro-centric," she said. "The older I get, the more I'm drawn to it, although it's the one place I haven't been. My husband and I have decided we are going in 2010."

Her Golden Valley home is filled with art and artifacts she's picked up on her travels. "I'm in Europe a lot, where you find lots of African people. They tend to sell their work on the streets," she said. "And in town, I attend a lot of auctions," where she buys pieces by local African-American artists.

"We tend to be drawn to African art to celebrate us and remind us of who we are," she said. "My interest has increased as I've had the pleasure of working with so many African-Americans on operas. These people are very close to the roots." (Her next project is an opera about Rosa Parks, "Dear Mrs. Parks," with the Detroit Symphony.)

In addition to being artsy, Steele's home is also earthy, by design. "My decorating style is to cover as many of the earthy elements as I can," she said. "All my rooms have a plant ... some leather ... wood, maybe some glass. Usually four of the five elements will be in each room. A room is not finished until there's something organic in it."

'PART OF MY DNA'

Artist Ta-coumba Aiken used to paint in the pointilistic realism style. But a 1977 visit to Nigeria, with 900 other American-African artists, altered that. "I saw wonders ... colors ... trees taller than the biggest buildings in St. Paul," he recalled. "It did change my aesthetic."

It also changed his mission statement as an artist. "It got me to start looking at what I was creating, who it was for. The African in me came out more."

Now his paintings, which fill his St. Paul loft, reflect "rhythm patterns and spirit writing," inspired by African themes, traditions and his commitment to create art with a positive, healing spirit.

"Africa is part of my DNA," he said. "In Africa, art is not separate from life. It's in the clothing, in the songs, in the drumming. It's not like going to the theater for entertainment. It's [part of ] a more holistic way of living."

Aiken's paintings and painted glassware (www.december designs.com) have been exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, but despite that seal of critical approval, he believes that he creates "trinkets," just as African woodcarvers and textile weavers always have. "Art has value not because a museum says it has value but because it makes people feel good," he said.

"It's a hard and interesting time for artists. My hope is that we can Obama-cize art." What does that mean? "When Obama was raising money over the Internet, he respected the value of the $10 contribution as well as the $1,000 contribution," Aiken said. "Obama told people to pass the word. You can Obama-cize something by supporting it."