June 2022 Editor’s Letter

MagazineJune 2022 Editor’s LetterAD’s Editor-in-Chief unveils what’s in store for the June issue

By Amy Astley

May 17, 2022

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Photographer Claiborne Swanson Frank and sons. 

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All you need is love—but a little design vision never hurts! Welcome to AD’s first Family issue—a joyful, life-affirming, feel-good celebration of what family living looks like now. Blended, intergenerational, traditional, LGBTQ+, multicultural, child-centric, or kid-free: The AD editors sought to capture the breadth of modern bonds and the plethora of creative ways people of all ages are inventing their own environments to support and nurture those most dear.

Jean-Philippe Demeyer with his work and life partners, Frank Ver Elst and Jean-Paul Dewever, in Portugal. 

Miguel Flores-Vianna

Our cover star, design powerhouse Justina Blakeney of Jungalow fame, has documented on social media the painstaking and very personal process of renovating her new dream home outside L.A. AD is honored to capture and share the inspiring results. At a thoughtfully conceived multigenerational compound in Venice, California, a family of four lives with three grandparents in idyllic harmony, blending both togetherness and privacy. Our visit to iconic drummer Travis Barker’s chic and chill Calabasas house (he has owned it for 15 years, raised his children there, and recently overhauled it with AD100 talent Waldo Fernandez) reveals the surprisingly zen domestic side of the tattooed megastar. (Don’t miss Barker’s appealing turn hosting an Open Door of his own on AD’s YouTube channel—he’s a bit of a neat freak!)

Justina Blakeney with her family. 

Jenna Peffley

Intergenerational living in Venice, California. 

Ye Rin Mok

The Ali Forney Center’s future home.

Shaun Lucas

Speaking of family and home—it’s hard to thrive without the comforts and support of both, especially for young people. To that end, AD is proud to announce our support of NYC’s Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest teen and young adult LGBTQIA+specialized agency providing homeless and marginalized youth with shelter, meals, health care, vocational training, crisis intervention, and more. AD is leveraging our network of designers—all passionate about the power of environment—to contribute to a capital campaign that will enable the AFC to buy a Harlem town house that will add much-needed beds to the program. Home, sweet home, indeed.

-Amy Astley, Editor in Chief, @amyastley