Romeo Okwara: Inside the Former NFL Standout’s New Lakeside Home

Nick Mafi
·10 min read

Art: Davariz Broaden/Louis Buhl & Co., Detroit

The path that led Romeo Okwara to his new home outside of Detroit is as long and sinuous as the many rivers, lagoons, and estuaries that feed into his native Lagos. Born in Nigeria, Okwara moved to North Carolina when he was 10 years old. It was there, in his newly adopted country, that the young Okwara leaned into his two unmistakable talents: football and fine art. The former allowed him to earn a full athletic scholarship to the University of Notre Dame and, later, a successful career as a defensive end in the NFL for the New York Giants and Detroit Lions. Yet it was the latter pursuit that forged his true passion in life, eventually landing his photographic artwork in exhibitions in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. And it’s Okwara’s creative eye that now, after so many years, has been successfully applied throughout his new abode in a town on Lake St. Clair, not far from downtown Detroit.

“When I first moved [to Detroit], I was invited to a dinner at a home on Lake St. Clair,” says Okwara, who arrived in 2018 to play for the Lions. “I remember it was such a short drive from the city to arrive in this oasis with beautiful homes and quiet yards. My love for the area was immediate.” After a home in the neighborhood was rumored to be for sale, Okwara leapt at the opportunity. “The owner bought it from the original owners who built the house,” he says of the home, which was completed in 1904. “And because of that fact, it wasn’t on the market per se. The owner wanted to personally interview a small group of would-be buyers.” Okwara, who retired from the NFL this year after eight seasons in the league, had the inside lane. “One of the owner’s sons went to Notre Dame, so we bonded over that connection. But we also shared a real love for the authenticity of the home. Neither one of us wanted to destroy that, only enhance it.”

While it was unknown at the time, Okwara was competing for the home against interior designer Holly Jonsson​​​​ and her husband, architect Matthew Rossetti (the couple eventually bought a home down the street). Later, once Okwara purchased the property in the spring of 2021, it was Jonsson that he brought in to collaborate on the interior design. While the locus of their introduction was through a mutual friend, Okwara and Jonsson not only formed a unified design vision, but a strong camaraderie as well. “The first time I met Romeo was in my office,” the designer says. “And he arrived with a stack of earmarked books that he’d already poured through for inspiration. That was my first inkling I’d met someone special.”

The duo decided to remove two interior walls: one that separated the kitchen from the dining room and another to form a larger primary bedroom. “The house has these big beautiful windows overlooking the property,” says Okwara. “By physically opening certain spaces in the home, we enhanced the experience of seeing the surrounding landscape.” And, for Okwara, the surrounding landscape was vital in creating a reminder of home. “Growing up in a town just outside of Lagos, we were situated right on the coast of Africa. To now live on a body of water will always remind me of childhood.”

Okwara has a dynamic personality, and that shines throughout the new home. The space is filled with moments from his own life that, in his words, “culminated to decorate the space.” From a young age, fine art had rooted itself at the front of Okwara’s mind. “Going back to my early education,” he explains, “I learned that painting, ceramics, fashion, design, architecture, photography, all of them were distinct parts of my personality.” Now his life is replete with examples of his artistic dedication, with photography becoming Okwara’s main medium.

During his time at Notre Dame, Okwara took a formative school trip to Greece. While visiting a quaint shop in the mountains there, he became attached to a tapestry of a cottage surrounded by nature. He knew he had to own it. For years, the artwork remained furled away. Then, when Okwara moved into his new home and began collaborating with Jonsson, neither was sure of what to place atop the focal mantelpiece. “One day while we were in the final design stages, it just hit me,” Okwara reflects. “I decided to place it above the mantel and was shocked how perfectly the colors and atmosphere mirrored my property. It’s as if I had been manifesting for that moment.”

Shop out the look of the house here ⤵

A look inside the sun room, which features Devon Turnbull speakers, an Angelo Mangiarotti hand-carved stone chess set, and a Tiger Mountain sofa. Okwara collaborated with interior designer Holly Jonsson, who said of the project, “Working together in someone’'s home is so personal. You not only get to know them, but how they live in their own space. It’s always exciting to see a project finish successfully.”
In the sun room, a Gueridon Las Islas ADJ games table is surrounded by Mario Bellini dining chairs below a fiber pendant from Blue Green Works.
The home’s bar, which is located on a far end of the sun room, features a custom brace sink by Plain English and a turntable. “Music is a big theme in my life, and I love having music follow me through all corners of the home,” says Okwara, who lists John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Dead & Company, Miles Davis, and Tyler the Creator among his favorite musicians.
Okwara seated near to his dog, Ruby, in the primary bedroom on a Annie Hiéronimus leather loveseat from South Loop Loft.
Okwara, who is currently in a photography MFA program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, to further sharpen his craft, takes portraits in his primary bedroom because, he says, he “loves the warm ambiance from the sunlight hitting the limewash walls.” The room features a custom bed by Smithmade.
Okwara, who is currently in a photography MFA program at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, to further sharpen his craft, takes portraits in his primary bedroom because, he says, he “loves the warm ambiance from the sunlight hitting the limewash walls.” The room features a custom bed by Smithmade.
On one side of the primary bedroom is Okwara’s sitting area, which prominently features a painting by Emmanuel Isiuwe, his uncle who lives in Nigeria. During the COVID pandemic, Okwara stayed at his friend’s house in Los Angeles to train. When he learned his friend was getting rid of a leather sofa he loved, Okwara jumped at the opportunity to own it. The piece now has a prominent spot in his bedroom.
The landing is a warm and cozy nook in the home, accentuated by African mahogany stools with cowhide by Green River Project, and artwork from various artists such as Igshaan Adams. The sofa, which also came from Green River Project, includes Okwara’s school uniform pattern from his time at the Corona School Apapa, outside Lagos. “This is my favorite space in the home,” says Jonsson of the landing. “Yes, you truly feel like you're in the trees, but it’s more than just that. This room was totally created by Romeo. Looking back on the design of this space, I wouldn’t have finished it this way. Which is to say, I couldn’t have made it any better.”
Royal blue cabinets by Plain English match appliances of the same hue by Cornue, making the kitchen among the highlights of the renovation (which was conducted by Hawasli, a local contracting company). “My mom was probably most excited by how the kitchen turned out because she’s a fantastic cook,” says Okwara.
The living room, which features a Montauk Jill sectional and a Michael van Beuren coffee table from Den Los Angeles. But for Okwara, the standout in the room is the artwork on the far wall by Kevin Beasley. The piece, entitled Meeting (2020), contains fabrics and dresses and shirts from around the world. “It has a gravitational pull,” says Okwara of the work. “There’s an ancestral component to it that, I believe, can speak to most anyone who looks at it.”
The library features a John Kapel studio secretary desk from Den Los Angeles and an antique elm smokers bow chair from 1900. The first owners, who built the home in the early 20th century, included a physician. This room was where he would see patients. It wasn’t until later that the room took the form of a more traditional office space. Okwara, adding his own flair, refurbished an old vintage landline, which, he says, “only my mom and girlfriend have the number for.”
The primary bathroom features a tiger-print rug from Noreen Seabrook, custom walnut cabinets, Clé Tile, and a copper tub from Thompson Traders.
A view of the home’s main entrance, which is shaded by surrounding trees, is among the home’s many charming elements.
A view of the home’s main entrance, which is shaded by surrounding trees, is among the home’s many charming elements.
Romeo Okwara seated in a favorite nook and wearing a Danshiki, a traditional Yoruba outfit. Now, having retired from professional football, Okwara has started a photography-based artist residency located on the East Side of Detroit called Middle Grey. The nonprofit, which will be designed by Okwara, in collaboration with Brian Castor of Castor Design, will help provide resources to emerging and established photographers. The residency plans to begin programing in the spring/summer of 2025.
On the third floor, Okwara and Jonsson turned an unfinished attic into a meditative music room. Okwara now uses the space to listen to his favorite albums, paint, and look out over the nearby lake.
On the third floor, Okwara and Jonsson turned an unfinished attic into a meditative music room. Okwara now uses the space to listen to his favorite albums, paint, and look out over the nearby lake.
Art: Jammie Holmes/Louis Buhl & Co., Detroit
A peek into the powder room features Gucci wallpaper, Disderot sconces by Lumfardo, and a wall-mounted faucet by Studio Ore. “The last team I played for was the Detroit Lions, and of course the home is just outside of Detroit, so I wanted to show the connection without screaming it,” says Okwara. “I felt like it was a subtle moment to show my Lions pride.”
Inside the primary closet, Okwara keeps not just his clothes, but mementos from his past nearby. “I’ve kept each helmet worn since high school, and I’m not the [type] to have a big office with my jerseys on the wall,” says Okwara. “But this sliver of space seemed perfect. I love walking past it every day and reminding myself of where I’ve been and what I’ve accomplished.”
A view of the backyard, overlooking Lake St. Clair, includes a newly added swimming pool surrounded by old-growth magnolia and pine trees. “During the first morning living in the home, I looked over the backyard and the first thing I saw was the orange-yellow sunrise coming over the water,” explains Okwara. “And the trees in my yard, the way they had naturally formed, it created a blazing silhouette of the mitt that makes up Michigan’s map.”

Shop it out:

Accent Marks Dedar Tiger Mountain in Fauve Pillow Covers

$385.00, Etsy

Rejuvenation Coridon Task Floor Lamp

$449.00, Rejuvenation

Ojas Artbook Shelf Speaker

$5500.00, Ojas

Revival Andrzej Turkish Vintage Rug

$1819.00, Revival

Vintage Wilhelm Kage "Argenta" Vase

$1475.00, 1st Dibs

West Elm Morton Woven Show Wood Chair

$599.00, West Elm

Vintage Leather Cab Chairs by Mario Bellini for Cassina (Set of 2)

$2900.00, Chairish

Blue Green Works Large Fiber Pendant

$5400.00, The Expert

Sundays Frame Round Dining Table

$1480.00, Sundays

Vintage Studio Pottery Vase by Daniel Garver

$1230.00, Chairish

Akari UF5-32N Floor Lamp by Isamu Noguchi

$2000.00, Noguchi Shop

Cozy Earth Bamboo Sheet Set

$331.00, Cozy Earth

Blacksaw Kimura Heirloom Blanket

$425.00, Blacksaw

Knoll Risom Side Chair

$1257.00, Design Within Reach

Vintage Flip-Top Teak Desk by Peter Løvig Nielsen

$5799.00, 1st Dibs

Houseplant Strut Lamp & Ashtray

$425.00, Coming Soon

Seagrass Cage Highball Glass (Set of 6)

$88.00, Tuckernuck

Bronze Patio Armchair by Walter Lamb for Brown Jordan

$4000.00, Chairish

Houseplant Orange Side Table Ashtray

$195.00, Urban Outfitters

Schumacher Zebre Hand-Knotted Rug

$3341.00, Wayfair

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

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