I absolutely love this apartment. It’s so light and bright and colorful and full of plants!
Jessica’s apartment is just 500 square feet in size. But she’s made great use of every bit of space.
She loves to collect things that remind her of other times and places. All of these mementos combined with eclectic and bohemian accents, and lots and lots of greenery, are what makes her home special.
“The mix of my travel finds with some modern furniture and a ton of plants makes the flat feel cozy while brimming with personality,” Jessica says. “It gives you a much richer connection to the things you have, and makes for a good story as you show guests around your home.”
When Jessica has guests over, she can tell them exactly where she got something and what she had to do to get it home.
“The last time I went to Argentina, I brought back a leather butterfly chair and two rugs,” she says. “It was an adventure to get them home on the airplane!”
But to her, it’s worth the extra effort, as her travel memories add a warmth in her apartment that can’t be matched.
She is originally from the South, so of course she loves to entertain and have people over for dinner. Her friends squeeze into the cozy, plant-filled living room with a glass of wine and listen to records.
Once she was in Buenos Aires and fell in love with the rug that is now in her bedroom. She had to buy new luggage just to get it on a plane. But she says it was worth it.
Jessica works at Pinterest, and her obsession with indoor plants really took off when she started a board on them.
“I kept saving Pins that looked like jungles… and then before I knew it I had surrounded myself with one. At least I have a few co-workers who share my interest so we can nerd out about propagating plants and watering schedules.”
Her favorite element of her home is the blue walls in her living room. She feels that those blue walls make anything look good. When she moved in, they were already blue and she asked the landlords not to repaint it.
Her friends would joke about her blue walls until the house was taken over by plants. Now they have something new to tease her about. But they admit that her home is super cozy and inspiring.
She says the kitchen feels old with its linoleum floor and old counter tops. And it’s tiny. But she thinks that adding texture and greenery has helped, that it makes the room feel cozier.
When she’s entertaining she feels like she’s crawling all over everyone in order to cook and serve them food. So a tiny kitchen is a real obstacle for her.
Which is why she’s gotten really creative with storage. She put her extra pots and pans above the cabinets, and shelves in her kitchen hold her go-to utensils and spices.
Even though her kitchen is the smallest room, it’s where friends gather the longest. She says they rarely leave the kitchen table.
Jessica’s best advice is that home goods make the best and longest-lasting souvenirs. She has backpacked South America with ceramics and pillowcases in her bag, but had to leave behind clothes to make space on the plane home.
“It gives you a much richer connection to the things you have, and makes for a good story as you show guests around your home. So yeah, surround yourself with things that remind you of places and moments in time.”
Jessica’s dream sources are Pinterest, flea markets and antique stores across the country. She also loves looking through the home section of the Anthropologie catalog.
” They’re never light on bright and bold use of color!” she adds.
I hope you enjoyed this home tour.
Fantastic. Love this space.
I like that even in her very small kitchen she makes room for plants. Every kitchen needs an aloe vera plant (for burns).
I agree! I typically have an aloe vera but don’t have one right now. And that’s why I like that plant, to use on burns. However, since I don’t have a stove/oven, I rarely get burned anymore.