Bringing the Garden Inside through Earthy Linens
I love being inside our home— I do. But I’ve found that, in this time of far-reaching, heightened stress, being outside works wonders on my attitude.
I’ve been testing out ways of bringing the feeling of being outdoors into our bedroom to help counter the spike in anxiety I feel overnight.
We have windows in our headboard, so I trained the grapevine to run along the wall behind the bed, where its bright, wide leaves brush against the glass beneath the trailing plants on our built-in bookshelf.
The greenery continues on the other side of the room, where trumpet vines spill from an overhead living canopy just beyond the French doors.
To visually connect all of these elements throughout the bedroom, we added 100% linen sheets in this Earthy green hue. So far I’m enjoying how it unites this small space without visually cluttering it.
I always prefer linen sheets. First of all, they’re breathable (which helps, as we have no AC here in our tiny, coastal home)
Additionally, they don’t cling to dog hair as much as other fabrics seem to.
They get softer with every wash, and they line-dry quickly, helping us cut back on energy usage and costs.
Lastly, I find them simply beautiful.
West keeps saying, “Mom— I love our new bed!” (So do I, West.)
Note: This blog post was not sponsored, but the sheets were gifted as part of a paid partnership with Brooklinen on Instagram. As always, a portion of the income my small company earned from the collaboration will be donated to The RightWay Foundation.
New Podcast Interview Live
I was delighted to be a recent guest on the “What We Said” podcast, and the episode was released today: listen here.
We discussed tiny living and sustainability (and actionable tips for navigating both), as well as family life in under 400 sqft.
Thanks for having me on your show, Jaci and Chelsey!
Declutter with the Help of Greenery
Rather than buying new, purely decorative tchotchkes that will sit on the planet for hundreds (or thousands) of years, we try instead to outfit our lil’ home with multi-functional items, and/or organic decor that will naturally decay once the time comes. This is one of the many reasons I have happily embraced the houseplant craze.
By now, we all know that plants clean the air, eliminating harmful toxins while releasing oxygen and reducing carbon dioxide. They can also decrease stress, while increasing our feelings of happiness.
But a lesser discussed reason to decorate with plants is that— depending on how you go about it— it can reduce your level of consumer waste.
Most obviously, plants replace the need for superfluous decor throughout your home. And, when all is said and done, they can be composted or planted elsewhere, meaning that there will be no “stuff” left over to throw away or donate if your tastes shift or your needs change.
In my book, Small Space Style: Because You Don’t Need to Live Large to Live Beautifully, there are numerous tips for ways to incorporate greenery into even the most compact spaces— both indoor and outdoor. (There’s also a feature of my favorite plant guru, Hilton Carter.)
Our tiny home feels bare without plants, as demonstrated by the photos in this post, all taken on the same April morning. Just a handful of wisely placed varieties can make a huge difference in a small space, and create a visual that’s entirely unique. (After all, unlike a mass-produced print or accessory, no two plants are exactly the same.) We use a mix of invisible floating shelves, lightweight hanging planters, and vintage pots to display our indoor greenery.
Functional Decor - Perpetual Calendar
I often talk about the concept of “functional decor.” With the planet suffering from the effects of our overconsumption and staggering waste, it’s more important than ever that we cut back in general. I aim to avoid purchasing new, mass produced, unsentimental, decorative tchotchkes for the sake of decor. Instead, I try to enrich our home with sustainable, ethically-produced, practical goods that can serve a function while delighting our senses.
When it comes to toys, I usually prefer hand-me-downs— particularly with items such as LEGOs, things-that-go, and magnetic tiles. They cost very little (if anything), and since they’ve already been produced, transported and purchased, there’s no point in dooming them to a landfill or storage after they’ve been used by a single household. We might as well pass these items down the line as long as possible, especially since most are made of plastic that won’t biodegrade.
West’s toy collection is also largely made up of handmade wooden designs that we enjoy using (and seeing… and stepping over) throughout our home and garden.
Thanks to library books and interactions with friends, there’s no lack of “new” games and activities for our son to experience. But some months have passed since we got him anything more permanent, so I decided to invest in a beautiful, playful, wooden perpetual calendar I found on Etsy.
A perpetual calendar is a handy, lower-waste item for spaces of any size, and I found this one to be the perfect tool-meets-toy for our tiny home/office.
At 2 ½ years old, West is creating his own daily rhythm, and understands that particular days of the week mean that set activities will be taking place. I figured that a functional, updatable, interactive calendar would be useful to him for years to come.
So far, he loves it, even though he doesn’t fully understand it... and even though he insists the weather tiles be stored in his wheelbarrow.
Parachute Home Pop-Up on Abbot Kinney
Parachute Home is one of my favorite local companies. They make quality bedding basics that look both simple and completely luxurious.
They invited me to design their summer pop-up at Milkmade on Abbot Kinney. It was a small space that filled the storefront window, along with an outdoor "garden" area that had to be stowed away every night when the shop closed.
The trick was to balance the Parachute brand (along with their summer motif) with the hosting business, Milkmade.
Thank you, Parachute (and Milkmade) for having me!
Image sources: Whitney Leigh Morris and Parachute Home
The New Bohemians Book Release Party
I am so inspired by Justina Blakeney-- this woman kills it at EVERYTHING. I love Justina (the woman AND her work), and I was so thrilled to be invited to her new book release party in LA, sponsored by One Kings Lane. (I even got my hairs cut for the occasion.) I brought home a signed copy of The New Bohemians, and it's completely gorgeous. It's now one of the best parts of our Cottage.
Congrats and thank you, Queen Justina!
