OK, I got this dog bed early COVID.
It's a Pendleton dog bed, but I don't have a
dog.
I just enjoy having the option to sit on the
floor anywhere that I want to sit on the floor.
I want people to feel at home when they walk
in.
I want them to feel like they could hang here
for hours and and I've had people hang here for
hours and hours.
And I think when people walk in here too, they're
like an Asian person lives here, not just because it's
a shoes off home, but like the little elements of
like bamboo things and abundance of plants.
My style is kind of neutrals, eclectic, cozy, homey, definitely
inspired by nature having a very tiny space.
There's only certain ways I could actually arrange the furniture
I wanted to bring in here, and part of how
I planned and mapped that out was in my little
journal.
I drew a bird's eye view of the layout of
this place.
I cut out tiny to scale like furniture and played
like dollhouse to see how it would fit.
What I love about the space actually are the the
mirrors that face the couch.
I think it really creates a sense of a larger
room.
Even though it's not that big of a room.
I love my little couch area.
This is where I sit the most and where anyone
who visits probably sits.
So I think having this be a comfortable area to
hang out is really important.
Having lived abroad in Japan for a few years, a
lot of my experience is there in the way that
homes are set up.
Those things influenced me a lot.
Imagine a place smaller than this living in Tokyo, like
micro apartments.
I didn't have room for a couch.
Now I feel like coming back to the States, it's
very easy to live in a small space.
That experience just kind of informed a lot of the
way that I now consume and decorate and use space
or realize like, I don't need this thing and you
know, Marie Kondo, like think it and let it go.
My best piece of advice for small living is get
furniture that can do more than one thing.
This Ottoman actually has a removable lid that when you
flip it, it's a tray table so it could be
like coffee table but if I have friends over and
I need an extra seat I can go back to
the cushion side.
Or like the table I have is a desk normally,
but it's a butterfly table, so if I'm having a
dinner party, I can open that up and see more
people.
My favorite part of my apartment is probably this little
sleeping nook.
I I love to wake up in this corner.
The brick is so charming.
It can be a little scratchy, but I think it
adds a very cozy feel to it.
And I have this collage that my older sister made.
She's an amazing artist.
In my adult life, I've come to really enjoy exploring
my Taiwanese American heritage and so by getting things for
my family by nature, a lot of those have memories
in them.
This credenza that is at the end of the bed
was also in my parents office for years and years.
That used to be like for bills and envelopes and
stamps, and now it's like where I keep my clothes
and my jewelry.
I love my Natural History corner.
I call it my Natural History corner because it's a
collection of seashells and like weird natural objects.
Most of them were pieces I found snorkeling and diving
with my with my dad and my sister.
And now I have like a little display of all
those memories.
I think home is a place where you feel your
safest and most comfortable.
Home is a place where you feel like this is
your world's.
All of your memories and your cherished things are here.
At the end of the day, I love to come
home, sit on the couch, maybe have a glass of
wine or make a cozy little meal and really just
unplug and enjoy being in this space.
I think my advice to someone creating a home that
you love is take your time.
Don't rush and buy all new things that match just
because you think it should be catalogue perfect and matchy.
Matchy bring with you pieces that you love.
The personal side of picking each object for yourself and
collecting through your travels.
That is what makes it feel like you're building a
home.