This Artist’s Small Rental in the Mountains Is a Plant-Filled “Studio with a Bed Nook”
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published now

This Artist’s Small Rental in the Mountains Is a Plant-Filled “Studio with a Bed Nook”

Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
published now
comments
Add Us
See more Apartment Therapy stories when you search on Google.
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
About this tour
Explore More House Tours
Home Type

Apartment

Location

Black Mountain, North Carolina

Style

Bohemian

Cottage

Bedrooms

1

Square feet

800

Sq ft

800

Even after getting married and technically moving out, artist Lauren Younis just couldn’t quite say goodbye to this special 800-square-foot apartment. The 1940s rental, located just two blocks from downtown Black Mountain, North Carolina, and 20 minutes from Asheville, had become more than just a home to Lauren for eight years — she spent that time slowly collecting, rearranging, and creating this magical space.

See More Images
Credit: Cassie Gibb
"Curate your home over time," Lauren advises. "Don't go to 'typical' stores and just buy 'stuff.' Get things that reflect who you are, what you do in the world, what you love; buy what you genuinely love, and learn that it's not about 'buying things that fit or match together' but about 'curating a style that inevitably works because it's authentically your own.'"

It was the place where Lauren built her art practice, found her personal style, and felt most like herself. So instead of giving it up when she got married, she kept it as an art studio. But that still wasn’t the end of her story with this space.

See More Images
Credit: Cassie Gibb
"I love looking for things abroad at flea markets/shops: old maps, trinkets, etc. that have a truly one-of-a-kind feel. Things that are really curiosity pieces," Lauren writes. "One thing I do when shopping anywhere is ask myself, 'if I take this item out of *this* space [the store], and move it into mine, is it actually that great anymore?' Or do I just think I like it right now because it's new/novel? (I do this with clothing too). It helps me select things that really, really feel unique and like they'll stand the test of time and will never lose their charm."

“In May of 2025 I moved back in more full-time — I got a job in the area and my husband and I agreed that because I love it so much and am so much more comfortable here than where he is (his home/our ‘together home’ is a cabin in the woods on-site at his work — he works at a school so he technically has to live on campus, so he lives there and I live here for now),” Lauren explains. “So our situation is unique but I just love living at the apartment so much.”

See More Images
Credit: Cassie Gibb
"I love the philosophy of wabi-sabi: that things in the home are impermanent and can be moved around," she writes. "Because my home is a space for creating, I often move things around and try living in the space in new ways (rearranging furniture, putting new things on the walls, etc.) I need a lot of negative space as well for packing orders, filming/photoing content, etc., so having a space that's clean and organized and can shift organically is important."

Lauren and her introverted black cat are the full-time dwellers of this space, and her husband, two other (more social) kitties, and a golden retriever live in the space occasionally.

Her identity as an artist is definitely reflected beautifully in this home. “The whole space is basically built around creativity: I like to call it my ‘studio with a bed nook’ even more than an apartment sometimes,” she writes.

See More Images
Credit: Cassie Gibb
"Energy is important to me in my home," Lauren writes. "That's kind of a hard one to explain — it feels maybe a bit abstract or non-literal — but I need my home to have a bright, happy, uplifted energy. This is achieved by doing all of the above, I think, and also by having a lot of natural, organic objects — namely, plants. I think they really add life (literally) to the space. Art, found objects, and well-used clean, negative space also contribute."

“I love caring for houseplants, so I call it a greenhouse sometimes too — it gets fabulous natural light. There are more plants in here than there is stuff!” she continues. “I’ve had people tell me the space is lovely, beautiful, stunning, unique, and very much a reflection of me and my values: creativity, balance, simplicity, aesthetic expression. Truly very little in the apartment was bought at more ‘typical’ places; it’s really been sourced over time from more meaningful places, and I think you can really feel the energy of that throughout the space.”

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
Share your style: House Tour & House Call Submission Form

Filed in:
Tours
Apartment
Bohemian