This Artist’s Small Brooklyn Apartment Is Like an Art Playground

published May 23, 2024

This Artist’s Small Brooklyn Apartment Is Like an Art Playground

published May 23, 2024
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Bedrooms
Square feet

602

Sq ft

602

Ariel Sun is a Chinese-American artist living in NYC, and says she’s “deeply inspired by vivid colors, life experience across three continents, and visual cultures.” And when she and her husband moved into this 602-square-foot rental apartment in Brooklyn in 2020, there was one spot that immediately became a place to display art.

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Credit: Ariel Sun
Ariel says the living room is her favorite room. "It's my workspace, my art playground, my husband and I's common space, and the place I spend most of time at!" she writes.

“I called the wall you see above the credenza the ‘Gallery Wall’ on day one, even though there was only one piece of art back then (the figure with the jar in the blue frame),” Ariel writes. “The wall has seen through my countless experiments with different mediums — oil pastels, oil sticks, acrylic paint, and watercolor. Slowly, my painting work has filled up all the walls and become an organic part of our home’s decor.”

Credit: Ariel Sun
Ariel and her husband recently bought this blue paint to enhance their IKEA shoe cabinet, "by first adding a custom wood top with a coat of paint, and painting the body with a coat of blue paint."

“I grew up in China, and honed my skills as a classically trained calligrapher, although I took a detour before finding my way to design and art in 2014. Since then, I’ve worked with clients such as the Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Wix.com, and New York University as an independent illustrator,” Ariel explains. “In my art, I often reflect on the divergence and convergence of Western and Eastern art, continuing the exploration of my bicultural identity.”

Credit: Ariel Sun

Ariel describes their home’s style as “colorful, energetic, curated, eclectic” and suggests regular decluttering as a secret to share. “Your home mirrors who you are and changes as you do. Regular decluttering is really important, as it clears space for fresh energy to flow in,” writes Ariel, whose art is available on Etsy. “This little story hopefully demonstrates my point.”

Thanks, Ariel!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.