Danielle's Botanical, Airy Space
Name: Danielle Barr
Instagram: @barrhausstudio
Size: 450 square feet
Home type: Park model RV
Location: Woodlawn, VA
What you're looking at:
I wanted to lean into the compact size of this space and make every moment in it feel like you were enveloped in a hug. Plants felt like the perfect way to do that to give our home a lush, abundant vibe without filling it with stuff. (Image credit: Danielle Barr)I wanted to lean into the compact size of this space and make every moment in it feel like you were enveloped in a hug. Plants felt like the perfect way to do that to give our home a lush, abundant vibe without filling it with stuff.
The best part about our home is that the high ceilings and incredible natural light allow for vertical decorating (and keep it from feeling like a tiny cave!). It's been exciting figuring out how to capitalize on that vertical space and making it feel even more substantial by bringing in large trailing plants.
Years lived in: 13 months, owned
Household: My husband, three kids 6 and under, two cats, and a dog
Have any design professionals worked on this space? No
Do you currently live in your Small/Cool space full-time? Yes
Describe your space:
Guests entering our home for the first time always remark that they feel like they’re in a jungle. We’ve tried to bring the outside in as much as possible via the huge windows (with no blinds!) to let in as much light and visual space as possible, organic materials like jute and rattan, and the nearly 200 plants that climb the walls and dangle from the ceiling. It’s hard to feel claustrophobic when your eyes tell you that you’re on a tropical expedition.
Did you DIY anything in your space? And, if so, what's your favorite DIY?
Because we sold our previous home, we had three weeks to find, purchase, and install our tiny home on our new property. That in itself was a lot, but I knew that my mental health is so connected to my space being beautiful that we also needed to paint the brown-gray walls white, contact-paper the faux cement countertops in a terrazzo print, change the hardware from a cold, sharp, black metal to warm, rounded wood before I could be happy and healthy here. I’m so happy we made the time to do those things, because they’ve made the space feel like home.
How do you make your small space work for you and feel bigger than it really is?
Any items that aren’t necessary to our day-to-day life, like decor or greenery, utilize vertical space and are stored on top of cabinets, on the wall, or hanging from the ceiling. This has saved all of our cabinet and built-in drawer space for keeping the essentials close at hand and with everything in its place.
How does your home reflect you?
One of my favorite pastimes with my three children is antiquing and thrifting. From our dining chairs to our plant stands to the artwork on the wall, so much of our decor comes from those adventures together, and my oldest could probably tell you which city we drove to in order to snag any one piece.