The Couple Behind Highboy LA Start Their Mornings with Cortados, Plant Care, and Pup Snuggles
From artfully curated gallery walls to warm and cozy color palettes, design-loving couple Katie and Cody know how to have fun with decor. The couple behind Highboy LA is known for the earthy and playful aesthetic of their Los Angeles apartment, and now they’re translating that vibe to their new 1886 Victorian in Illinois. That includes pop-art touches, sleek mid-century furniture, and houseplants in just about every sunny corner.
Miracle-Gro® products help keep all those green beauties looking their best. From nutrient-rich potting soil to pest solutions, Miracle-Gro makes houseplant care easy for newbies and green thumbs alike. Along with regular watering, a care routine with Miracle-Gro products gives indoor houseplants the love they need to thrive.
While putting so much effort into their home, Katie and Cody also make sure to take time and actually enjoy it. Their morning routine includes rituals that help them stay grounded and admire their home-in-progress, from freshly painted walls to shiny pothos leaves. (It also includes plenty of snuggles with their pup, Zola.) Tending to their space this way turns tasks into mindful moments together. Here’s what a typical morning looks like.
Waking Up: We usually wake up around 7 a.m. and try to let in some sunlight, make our bed, and put away our clothes from the night before. We find this always sets us up for a positive, productive morning. We might cuddle with Zola for a little while before heading downstairs to our morning priority: coffee!!
Cortados: Our dining room gets the BEST natural light, so we decided to put our espresso machine in there as well as most of our plants! Our drink of choice is a cortado, and we like to pick out our coffee cups based on our mood. We’ll usually chill for a bit and sip our coffee while we discuss a loose plan for the day.
Plant Parenting: We’re used to the year-round sunlight in our Los Angeles apartment, so it’s nice to have a bright room in our Illinois house to practice being plant parents where the weather is less predictable. We use watering trays, which is a great way to gauge how much water your plants are drinking up. We also love using Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food every two weeks to give them a little boost, and we really notice a difference the next day. They always look a little fuller and happier!
Morning Groove: On days when we do the full plant-care routine, we’ll throw on a record while we restyle our plant stands or wipe down leaves. We inherited a gorgeous (and massive) rubber fig from our neighbor’s sister — we LOVE the dark leaves and find that Miracle-Gro Plant Care Leaf Protect and Shine makes the leaves look so stunning and glossy. It’s so good for keeping things less dusty. It’s a bigger project for large plants, but we love getting into a meditative state with it; something about working with nature in your hands while listening to music is so relaxing!
Team Meeting: We love taking slow, thoughtful mornings to care for our home. We work together … at home … and our work is our home, so it’s important for us to be on the same page before starting our workday. We love to chill on the couch with Zola and go over what projects we’re working on that day before getting ready to tackle the next big thing.