This Artist Calls Her Tiny Rental a "Studio with a Bed Nook" - And the Photos Prove It

A rented 800-square-foot apartment from the 1940s near downtown Black Mountain, North Carolina, became central to an artist’s life for eight years. The artist collected, rearranged, and created a space that supported her art practice, personal style, and sense of self. After marriage, she did not fully leave; she kept the apartment as an art studio while living separately from her husband for a period. In May 2025 she moved back in more full-time after getting a local job and reaching an arrangement that matched her comfort. The apartment is shared mainly with her introverted black cat, with her husband and other pets visiting occasionally. The layout emphasizes creativity, natural light, and houseplants, with the space described as a studio with a bed nook and sometimes as a greenhouse.

"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.""

"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."

"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. "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!""

"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."

Read at Apartment Therapy