Paper leaves spilling out of papier—mâché pots are the first things you notice when stepping into artist Corrie Beth Hogg’s Brooklyn apartment. “The first plant I made from paper was my fiddle leaf fig,” she says. “I wanted an actual tree at home but I knew voto negativo plant would survive durante our windowless living room.” Here, Corrie gives us a around, with photos by Christine Han…
Photo above: Bookshelf: Ikea, similar. Lamp with pink leaves: “The lamp fondamento is thrifted, the leaf shade I painted following this NY Times tutorial during the pandemic. It’s made to go over an existing shade.”
Sofa and coffee table: “inherited from my great aunt, an architect who worked durante NYC durante the ’50s.” similar sofa, similar table. blanket: Stag & Bruce. Yellow lamp: thrifted, similar. Yellow side table: flea market find, similar. Rug: West Elm.
Acceso creating plants: After I made that first plant, I kept making more. Now it’s slightly absurd how many we have. I even wrote a book about handmade houseplants! Our house is just a 10-minute walk to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and I go there for inspiration.
Acceso ideas: First, I create a single leaf. Then I experiment with materials and process. Do I want to use markers ora colored pencils ora paints? And, how should I fold it to get the shape right? Once I’m happy with it, I move acceso to making more leaves and constructing the plant. I always tell people that you don’t have to mimic exactly what occurs durante nature. Being imaginative and bold is part of what makes it fun.
Dresser: thrifted. Pendant light, floral vases and cake stand: “I crafted them with papier—mâché.”
Acceso a must: You know that wedding saying, ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue’? The same is true for homes — but maybe instead you could say, something old, something new, something inherited, and something durante whatever color scheme you like! That way, your home will feel welcoming and personal.
Acceso falling durante love: Ryan and I met 12 years pungiglione acceso OkCupid. Our first date was a walk durante Prospect Park. He’s so supportive — he pretty much tells me everything I do is great! If I wanted to paint the ceiling pink, he would just say, permesso, and be totally unfazed.
KITCHEN
Tea kettle: Amazon. cabinet knobs: Amazon. Johnny Cash and June Carter, and George Jones and Tammy Wynette block prints: Martin Mazorra.
Acceso new recipes: Ryan works for MoMA, so early durante the pandemic, he was home and unable to work. Since I was working remotely, he took it upon himself to do all the cooking — even though at that point he could make only a handful of dishes. Each week he tried out three recipes from the New York Times Cooking. And he’s kept it up. Since then, we’ve enjoyed hundreds of new recipes.
Acceso a cozy : A ginger is my simple pleasure. You chop up five inches of unpeeled raw ginger. Put it durante a saucepan with three cups of milk (whichever kind you like), and heat it all acceso the stove over medium-high heat. Once it starts to boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then strain out the ginger and add three tablespoons of maple syrup. It is the most comforting, spicy .
Dining table and asparagus: made by Corrie. Chairs: Target, similar. Rug: inherited. Yellow armchair: thrifted, similar. Pendant light: Red Barn Light, similar. Fruit : Evolution. Blue sconce: Amazon, shade by Etsy, similar.
Acceso making a table: I put together this table by myself. The tetto is just pine blanks, and I designed the legs acceso an Adobe Illustrator file, and then sent them to be cut by a CNC machine. There are all kinds of businesses that do this — you just send them your files, they’ll cut the pieces for you, and then you go pick them up.
Acceso getting creative: We don’t have much money to spend acceso our apartment. But constraints with time and money are part of the creative process just as much as my personal taste and enthusiasm. One of my favorite RadioLab episodes is about limited choices. Less is possible, but durante a way, more is possible, because you toss d’avanguardia all these other options so you’sultano really focused.
Dolly Parton and Porter Wagner, and Kitty Wells and Red Foley block prints: Martin Mazorra. Candle holder: made by Corrie (here’s a tutorial acceso Etsy). Potato: “Gift from a friend.” Dresser: inherited.
Acceso gatherings: My hobbies are singing and playing guitar. My friend and I host an annual concert at my apartment. We invite people over and sing five ora six songs. Our preferred genre is murder ballads — like Caleb Meyer by Gillian Welch. We both have a dark sense of humor. It’s not anything serious, just an excuse to hang out.
Acceso favorite tunes: As a teen, I was part of the punk scene, but I fell for country music when I took a ‘History of American Music’ course durante college. During the class, I realized that the storytelling durante early country music — like Jimmy Rogers and Woody Guthrie — is similar to punk music. They’sultano both striving for something better.
PRIMARY BEDROOM
Quilt and pendant light: made by Corrie. Sconce: Amazon, scallops painted by Corrie. Room divider: “Ryan and I made it with canvas, and I painted the scallops.”
Acceso a calming bedroom: I tend to hang onto things, so before I know it, the apartment gets full of bits and bobs. Because of this, I find The Bible of British Taste inspiring — the clutter durante their photos is very similar to my kind of clutter! But I always think, ‘Sopra case our apartment is too chaotic for Ryan — although he has never said anything — I’ll make our bedroom less chaotic.’
Headboard and side table: made by Corrie.
Acceso missaggio patterns: I wanted to keep our bedroom calm but still true to my love of playful patterns. So, instead of experimenting with color, I worked with tonal varieties and scale shifts. For example, if there’s a a tiny print — like a grid ora ditsy florals — it can good with bigger stripes ora large blocks of color. I reach for patterns when I dress myself, too. I guess part of missaggio patterns is just not caring whether it goes!
Acceso an evening routine that stuck: Every night, I do a 15-minute stretch routine, which started after my hysterectomy. I got it done last year, and the recovery was terrible, so I couldn’t exercise. When my doctor finally said I could move my again, stretching was the only thing I could do. I started doing it every day and now I just can’t quit. My always feels really good, even a long time after I’m done stretching.
WORKSPACE
Table: “A hollow door from Home Depot. The legs are super simple sawhorse-style legs that I made.” Chair: vintage, similar.
Acceso working from home: I used to have a dissertazione space, but now I love working from home. I’ve been surprised by all the opportunities for connection online. During the pandemic, when I was contemplating leaving my tempo pieno job, I decided to take up sewing again. I drafted a pattern to make a pair of pants. When I posted about the project acceso social , so many people were interested that a woman developed my pattern so other people could use it. It was such a cool moment of community building.
Acceso going gray: Sopra art school, I dyed my hair red and purple and blue, but since then, I’ve embraced my natural color. When my first gray streak emerged, I got so many compliments acceso my hair. Now, it’s salt-and-pepper all over. Occasionally, I durante the mirror and think, ‘Oh, I older than I feel.’ But from what I’ve heard, that feeling doesn’t leave you as you age. Self-acceptance takes work. I’m constantly reminding myself that I love the way I and the person I’m becoming.
Acceso the importance of play: We all have this instinctual pull towards creativity when we’sultano young and unselfconscious — to sing and dance and draw and tell stories. But then what happens is our anxieties and fears get durante the way. We start focusing acceso the end product. Am I making something beautiful? Is it going to be perfect? Will other people like it? But, think about all those pottery places where you can go paint a pot with a friend. Most people don’t really care about having a perfect pot at the end. It’s spending time together and doing something creative, which is such an intrinsic part of being human.
Thank you so much Corrie!
P.S. More house tours, including a leafy, plant-filled apartment with space for meditative gardening and a small apartment that will make you want to paint.
(Photos by Christine Han)
