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

Adrienne Breaux
·3 min read
A door with decorative post cards.
Living room with black table, planters, and wall of decorative art.
Arch light over a love seat with decorative pillows.
Kitchen with white cabinets and wooden built-in fridge.
A wooden floating shelf with jewelry and a makeup mirror.
Bedroom with orange and white pillows with wooden nightstand.

ABOUT THIS TOUR

HOME TYPE: Apartment

LOCATION: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, New York

STYLE: Organic Modern

BEDROOMS: 1

SQUARE FEET: 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.

Living room with black table, planters, and wall of decorative art.

“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.”

Arch light over a love seat with decorative pillows.

“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.”

Living room with black table, planters, and wall of decorative art.

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.

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