A Brooklyn Studio Designed Around the Art of Living Close to the Floor

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When creative professionals share their lives, a secondary residence in the same city becomes less an indulgence than an essential extension of their practice. For illustrator Naomi Otsu, recognized for collaborations with the Museum of Ice Cream and Adidas, her one-bedroom in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill—just a 20-minute commute from her primary home—serves as both an expansive workspace and a retreat when deadlines loom. It also marks her first solo rental, free from the compromises of shared living. "I've never had complete control over a space before," she says.

The moment the lease was signed, Otsu set to work crafting a precise one-tenth scale digital model of the floor plan. "I had every measurement," she says. After nearly a decade in her previous Williamsburg apartment, she translated that long-held anticipation into meticulous preparation. By moving day, every newly sourced furnishing was already en route to its designated spot.

Long captivated by furniture catalogs from a young age, Otsu arrived with a clear spatial vision for every furnishing, beginning with her 12 horoscope prints mounted above the workstation on card stock in simple Amazon frames. "To finally have walls to display everything, that's all I wanted," she says.

Equally essential was space for her curated stack of floor cushions. Despite investing in a jade-green sofa, Otsu gravitates toward ground-level seating. "It's where my Japanese heritage shapes the design," she says. "I'd much rather gather around the coffee table than up on the couch." Even meals unfold at floor level—grounding conversations in an intimate, earthy closeness that deepens connections with friends.

Extended hours in a chair come only during commissioned projects for clients like New York magazine or DoorDash. Her workspace, nestled in an alcove off the living area, remains deliberately spare—anchored by a USM desk and a modest drawer set for her pen collection. "My environment directly affects my work, and I like that to speak for itself," she explains. Masking tape stands ready for pinning up works in progress; during the drafting phase, compositional variations fan out across the room so she can survey multiple directions simultaneously.

While the studio walls showcase her own creative explorations, the living room presents a curated selection of graphic art posters from design icons Herman Miller and David Shrigley, with Swim by Park Sang Hee commanding attention on her Frame TV. Yet only a handful are formally hung. "It started out of necessity, but it makes the space feel like a work in progress," she says. "I don't like finality."

Otsu honed her instinct for texture layering in her art practice—blending oil with watercolor, digital renderings with analog sketches—and that sensibility now defines every corner of the studio. Chrome sofa hardware finds its counterpoint in a rattan floor basket, while the kitchen's metal locker credenza is tempered by the gentle glow of a paper lantern table lamp. Yet for all her juxtaposing, Otsu is equally deliberate about distributing recurring finishes throughout. "I don't like too much of one thing in a room," she says. The kitchen island's plywood surfaces don't reappear until the living room shelving; white linen dresses both the floor cushions and her bed. Nothing reads as overly coordinated—especially with a cobalt-blue side table and cowhide rug woven in. The latter offers just enough softness to stretch out on once the next project wraps.

Kate McGregor covers everything related to the home, from design inspiration to IKEA hacks. She has been the market assistant at ELLE Decor where she focused on curating product for the print magazine's market pages.

Belle is the in-house photographer and associate photo editor for Domino, capturing everything from home tours to gift guides, plus the occasional how-to project. She joined the photo team as an intern in 2018 and was brought on full time in January 2021.

Naomi deMañana is a freelance stylist and editor who has worked in the publishing industry for the past 15 years.

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