A Plant Designer and DJ’s Easy-Going Brownstone

After working as a Visual Effects/Animation Producer for nearly a decade, Lisa Muñoz turned a new leaf (pun intended) and launched Leaf and June, an Interior Plant Design company, bringing greenery to New Yorkers’ homes, retail spaces, events and offices everywhere. Her boyfriend, David Azzoni, is a Partner at Turntable Lab, a New York-based DJ Shop (and is also a DJ himself, who’s been making people dance for over 16 years)! Together, Lisa and David are partners in life, love, music “and eating pasta and tacos,” adds Lisa.

After living with three roommates for years in and around Brooklyn, Lisa set her sights on this Brownstone on a tree-lined street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood. “This apartment won my heart when I saw that it had six large windows facing East and West,” Lisa says, “and also had an extra space for an office!” When Lisa moved in, there was just enough room for her things, but with the addition of David after a few months, they began to feel the limitations of 930 square feet. It forced them to play Tetris with their things, and free themselves of furniture they weren’t completely in love with. As a result, their current space is only filled with their absolute favorite and most-loved pieces. Lisa says of the downsizing experience: “It’s really incredible how much stuff you can accumulate in your life and how little you actually miss once it’s gone.” They’ve happily called this space home for nearly five years, and despite the limitations they face living in a rental — they have to restrain from their dream of renovating the kitchen — they’ve found work-arounds and practice compromise to make their space work for them, using casual and easygoing decor and — you guessed it — oodles of plants to breathe life and warmth into their space. –Sabrina

Photography by Erica Gannett