Inside, the living room is only a few steps wide, but Mark designed it to feel open rather than crowded. He used pale plywood on the walls, second-hand laminate on the floor, and two reclaimed windows from a demolished office to bring in as much daylight as possible. The trees outside did half the decorating for free.
The sofa is really a storage bench with cushions on top. Underneath it, Mark built deep drawers for blankets, board games, winter clothes, and the tools he still used around the house. Across from it, a narrow shelf holds Lily’s books, a small radio, and an old lamp Mark repaired himself after finding it at a charity shop.
The room works because it does not pretend to be bigger than it is. There is no oversized television, no heavy furniture, and no wasted corner. At night, when the trees move against the windows and the small stove glows near the wall, the living room feels less like a compromise and more like a hiding place that belongs only to them. It is simple, but it has warmth in every corner. Because the windows face greenery, even the smallest wall seems to breathe.