In 2020, Vionna Wai, 30, and her husband, Chucky Hui, 29, moved into a two-family home in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, with her parents.
The couple pays $1,600 a month to live in the one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment on the second floor, while Wai’s in-laws pay the rest of the $3,500 monthly rent and live at first floor, according to documents reviewed by CNBC. He.
While their living conditions may be familiar to some — 16% of American millennials lived with their parents in 2022, according to Axios — what sets Wai, a construction engineer, and Hui, a UX designer apart are the 150 plants d ‘interior and two cats, They moved in with Mi and Ding.
“When I look at my houseplants, I’m really living in the moment. I’m not thinking about my stress or my worries about work or anything like that,” Wai told CNBC Make It. “I just focus on taking care of my plants and making sure they are happy, which to me is very calming.”
Wai says taking care of your plants is a form of self-care.
Mickey Todiwala. Photo from CNBC Do it
Wai’s plant collection may be overwhelming for some, but she doesn’t think 150 plants is excessive.
“I’m just a homebody who wants to stay home all day playing with my cats and plants,” says Wai. “Once I go to work, everything goes very quickly… but when I come home, it’s a complete change. I’m in my element and everything is very calm and lively.”
Wai says there’s actually very little maintenance: she spends about 30 minutes a week watering them and fighting pests between seasons.
“They just need water, sun and a little love,” says Wai. “It’s really not that difficult to take care of them, but I think people sometimes don’t see them as living beings. How much love you put into that plant, it will return it to you.”
The only place Wai and her husband don’t have any plants is in their bedroom.
Mickey Todiwala. Photo from CNBC Do it
One of the most expensive plants in Wai’s collection is a Phildendrom Florida Beauty that she purchased for $350 during the pandemic. Wai and her friend share the costs with the plant propagation project. While the price may have scared some away, Wai says it was 100% worth it.
“It gave me so much joy.”
Although Wai admits she was afraid the animal would die: “Part of the journey is caring for it and being able to share it with friends.”
Wai and Hui have a designated corner where Mi and Ding hang out around cat-friendly plants.
Mickey Todiwala. Photo from CNBC Do it
Since many plants can be toxic to cats, the couple has a space they call “the cat jungle corner” that houses their pet-friendly plants. Mi is 10 years old, while Ding is five years old.
“I learned to train my cats to coexist with my plants,” says Wai.
The couple also makes sure to use cat repellent on the plants and keeps poisonous plants out of Mi and Ding’s reach.
The only place Wai and her husband don’t have any plants is in their bedroom.
The couple are currently tenants and have ensured that their factory remains tenant friendly.
Mickey Todiwala. Photo from CNBC Do it
As the couple is currently renting, they have ensured that their setup is tenant friendly, but Wai ultimately admits that she would love to have a greenhouse.
“I always dreamed of moving to Japan and living in the countryside with rice fields next door and just, you know, a greenhouse and having that quiet, like country life,” she says.
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