A tiny Melbourne apartment filled to the brim with plants and musical instruments

It would hardly be an overstatement to describe Melbourne carpenter Luke Stein’s inner-city apartment as shrine to all the things he loves.

You won’t find a TV sitting in the middle of Stein’s lounge room in Prahran. Instead, the tiny space is filled with a jungle of indoor plants, records, various pieces of collectible musical equipment and furniture that the 36-year-old has lovingly built to fit the room.

First, the plants. The apartment is brimming with more than 200 of them, some belonging to very rare species. Stein began collecting plants a few years ago as a way of inviting nature into what was a very urban environment with no back yard, and soon found himself propagating them.

“I started getting a couple of plants just to make my house look a bit nicer. And then they start to grow and you’ve got to cut them back so I started taking cuttings,” he says.

“Before I knew it, I had a lot of plants and didn’t know what to do with them, so I gave some to friends, some people wanted to buy them, and I realised there was a market for people wanting to buy them, so I started growing them to sell. And then I got into the rarer, more expensive plants.”

Stein says the whole thing “grew pretty organically”. He now sells his plants at weekend markets as well as through his Instagram page as a side hustle.

In addition to his home collection, Stein has a greenhouse at his parents’ property in Geelong where he houses the overflow and provides different conditions for certain plants. The best part about this is that it gives him a second sanctuary to which he can escape when he needs a break from work and city life. His parents are also installing a coffee table and chairs in the greenhouse so they can sit and enjoy the tranquillity.

Stein says that having plants creates a “nice, calm, happy” environment and that working with them has a meditative effect.

“There’s always a lot to learn with plants — different varieties and how to grow them. So, I think that’s very rewarding in itself, learning about each individual plant’s needs,” he says.

“I don’t know what I’d do without them, really. It completely takes my mind off what I’m doing and I just work with the plants and they definitely help me unwind and relax. You’re getting back to nature, you’re in the dirt, you watch them grow.”

As well as being a natural green thumb, Stein has been playing musical instruments since childhood and DJ-ing in nightclubs for the past 20 years.

These days, he plays one electronic show a month, but spends a good deal of his spare time listening to his 1600-strong record collection (which spans everything from ’90s hip-hop to jazz, soul, Japanese music, contemporary music and heavy techno) and enjoying his various pieces of music equipment. There are turntables, MIDI controllers and synthesisers, plus collectors’ items such as a Roland TR909 drum machine and 1973 Rhodes piano.

As a carpenter by trade, Stein’s love of furniture design is reflected in the items he has custom-made for his home. From his bed and record storage unit to a day bed and dining table (that contains flooring from a gymnasium that was pulled down at Ballarat High School), Stein has been able to craft pieces that perfectly suit his apartment and his needs.

Being able to fit so many beloved items into one small apartment has made Stein rethink the idea of one day owning a big house. He says that having his favourite items close at hand is both practical and inspiring.

“If I did have a large property with land, I don’t think I’d build a large house on it, necessarily. I think I’d still keep it pretty compact. And, still surround myself with what I need because I don’t think I need to waste space.

“If I’m thinking about music and I have an idea I can quickly just jump off the couch and go over and sort it out. And, with being surrounded by my plants, it constantly allows me to think of new ways that I can work on business ideas with the plant side of things. Being surrounded by all my possessions means I’m always thinking of ideas.”

This article is part of a series about Australians who have created their dream homes and lifestyles, brought to you by Set For Life.