Meet Mia, creator of the ‘Floating Terrarium’

At the start of this year Mia won the OMG! Fund with Airbnb and was given the opportunity to embark on building her dream project: The Floating Terrarium, a lifesize canal boat terrarium that you’ll soon be able to book for you the ultimate city escape stay through Airbnb. Initially inspired by terrariums and ecosystems that self-sufficiently exist, Mia began to explore ways that she could make a similar environment for guests who want an eco-twist on a city escape. Mia loved the idea of creating a jungle in a home, a complete juxtaposition of inside vs outside spaces – an escape from the bustling city without having to leave your doorstep. Considering that “property and land aren’t cheap, fast or easy to acquire” Mia began to evolve the concept and turn the problem of ‘land’ into an opportunity, and so, the Floating Terrarium was born.

Mia has been working full-time, alongside finding time to build her eco-home. With no prior experience in boats, architecture, carpentry or design she has learnt everything on the go, from scratch. She’s had to overcome some major hurdles from early on, explaining that she ‘had a few mind-blowing moments… The boat was made bespoke but unfortunately came with a few kinks. On the three day journey from ‘P&S Marina’ in Watford (where the boat was craned into the water) to the boat yard in Tottenham, me and my boat mover Calvin set off bright eyed and bushy tailed only to find out the propeller wasn’t fully set in the water. Day two of the journey the boat was running much smoother, but we found out why, it was sinking! At this point the boat builder had stopped replying to me, I knew there were going to be hiccups but not that early on! It ended up delaying my interior fit out by a good 6 weeks but a big thanks to Atilla and Volkan for saving my bacon and getting my girl back to floating status!’ Through all of the exhausting bumps along the road, Mia imagines her journey is similar to having a child – in the end, she’ll be able to step back and say ‘I created that’. Mia’s most excited for others to be able to experience the calming biophilic yet modern vibe of the Floating Terrarium.

Mia told us that she’ll “never forget when the Patch plants van turned up, when the back doors were opened it was if light was shining out of it and angels were singing in chorus, slight exaggeration but it was such a spectacle seeing over 150 plants all in their little eco packaging waiting to be put aboard. Was so great.” Her go-to Patch favourites are Nicolau, the bird of paradise, and Fidel, the fiddle leaf fig tree but she strongly believes that everyone must have a Chaz, a Swiss cheese plant, in their home. If she could travel with the Floating Terrarium anywhere, she thinks it would be very happy living in a floating village in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. When we asked Mia what’s one item she couldn’t live without on the Floating Terrarium, she was sure to say “Weirdly, water! These plants need watering.” Even though her journey has been insane, Mia says she’d “absolutely love to continue to create unique and eco-inspired spaces” like the Floating Terrarium.