Tour a 313-Square-Foot Studio With Maximalist Style in the Heart of ‘America’s Gayest Town’

When Milo and Lance Putnam stumbled upon this studio, it already had the essential elements of a functional short-term rental. It was a clean white; it boasted smart, efficient storage solutions; and it had a sizable kitchen, considering its overall teeny footprint. While many would have been completely happy leaving it as it was upon purchase, Milo and Lance saw the perfect blank canvas. In just two weeks after closing on the property, they transformed it from good bones to great everything — a vibrant, textured, signature Cape Cod stay for guests.

Lance is the owner and designer behind Post House, a home decor company specializing in graphic, modern home textiles, pillows and rugs; Milo is an environmental conservation storyteller and founder of Laro Travels, a resource for ethical wildlife travel. Sailor’s Den is the manifestation of their joint affinity for travel, wildlife, home design, sustainability and queer love.

A 2010 US census found that Provincetown has the highest concentration of same-sex couples of any municipality in the United States. With the city’s rich and vibrant history as a safe haven for the LGBTQ community for over a century now, Milo refers to Provincetown as a “gay icon.” Lance and Milo had long dreamed of planting roots in Provincetown, or “Ptown,” as many call it. But as a staple tourist destination for gay travelers from all over the world, it also made sense as the location in which they’d make their first foray into the business of short-term rentals. In an effort to support what makes Ptown so special, Milo and Lance donate 1 percent of profits from the Sailor's Den to Summer of Sass, an organization that gives LGBTQ youth, especially those who may live in oppressing areas, a chance to spend a summer living and working in an accepting environment.

Prior to landing Sailor’s Den, the duo were transplants living in NYC, having traded their three-bedroom house in South Carolina for a 430-square-foot studio apartment in 2022. They’d visited Provincetown a couple times prior to relocating to New York City, but thanks to the ease of access between the two cities, once New York-based, they frequented Ptown before deciding to officially begin their search for the right property. For them, the right property meant a short-term rental where they could curate the perfect stay for guests, but that they could also enjoy during their trips to Ptown.

Once they walked into the 313-square-foot studio that would become the Sailor’s Den, they knew it was the one. Once the keys were in hand, they scoured the storage unit that housed the majority of their belongings since the move to NYC, packing every usable inch of their car from floor to roof, and headed straight to Provincetown to begin the two-week makeover.

“The second we stepped into this space our minds began racing for all the colors and patterns this place deserved. The bones were all there, and we could so clearly see the potential! It was love at first ‘tiny space’ sight,” says Milo.

Under Lance and Milo’s tasteful design direction, the space has come alive with color, texture, bold prints and unique touches. The result is an interior that is as joyful and eclectic as the town that sits just beyond the Sailor’s Den walls.

“We wanted to play off of the navy color on the kitchen cabinets by adding more blue accents while also contrasting it with other pops of color. We were drawn to yellows and ochres because they’re reminiscent of sunshine and sand, which are key elements of coastal living,” Lance says.

“But we also wanted to add beautiful greens, sages and other hues that veer away from traditional Americana nautical themes,” Milo adds.

“We loved the idea of grasscloth walls to tie in with the coastal theme, but grasscloth is expensive and it doesn’t hold up to the elements well. So I created a custom grasscloth [digital] print and had it printed on wallpaper for a truly bespoke touch. We installed it ourselves once it arrived. I’m really proud of the end product because it looks so realistic and guests are often surprised when they realize it’s printed wallpaper versus the real thing,” Lance says. Lance’s original grasscloth wallpaper is now available for purchase on Post House. To print a custom wallpaper of your own, you can go through a supplier like Murals Your Way, where you simply upload your designs and they’ll print it for you based on your desired specifications.

Awash with hues of gray, white and blue, the space felt cold and was aching for warmth and color. The glass pendant lights also felt stale and stark. But from every angle of the space, all Milo and Lance saw were countless opportunities to add their personal touches.

New jute rope pendants and grasscloth wallpaper awaken the space and infuse warmth and texture, while the framed hand-painted artworks add a signature element that is completely unique to the Sailor’s Den.

“The fruit basket is a piece we picked up on our honeymoon in Kenya in 2021," Milo shares. "We were at a market in Nairobi and it had to come home with us. It’s Maasai beading. If we could cover our entire home in Maasai beading, we would. It’s so beautiful.”

The Massai are a tribe who inhabit Kenya and nothern Tanzania. More than simply a form of artistic expression, Maasai beadwork is synonymous with the tribe's culture and is a means of communicating cultural identity, social status and personal milestones by way of the colors and intricacy of the designs and patterns. These pieces are passed down through generations, preserving the rich heritage and storytelling of the Maasai community.

The beloved logo and emblem of the Sailor’s Den is a delightfully Warhol-esque line illustration of a sailor, which is a recurring motif sprinkled around the walls in various colorways. But what makes it really special is that Lance drew the original by hand, which they then digitized for their website and social media channels. The Sailor was birthed during a night of creativity where they pulled together all the elements of their bespoke gallery wall.

Perhaps the place where Lance and Milo’s DIY savvy shines through the most is the wraparound gallery wall. There, guests will find an assortment of thoughtfully curated handmade art pieces, thrifted finds and heirloom items — each with a unique story to tell and many of which have been repurposed to fit the space.

They loved the hexagonal shape of the matte on this thrifted piece of art, but felt it needed a refresh. They painted it and used it to frame an art piece by their friend and fellow Ptown enthusiast, Scottie Greenan. It’s a piece from his "Monument Men" series, and playfully depicts a near-nude male figure with the tip of the historic Provincetown Pilgrim Monument as its head.

They hand-painted a series of tiny swim briefs as another nod to coastal living and selected their three favorites to cut out and mount in a DIY blue frame. “Swimwear is the uniform of Ptown’s beaches and streets all summer long. What better way to celebrate those cheeky tan lines than for us to paint our own favorite beach-ready looks for Sailor’s Den,” says Lance.

This carved whale piece was only $11 at an antique store on the Cape. Milo shares his excitement upon finding this gem: “Cape Cod offers some of the world’s best whale watching, with Provincetown being the hub of those excursions. So the second we saw this wooden antique, we knew she needed more color and pattern to bring this folk art-inspired piece to life!”

It’s likely that the first pieces that catch the eye upon entering the space are the two accent chairs upholstered in Post House’s lustrous, velvety-gold, Le Tibetan signature fabric featuring fanciful Tibetan tigers. This might be an unexpected choice for a coastal themed design, but that’s exactly why the duo opted for it. They worked with Coley Home, a custom furniture company based in North Carolina, to bring the chairs to life. “Many of Coley Home’s furniture silhouettes are smaller and a great size for apartments and small spaces, so they were perfect to work with for the chair bodies. I provided them with the custom fabric and they upholstered them for us,” explains Lance.

While it had tons of potential, the bathroom started with a basic white paint that didn’t feel reflective of the joy and eclecticism of Provincetown. Lance and Milo saw this as the perfect space to add another unexpected pop of color.

For the bathroom refresh, the duo looked to the surrounding seas for inspiration and landed on this Coral Dust hue by Benjamin Moore. For decor, they opted for a vintage rug and thrifted finds, including a model boat they found for $5 at the local market bazaar.

313-square feet means every inch matters and intelligent design is critical to maximizing the limited space. Open the secret door to the left of the TV and guests will find a cleverly tucked away, full-size washer and dryer. In the entry foyer is a walk-in closet to store belongings so guests can keep the footpaths clear during their stay. But that’s not all.

Arguably the most ingenious solution to maximize storage in a teeny space might be the drawer fridge. Yes, you read that right. Instead of incorporating a bulky, traditional fridge that would take up too much space, refrigerated items can be stored in a cooled, fully functional fridge drawer. To top it off, there’s even a freezer drawer to boot.

Milo explains the clever book assortment that frames the television: “The shelves surrounding the TV were dead space when we first walked in — the previous owner didn’t use them for anything. Thankfully, Lance has an addiction to coffee table books. So we plucked covers from his collection that fit into the message of Ptown and displayed them with their covers facing out. It was the perfect way to make use of the shallow shelves while displaying books in a way that compels guests to flip through their pages.”