Midtown Manhattan neighbourhood Murray Hill has a history of being a rather formal, civilised and quiet place. Named after the family of Quaker merchants who made their home atop the since levelled hill in the eighteenth century, Murray Hill later drew the older and wealthier variety of resident to its brownstones. But change is afoot, with young professionals bringing their somewhat wilder influences to the area.

Among them are the hosts of East 28th Street – an Australian in advertising and a Texan artist – who’ve created an exotic Eden-esque escape above the canopy of New York City. Their doorway, bedecked with a fearsome pair of beasts, signals the entry to this small but verdant miniature ecosystem filled with an unexpected abundance of flora and fauna.

Bold tropical orange walls and softer sage create the appropriate milieu for delicate drawings of many-legged sea creatures, careful studies of beetles, and other zoological curios.  In the long kitchen a lion guards the treasured cookbooks, while the bedroom lamp emerges from the knotted wood of an old tree branch. And, afloat above the city’s undergrowth you’ll find a light-flooded conservatory where the plant life thrives. Though it isn’t the master bedroom, you can opt to snuggle into its bamboo frame and sleep beneath the stars.