How Do You Fit 250 Plants in 350 Square Feet?

If you visit Alejandro Aguilar’s Brooklyn home in early spring, the best time to show up is between 6:30 and 7 p.m. That golden half-hour is when sunlight skims over the surrounding factory buildings and streams through the windows, kissing the leaves, fronds and spines of his 250-odd houseplants.

You’ll find a white moth orchid posted at his doorway like a member of the King’s Guard, and a cohort, beyond that, of snake plants and spider plants in little pots. Pothos dangle from beams like paratroopers; villages of cactuses are arranged in dusty clusters; and aloe vera plants spike the windowsills. In one corner, a corn plant towers over baskets of bromeliads and ferns.

Mr. Aguilar is vastly outnumbered by his greenery. It is a wonder that he has room to move around at all. The second-floor apartment, which is in a century-old brick townhouse in East Williamsburg, is only 350 square feet. But Mr. Aguilar, 60, is an interior designer who has made a career out of maximizing space in tiny homes.

He has skillfully arranged this one to feel like anything but a damp, loamy conservatory. Your first instinct is not to say, “Lordy, that’s a lot of plants,” but to marvel at the many moods, nooks and vignettes in what began as a simple square.

Mr. Aguilar, who was born in Honduras and has lived in New York for half a century, continues to embrace the lifestyle of a young urban newcomer, settling down in fringy neighborhoods until he is chased away by rising rents. He moved to this building in 2012 after eight years in North Williamsburg and has taken three and a half years to complete this renovation — more or less.