Leela Rea custom-designed this greenhouse she built in her backyard. Courtesy of Leela Rea

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Leela Rea, 37, who built a greenhouse in her California backyard. She now rents it out for small events and photo shoots, earning an average of $24,000 a month. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Our family would always drive by this beautiful house in Vista. It had 100-foot trees, eucalyptus, smilax growing down the hills, and hydrangeas. It didn't feel like it belonged in Southern California, but more like the middle of the European countryside.

My oldest daughter would always say, "Mommy, that's the princess house," or, "It's the Christmas house." It just had so much character.

In 2024, we saw that the home was up for sale. Even though we were a week away from a European vacation, I told my husband, "We're absolutely buying this house."

We closed escrow while we were in Switzerland and bought the house for about $1 million.…