China

Becky makes the most of her transformed tiny space with a lofted bed, a sunny balcony, and minimalist decor.

Name: YC Chen, Kennie and Jami Location: Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Size: 1,020 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned YC Chen is the Creative Director and founder of hoo, an interior design company in Hong Kong. YC and his wife Kennie moved into this two-bedroom apartment in Pok Fu Lam over two years ago with their son Jami, who was a toddler at the time. The most important thing for them was to create a space that is totally stylish and child-friendly.

Name: Michelle and Barry Location: Tai Hang, Hong Kong Size: 1800 square feet Years Lived In: 1.5 years, renting Having made London their home for seven years, Michelle and Barry had the opportunity to relocate to Hong Kong with work a year ago. It wasn’t an easy decision, as they had just bought and lovingly renovated their Victorian home in East London (with every wall painted in carefully chosen colors).

Name: Julie Morel Location: French Concession — Shanghai, China Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting Julie’s apartment love story all started with a radiator. No one moves to Shanghai — or spends even a night there — without hearing grave warnings from residents about the damp, drafty homes that skimp on central heating. Tenants in century-old flats depend on space heaters and electric blankets, or take solace in trips a little farther south.

Name: Starry Xiao Location: Guozijian — Beijing, China Size: 320 square feet Years lived in: 9 months, renting Starry Xiao’s hutong home is nestled among the throngs of mom and pop stores selling incense for visitors to Beijing’s famous Lama Temple. Within its blue walls, however, it radiates a completely different kind of aroma. A local chef, Starry is known to make use of every corner of his tiny kitchen to whip up elaborate brunches for his girlfriend.

Name: Stephanie Betant and Chace Vanderwolk Location: French Concession — Shanghai, China Size: 2,150 square feet Years lived in: Rented 6 months Beijing and Shanghai dwellers often engage in friendly spats over which city is the better one. Stephanie Betant and her husband Chace Vanderwolk recently found themselves in the unique position of getting to know both.

Name: Ashley Chu and Alex Acker Location: Beixinqiao — Beijing, China Size: 950 square feet Years lived in: 3.5 years, renting Beijing is famous for its centuries-old hutongs — the winding alleyways that once made up the main arteries of the city. They were filled with traditional courtyard homes until the spaces were divided or destroyed to make room for a swelling population.

Name: Sasha Fominskaya and Aaron F.L. Location: Fangjia Hutong — Beijing, China Size: 645 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Living in Beijing as an expat often means working with what you have, usually pre-furnished apartments and roommates that never seem to stick around long enough to decorate. But when Sasha Fominskaya and her boyfriend Aaron moved into their first apartment together, they wanted to put more effort into making it a home.

Name: Coro Urdaneta and Marco Cortavitarte Location: Sanlitun — Beijing, China Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting It’s hard to find an expat in Beijing who doesn’t know about the Moka Bros, or the Venezuelan siblings behind it. When the restaurant first opened in 2013, it flipped the capital’s healthy café scene on its head, largely thanks to its refreshingly bold and trendy creative concept.

Name: Céline Lamée and Heather Mowbray Location: Dongsishisantiao — Beijing, China Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting It’s hard to step into Céline Lamée and Heather Mowbray’s home and not be charmed by its sense of playfulness, starting so obviously with an extensive pillow collection that fills their dining nook and has started to take over their living room sofa.

Name: Adam Wihlborg Location: Former French Concession — Shanghai, China Size: 950 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, renting When Adam Wihlborg tells the story, it’s hard to believe that six flights of dark and dusty stairs once nearly deterred him from signing a lease on his spacious, light-filled flat looking out over the trees in Shanghai’s French Concession.

Name: Alexander Åhnebrink Location: Former French Concession — Shanghai, China Size: 3,200 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting When Alexander moved to China with his wife four years ago, he dreamed of a traditional courtyard home. He was met with reality: finding one that didn’t need serious renovations was next to impossible and they would be settling for a more modern serviced apartment in the city center.

Name: Lexie Comstock Location: Former French Concession — Shanghai, China Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting For someone whose cookie baking skills have gained her countless fans in Shanghai, Lexie Comstock is very chill about not having a kitchen in her apartment.

Julie Progin and Jesse McLin have their own homewares brand called Latitude 22N.

"I love all my chairs. I'm a chair person, and all my chairs have a story," interior designer JJ Acuna says.

Name: Thierry Chow and Peter Yuill Location: Hong Kong Size: 1,600 square feet Years Lived In: Rent for 2 good years Forget all the outdated notions of what you think feng shui is about—that isn’t what expert Thierry Chow practices. Under her company, TRE, this modern master blends ancient feng shui concepts in all aspects of design (including fashion) with the contemporary world.

Nelson Chow bought this tiny apartment a year ago and made good use of a small space by building a "treehouse" bed loft.

Erin Hung, the founder behind the London-based stationery company BerinMade, remodeled this small Hong Kong apartment with her husband Ben.