Name: Julie and Chris Peel, and Elliott, 20 months
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Size: 1,640 square feet
Years lived in: 1 year; owned

A morning rainstorm has given way to a warm and sunny afternoon in Richmond, and dappled sunlight shines through each one of Chris and Julie Peel's windows. Julie leads me on a quiet tour of their home while their 20-month-old son, Elliott, finishes his nap. 

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Name: Sophie Crocket, her partner Scott and kids Casey and Callum Location: Lymington; Hampshire, UK
Size: Three-bedroom house
Years lived in: 6 years

The pink flamingos standing sentry outside the front door give a clue to what lies inside this tiny 1960s red brick cottage tucked away in the English countryside. Sophie Crocket who owns vintage shop Pineapple Retro has transformed what was a dark, dated interior into a bright and cheerful family home filled with treasures found on eBay, at garage sales and thrift stores reflecting her passion for sixties and seventies design.

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Name:  Raimud Becker, Designer
Location: Hollywood Hills; Los Angeles, California
Size: 3,500 square feet
Years lived in: 39 years

I love discovering the city through walking the streets. I found Raimud's home when out with a friend who was walking his dog. When we stopped at this home, with the bold and graphic exterior and lush garden peaking through, I was determined to find out who lived here. The house definitely stood out, and reminded me of many of the homes I have seen in Mexico City. 

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Name: Paola, Steve, and their twin baby sons
Location: Venice Beach, California
Size: 2500 square feet
Years Lived In: 1.5

When Paola and Steve purchased their Venice Beach home, it was essentially a blank canvas. More specifically, a boxy blank canvas with impressively high ceilings, a wide open floorplan, copious natural light, wood floors, and exposed beams.  It had all the makings of an enviable modernist dream home. However, there was no separation of rooms, as the space’s previous occupant was an advertising agency. Enter Paola and Steve, both trained architects, who gracefully tackled the challenge of converting the anonymous space into a home that embodies their family and personal style.

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Name: Carl and Emma Morenikeji of Scaramanga
Location: Freuchie, Fife, Scotland
Size: 4 bedroom House
Years lived in: 7 years; Owned

Some years ago, when Carl and Emma set out to ‘find themselves’ traveling the world, they found each other — and spent a further two years journeying together before returning to the UK.

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Name: Alix Flood & Nick Benson, with kids Henry and Hope
Location: Jamestown, Rhode Island
Size: 2,355 square feet
Years lived in: 4 years; owned

For Alix and Nick, moving into their home in the quaint seaside village of Jamestown four years ago was a “dream come true.” Nick had admired the Edwardian house ever since he was a young boy, when his family spent summers in the picturesque island community. Every time he passed this classic New England cedar-shingled cottage, located on the main road into town, he would think, “Man, I would love to have a house like that someday.”

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Name: Michele and Ryan Tansey (plus Jake, Paws and Princess)
Location: Madrona, Seattle, Washington
Size: 2,080 square feet
Years lived in: 3 years; Owned

Michele and Ryan Tansey may look familiar to you — they were featured in an Apartment Therapy House Tour in 2011 and in an editorial post about their wedding at home. Other than simple changes, such as their newly-named business, Homestead Seattle, and their video webseries with HGTV, Michele and Ryan went through a huge, emotional change that transformed their home (and lives) forever.

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Name: Jenna & Lexxa
Location: Baker Neighborhood; Denver, Colorado
Size: 630 square feet
Years lived in: 13 (Jenna) & 17.5 (Lexxa); Owned

Jenna Miles, the owner of Denver's "modern mercantile" shop Hazel & Dewey,  and her partner, Lexxa, are the happy residents of a two story renovated colonial in the city's quaint Baker District neighborhood. I first met Jenna in her shop, filled with the most incredible kitchen items and hostess gifts. As I discovered, Jenna and her partner own a home just a few blocks away that's just as colorful and thoughtfully crafted as the shop itself. Jenna gave me a peek inside, made me a cup of hot green tea, and began to tell me the most amazing renovation story I had ever heard. 

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Name: Kirsty (Lovely Pigeon) and Pete (Uniform) Thomas
Location: Cellardyke, Fife, Scotland
Size: Three story house with attached netloft containing kitchen and studio; 1800+ sq feet     
Years lived in: 6 years; Owned

Kirsty and Pete Thomas live and breathe design, so it’s no surprise that all that creativity leaks out around their home from time to time. This old house has serious personality. Thought to have been built in the late 1800’s by a fishing captain (I’d like to think wearing a white fluffy beard and a thick woolly jumper), it amazingly still has the original steel pulleys used to lift the nets up from the back door into the loft space — now Kirsty’s design studio and the home of Lovely Pigeon.

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Name: Cara Hines  
Location: Capitol Hill; Denver, Colorado
Size: 450 square feet
Years lived in: 3 years; Rented

A few years back, Cara Hines, a West Texas farm girl turned big city interior designer, writer, artist, and inspired vagabond, took drastic measures to create a new and better life for herself. Selling 95% of what she owned, she set out to start a life centered around simplicity. "One day I stopped myself and realized that my life was running me and not the other way around," she says, recalling a defining moment of clarity. Cara wanted a life that was more mobile and above all, a life with more freedom. So she set out, with determination, to create just that. 

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