My kitchen was once a blank canvas, an uninspiring white-walled space when I moved in. Although the space was brand-new, it lacked the warmth, personality, and soul I wanted to surround myself with.I bought my apartment and moved in in July 2022, and from that very first day, I knew that every inch of the room would need to feel like me, which would take time, effort, and a lot of love — but I was up for the challenge.

New mom Maisie Powers didn’t have much time to design a nursery for her son, Arlo. She and her husband moved into their house in June 2025, and the baby was due in December, so Maisie had to work quickly when transforming what had previously been a guest room. “The design inspiration came from various other nurseries I had seen on Pinterest, mixed with my love of traditional home decor,” Maisie shares.

In some homes, it makes sense to tuck a play area away — in a basement or living room corner, for example. But sometimes, if you have the right space, a playroom can serve as the center and soul of a house. After a pitch-perfect makeover, that’s now exactly the case for Vicky Burton’s family.Initially, their playroom was the dining room in their home in Bristol, United Kingdom.

Two guiding principles led to the design of 3-year-old Leo’s bedroom for Los Angeles-based interior designer and documentary filmmaker Reilly Dowd. For starters, she wanted to prove that “a room with no beautiful ‘features’ to begin with could be the most magical space in the house.” Secondly, Reilly wanted her son to be the “editor-in-chief” of his room’s design.