The Latest: 2019

Name: Carmen Chavarri and Tom Mills Location: Ottawa, Ontario Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rented Carmen Chavarri is one of our fabulous photographers here at Apartment Therapy, and she toured her Ottawa apartment last summer before they moved to the Philippines! “This was our home for only one and a half years, and yet it became such a personal and comfortable space that we find ourselves reminiscing about it every day,” she writes.

This home matches Annie and Rush perfectly: artful, clever, and gracious. Their style is evolving, with nods to Swedish minimalism, MCM, and Norman Rockwell.

Name: Isabel Serna and Juan Franky Location: Hollywood, Florida Size: 1600 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned Isabel and Juan share this Florida home with a cute Frenchie dog named Charlie (who, as you’ll be able to tell from the photos, is very much the king of the house).

Name: Aine Donovan and Eloise Jones Location: East London Size: 1200 square feet Years lived in: Owned for less than a year How much can happen in eight months? For this couple in London, Aine Donovan and Eloise Jones, turns out quite a lot. In this short period of time they have bought a house, gutted it, knocked down a few walls, painted every single surface, made beautiful furniture and even built a kitchen from scratch, all whilst being pregnant and preparing for a baby.

Name: Silvia Location: London Size: 710 square feet Years lived in: Owned 1 year For years, Silvia worked with a top minimalist-leaning Italian architect, so when she and her boyfriend bought this two-bedroom apartment in North London a year ago, she knew she “wanted to create a minimal and calm interior, without being too cold.

Name: Victoria, Nikolai and Maya Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Size: 1,230 square feet Years lived in: Owned for 1 year Nikolai and Victoria met during their last year in university and moved around Amsterdam quite a bit until they settled down in this lovely two-floor apartment. After renting five apartments over the last 10 years they felt ready to buy their own place.

All the door and windows are painted gold!

Name: Ana Nelson Location: Tacoma, Washington Size: 925 square feet Years lived in: Owned, 1 year Ana grew up working for her family’s event company, and has always loved vintage items, so when she set out to buy her first house, she knew she would be happiest living in a home from another era. At just 25, Ana purchased a small 1920s bungalow, and has spent the past year converting the home from a dark, run-down space into the bright, cheery cottage that it is today.

Name: Morgan Schemel Location: Utrecht, Netherlands Size: 1000 square feet Years lived in: Rented 2 years My partner and I moved to the Netherlands in January 2015 with two suitcases and some family photos. We had to wait more than four months for the rest of our shipment to arrive and used that between time to explore the local thrift stores and markets for unique pieces to fill our home.

Name: Jill and Warren Location: Roncesvalles — Toronto Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: Renting 4 months As soon as Jill and Warren stepped into their new loft, they were sold! Moving from a newer condo in the downtown core, this space – with a good story and some history behind it – really appealed to them. Initially from the West End, Jill knew the charm of the neighborhood and has now introduced Warren to a new part of the city.

Amy's only lived here for little over a month, but she's created an eclectic space, filled with unique furniture and accessories from antique stores, estate sales, and her travels.

Name: Danielle and Justin McKim and Great Dane Charlotte Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned Danielle and Justin have a home that could not be more full of their own individual style and personality. Collecting affordable pieces and turning them into magic was once a hobby of Danielle’s that soon became her career as a designer and local storefront owner here in Charlotte.

Name: Margaret Scholley Location: Bangalow, Australia Size: 1453 square feet Years lived in: Owned 7 years Margaret Scholley has been designing residential interiors for over 20 years in Australia, founding Alida & Miller Interior Design, an impressive firm that takes on design and styling projects around the world. In 2013, her daughter Kit (see her house tour!) joined her, and they’re now a mother daughter design duo focusing on interior styling and staging in the Byron Bay hinterland.

Name: Kit Alida Bettison with husband and kids Location: Bangalow, Australia Size: 2368 square feet Years lived in: Owned 3 years Inspired by expansive, light-filled industrial-style New York lofts and the free-wheeling bohemian vibes of the 1970s, this house in Australia is a maximalist’s dream. It’s the home of Kit Alida Bettison and her husband, who have lived in the home for three years, after building it four years ago.

Not exactly known for her minimalist views on decor, Jen's holiday-ready home—and over 100 Christmas trees—is cheery enough to brighten even the biggest Grinch's day!

Name: Meghan and Jesse Arlen Location: Mid-Wilshire area — Los Angeles, California Size: 540 square feet Years lived in: Renting 1 year Meghan and Jesse have made their studio apartment feel like a haven of old world charm. They focus on living a waste-free, conscientious lifestyle, and part of this involves buying older things and repurposing as much as they can. They both greatly value authenticity of objects and especially prize the stories behind each thing they own.

Name: Lucas Ortega Navarro Location: Vicente Lopez — Buenos Aires, Argentina Size: 495 square feet Years lived in: Rented, 1 year After living in a much bigger place (where he never felt at ease), Lucas finally found his home a year ago in this one bedroom apartment over an avenue in the Vicente Lopez neighborhood. The furniture that seemed to be floating all over his old apartment now felt at home in this much cozier place.

Name: Jessica, Andrew, and Gus Ullom Location: Raleigh, North Carolina Size: 1,750 square feet, built in 1965 Years lived in: Owned 2 years From the outside, you would definitely expect a cute new family of three to live here. But you might be surprised at the beautiful creativity happening inside! Jessica and her husband Andrew both work with their hands on a daily basis.

Name: Victoria Harrison Location: England, UK Size: 2 bedroom, semi­-detatched bungalow Years lived in: 3 years Victoria, the interiors writer, editor and stylist behind Style Made Simple, bought her 1970s English bungalow in 2014. Nestled on what Victoria describes as a “friendly street in a pretty village,” her cozy home is located in the picturesque countryside of England.

Name: Amy and Jed Rogers, dog: Prancy and cat: Barney Location: Austin, Texas Size: 1,600 square feet Years lived in: Owned 2.5 years When my husband, Jed Rogers, and I started our house hunt four years ago we knew our list of “must haves” was going to be tough to find all in one home. What we ended up finding? A 1964 one-story home with good bones and lots of potential in a desirable neighborhood.

Name: Irina Melsom and Hans Askheim (and kids Aleksandra, Markus) Location: Bethnal Green — London, UK Size: 1000 square feet Years Lived In: Owned for 4 years Originally from Norway, artists Irina and Hans have shared this Victorian three-bedroom terrace in East London with their daughter Aleksandra and son Markus for four years.

Name: Kate Sykes Location: Raleigh, North Carolina Size: 840 square feet Years lived in: Rented 2.5 months To find her new apartment, Kate bypassed typical rental search engines and opted to drive around her ideal neighborhood in Raleigh, scouting beautiful facades and “For Rent” signs. That’s how she landed this home just three months ago. How she managed to pull it together so quickly and skillfully speaks to her background in design.

Name: Rosewood Clothing Co. Location: 16 W. Broad St., Richmond, Virgina Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: Rented 2 years With one visit to Rosewood Clothing Co.’s vintage insta-shop, founder Ashley Carruther’s style is immediately enviable.

Name: Irwin Gueco Location: The General Scott — Washington, DC Size: 495 square feet Years lived in: Rented 6 years / Owned 2 years “Your home should tell your story,” says Irwin. And everywhere you look in his home there is a good story, providing insight into Irwin’s personality. Filled to the brim with carefully selected mementos, artwork and furniture, his home feels like a lovingly curated museum. Which is fitting, because he spends his days at a museum.

Name: Kirsten White, Darcy Killeen and Brydie Killeen Location: Dufferin Grove — Downtown Toronto Size: 2,300 square feet Years lived in: 16 years, owned It took over a decade for Kirsten and Darcy to begin their home renovations — other than a few fresh coats of paint. But when you’re a professional designer (and self-proclaimed perfectionist), “it was all worth the wait to achieve exactly what I had envisioned for the space,” explained Kirsten.

Name: Roman Anthony Location: Mar Vista — Los Angeles, California Room Size: 12.5′ x 11′ First there were two, Amy and her husband, Corey. You may remember their inspiring Echo Park home. Then baby Marlowe made three. Remember her playful nursery? Now the couple are ready to welcome the newest addition to the family, baby Roman, in a new Mar Vista home. Amy put all of her creative stylist skills to work on decorating his academia-themed nursery.

Name: Farida Location: IJburg — Amsterdam, The Netherlands Size: 968 square feet Years lived in: 11 years; owned A twenty-minute ride by streetcar will take you from the bustling Amsterdam center to IJburg, a cluster of six artificial islands in the IJ lake. Surrounded by water, it feels like being on an island holiday. Even though it’s still a part of the Amsterdam-Oost (Amsterdam East) borough!

Name: Ariene C. Bethea and Daren Z. Bethea II (and Mini) Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Size: 3,100 Square Feet Years lived in: 9 years, owned There are dreamers and there are doers. Ariene Bethea fits into the latter. Ariene brought her dream to life through her designer furnishings storefront, Dressing Rooms Interiors Studio. She has been called a “design maven,” whose arrival is “changing the face of design in the South.

Name: Jonathan, graphic designer and founder of Pulp and Pixel Location: Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, Montréal Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: Rented 1.5 years Graphic designer Jonathan has a great eye for design, and he’s carefully collected decor for his rental apartment that reflects his personality. His home is something like a Rainbow Chips-Ahoy! cookie: mostly plain with pops of color throughout.

Name: Sylvia De Marco Location: Ocean Park — San Juan, Puerto Rico Size: 2,500 square feet Years lived in: Rented 2 years Live a Great Story. The front of Sylvia’s house boldly displays the slogan on a pink wall, with potted plants and bright flowers on the wall ledge. The facade says a lot about what guests will find upon entering. Like her bright and hip Ocean Park neighborhood, Sylvia’s home is filled with an array of colorful furniture, lively plants, and unique art.

Name: Lori Location: Downtown — Detroit, Michigan Size: 1,195 square feet Years lived in: Rented 1.5 years Lori’s downtown Detroit apartment is a good example of a space that appreciates functionality and modernism, but still manages to be a warm, welcoming home. She used her move to this space as a fresh start, and prioritized incorporating local designers’ work into the mix. From art to custom-made furniture, Lori’s love and support of her city is on full display.

Name: Paul Giordano and Simon Mathis Location: New York, New York Size: 625 square feet Years lived in: 15 months, rented This extremely welcoming home in Manhattan is full of vibrant colors, natural textures, and personalized treasures. Though on the small-ish side, big windows let in a lot of light, and charming architectural features like a brick wall add tons of charm. But it’s Paul and Simon’s ability to mesh styles and colors that has created such a warm, eclectic home.

Name: John and Wesley Yates-Parietti Location: Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Size: 630 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years Before John and Wesley moved into this 1890s Brooklyn townhouse, they say they were each living in separate “windowless dumps.” It took lots of unpacking and plenty of painting, but this small shared space is filled with historic artifacts, collected treasures and the couple’s heart and soul. (No windowless dumps in sight.

Name: Des Ellis Location: Houston, Texas Size: 1,440 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, rented and owned Some people have an effortless style, amazing taste and the gift of knowing how to put all the pieces of their life together perfectly. Des is one of those people. She’s the buyer and general manager at Manready Mercantile, a “one-stop shop” that sells American-made goods for the home and closet.

Name: Sara, Kyle, and Monty the dog Location: Forest Hill, Toronto Size: 750 square feet| Years lived in: Renting 10 months. (They lived in the one-bedroom unit directly next door for 5 years.) This space proves that we should never judge a home by its exterior. Built in the late 1960s by architect Uni Prii, this apartment building was described as “space age” by Spacing Toronto. However, Kyle and Sara have created a home that leans far more toward cozy vintage than futuristic.