The Latest: 2019

Name: Matt Casper and Ted Dorsey Location: Echo Park — Los Angeles, California Size: 2,132 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, owned Going to a dinner party at Matt and Ted’s is probably the grown-up equivalent of going to Disneyland. While their dining room alone makes the Haunted Mansion look like child’s play, every room in the house possesses its own unique design that feels both sophisticated and fun.

Name: Jen Nolan Location: Rittenhouse Square — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Size: Roughly 500 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting When Jen moved to Philadelphia from Washington, D.C., she didn’t have any connections in the real estate world. Like many young professionals, she turned to Craigslist. Thankfully, she stumbled across an ad for a beautiful studio apartment in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Name: Eduardo Valadez Arenas Location: Fruitvale — Oakland, California Size: 400 square feet (plus adjacent work studio) Years lived in: 4 years, renting After coming to the U.S. from Mexico city, Eduardo settled in Thousand Palms, California, a small desert town just east of Palm Springs. This upbringing in small desert towns throughout California continues to influence his personal style, art aesthetic and home design.

Name: Andrea Kerbuski and her dog James Location: Lansing, Michigan Size: 2,014 square feet Years lived in: 8 months, owned Andrea avoided home ownership for years, preferring the more flexible, mobile lifestyle of renting apartments. And, she always thought she’d wait until finding a life partner to buy a house. But after a brief stint in Chicago for work, she realized she loved her home state of Michigan and her community, and that she could absolutely buy a house on her own.

Name: Michael Berger Location: Hamilton — Ontario, Canada Size: 1,100 square feet Years Lived In: 2 months, renting When it comes to making the most of a new space with a small budget, Michael is a master. He completely transformed a dingy old rental apartment into an ’80s-inspired boho glam space for very little money! How was he able to pull off such a stylish feat? Patience, creative thinking, and killer thrift shopping skills.

Name: Flora Tsapovsky and Tom Kolinski, plus Theo the cat Location: Berkeley — California Size: 720 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, rented “Every morning I stand here with my cup of coffee and soak in the views, even if it’s for a minute,” describes Flora of the view from her home’s large glass corner wall that looks over Berkeley and the sparkling San Francisco Bay.

Name: Magalie René-Hayes, her husband Mike Hayes and Prince the pup Location: Los Angeles Size: 1500 square feet Years Lived In: 4 years, renting Interior designer Magalie also goes by the title Conscious Designer. “I’m on a mission to create beautiful spaces for a better world and I apply a unique approach that combines holistic ideas, science, and design principles for smarter, happier, healthier living.

Name: Elizabeth and Rac Location: Bedford-Stuyvesant — Brooklyn, New York Size: 2,000 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned Having lived in Brooklyn for over a decade, Elizabeth and Rac decided to buy a place of their own after getting married two and a half years ago. They purchased a home in the historic Bedford- Stuyvesant neighborhood and immediately set to renovating it to match their personalities. The couple spent eight months renovating their home before they moved in.

Name: Con and Miep Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands Size: 1,614 square feet Years lived in: 13 years, owned When Con and Miep got married thirteen years ago, they both sold their apartments and moved together to one of the high-rises in Eindhoven’s city center. Con loves color, and Miep’s furniture before she was married mostly consisted of black and white. Thankfully, they both love modern design, and were pleasantly surprised by how great their furniture merged.

Name: Katherine McEachern, Ian Tse and Gracie (the dog) Location: Berkeley, California Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, renting “As an editor at Rue, I’m constantly looking at inspiring spaces and filing away ideas. For me, personal style is an ever-evolving challenge,” says Kat McEachern, the Lifestyle Editor for the stylish magazine.

Name: Ashley and Terry Reth, and their two cats, Boy and Girl. Location: Portland, Maine Size: 1000 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, renting Ashley and Terry celebrated their first six months as a married couple this April and have been together for over ten years…but they originally met all the way back in kindergarten! New to marriage, but not to each other, they are happy to now have a place their family can grow into.

Name: Ciara Elliott and family Location: Mistley, Colchester, Essex UK Years lived in: 2 years, owned “I do love big statement pieces — like our brightly coloured yellow sofa and the stand-out rug in our lounge — and I think if you have a few of these big-ticket items you can actually revolve a whole scheme around them,” smiles Ciara Elliott, editor of leading UK interior magazine Essential Kitchen Bathroom and Bedroom.

This is a home full of VERY unique reclaimed and salvaged materials.

Name: Alexis Sassard, husband Walt and children Felix, Luella Location: The Woodlands, (right outside of Houston) Texas Size: 2,500 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned Alexis and her husband Walt moved to his hometown of Houston from NYC almost five years ago to start a family. Walt, a former professional photographer, fulfilled a dream of his to become a fireman. Alexis, an interior designer, was nervous but excited about rooting down in The Woodlands, a large suburb outside of Houston.

Name: Robert Ingraham Location: Eagle Rock — Los Angeles, California Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, renting When Robert, a passionate filmmaker and director from the Midwest, found himself caught between who he was and who he wanted to be, he knew he needed an apartment that did more than just house personal objects. He realized his largest sources of inspiration — music, film, literature — were missing from his daily routine and his surroundings.

Name: Marta Location: Sant Cugat – Barcelona, Spain Size: 1300 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned Marta is a woman who knows what she wants and her Barcelona home is a beautiful blend of all her favorite things. She loves plants, illustrations and natural materials, and you’ll find all of those things and more in the home she’s owned for a year and a half.

Name: Jes and Caleb Plain Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania Size: 1600 square feet Years Lived In: 9 months, owned Though they both grew up in Central Pennsylvania, Caleb and Jes have spent their entire relationship elsewhere. Nashville, Philadelphia, Los Angeles…and even a year on the road in an 18-foot travel trailer. This 1950s brick home in Lancaster is the first roots they’ve put down close to their families.

Name: Jean Mortlock Location: Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa Size: 947 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned When Jean bought this apartment three years ago, not much needed to be done at all. Unfortunately, just one year later the apartment flooded — not once but twice — and all within two months! All the floors, cabinets and carpets had to be ripped out and replaced.

Name: Jessica Garvin, husband Brandon, and daughters Harper, Eloise and Claire Location: Just north of Atlanta, Georgia Size: 3,200 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned “Our style is a mix between modern farmhouse, eclectic, and a touch of whimsy,” writes Jessica Garvin, the blogger behind the wildly successful blog Garvin & Co.

Name: Jaimy van Zwieten, husband Marcel, daughter Dalí, Klaas the cat, Hiphop the rabbit Location: Krimpen aan den IJssel, the Netherlands Size: 1,722 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned Near Rotterdam (the Netherlands’ second-largest city), lies the small town of Krimpen aan den IJssel. It’s where Jaimy’s parents moved to when she was only four months old and it’s where she also grew up.

Name: Timothy Scheel Location: Humboldt Park — Chicago, Illinois Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting If you told Tim his apartment reminds you of your grandma’s apartment, he’d likely take it as a compliment. Over the years, he’s inherited a ton of pieces from his family and bought from many estate sales, so the space exudes a comfortable, lived-in feeling.

Name: Kenyatta Forbes Location: Bronzeville — Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,450 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, owned Kenyatta is inspired by patterns in nature, textures, and bold and bright colors, all of which can be found in her Chicago apartment. “I think the thing I love most about my home is the elements of history, memories, and design,” Kenyatta says. “I love how they all come together and couldn’t exist without each other.

Name: Hayley Francis Location: Roosevelt — Seattle, Washington Size: 1,800 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned When Hayley Francis set out in search of her dream home in Seattle during the summer of 2015, she did so toting a wishlist of charming must-haves: checkerboard black and white tile floors in the kitchen, hardwoods throughout, and a classic Craftsman style.

Name: Ute and Steven Faure and their two daughters Location: Schotsche Kloof, Cape Town Size: 150 square meters (not including the central courtyard) Years lived in: 3 years, rented At the foot of Signal Hill you’ll find Schotsche Kloof, a vibrant neighborhood that Ute, Steven and their two young daughters call home. Their Victorian-­era home was given an update by the well-known and award-winning Chilean architect, Antonio Zaninovic, who is based in Cape Town.

Name: Krysta Jabczenski and Joel Leshefka Location: Barrio Libre — Tucson, AZ Years lived in: 3 years, owned Tucked away in the historic Barrio Libre neighborhood of Tucson is a little strip of lovingly restored adobes. The airy structures are full of desert charm, and they owe their new lives to a couple that split their time between arid Tucson and soggy Seattle.

Name: Sarah Scott and her pugs, Lulu and Ozzy Location: Sea Point East, Cape Town Size: 1615 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned The beautiful house you see today is a far cry from how it looked when Sarah, a designer, purchased it two and a half years ago. She had chanced upon the property when it was totally derelict and still in the very beginning stages of a renovation.

Name: Caroline Z Hurley Location: West Village, NYC Size: 420 square feet Years lived in: 13 years Caroline Z Hurley has lived in her apartment for 13 years, but has known the space even longer. Both of her sisters each lived in the apartment before her, and at one point, Caroline shared the 420-square-foot studio with one of them! Originally, the apartment was just an open studio with a half-wall separating the bedroom area.

Name: Emily DeRosa and Matthew Pugliese Location: Upper West Side, NYC Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years Emily and Matt’s pre-war apartment building (built in 1925) is located on a quiet block on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The couple has resided in their 800-square-foot apartment for two-and-a-half years, and during this time, have filled it with treasures from their travels and art made by dear friends. Emily works in an art gallery and Matt is a physical therapist.

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: Darcy Young & Mike Putizger with dog Moose Location: West Town — Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned When Darcy and Mike arrived at a building in the West Town neighborhood of Chicago for a condo showing two years ago, another unit owner in the building happened to be moving out at the same time. The door was open and they popped their heads in.

Name: Kalyn and Todd Chandler Location: Tribeca — New York, NY Size: 1,700 square feet Years lived in: 10 years, owned When Kalyn moved into her now-husband Todd’s apartment, the two were practicing lawyers. Kalyn was unhappy with her busy career, so Todd encouraged her to pursue her passion for design. With that extra push, Kalyn’s brand Effie’s Paper—a fun and feminine stationery and gift company — was born.

Name: Mery Garriga Location: Barcelona, Spain. Size: 645 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting “Less is more” was the phrase Mies Van Der Rohe used to define a design ideal. It’s also the philosophy Mery, a Barcelona-based interior designer, focuses on in both her design business and her life at home. Soft colors, simple furniture and small details mark her style, and her home is the perfect showcase of her skills at elegant simplicity.

Name: Kate, her husband and their dog, Millie, Location: Vicenza, Italy Size: 1,830 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Kate Goethe, like most military spouses, didn’t picture herself living in an Italian villa five years ago when she was living in a small suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. But like all military members and their families, you go where duty calls — and well, sometimes that comes with perks that include a jasmine-filled veranda and a villa.

Alex and Sean refuse to leave any walls bare in their Oakland apartment and share a love for mid-century furniture, classic TV, and cheesy movies.

Name: Thomas Dobrowolski and Ben Ezrick Location: West Village, New York Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned When you only have 400 square feet to work with, every inch of your home has to be considered during a remodel. Not just for aesthetics, but for also for function. Which is precisely what Thomas and Ben did with their West Village home when they set about renovating the small space: There are sleek, smart, built-in storage solutions in every room of the apartment.

Name: Deanna Leone, Jessie Mademann (and Thurston & Shermie the cats) Location: Fishtown, Philadelphia Size: Large Loft Studio (don’t know the square foot) Years Lived In: 2.5 years, renting Fishtown is one of Philadelphia’s many booming neighborhoods, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find a unique (and affordable!) home in the area. When you’re as creative as Jessie and Deanna, settling for a typical white-wall one-bedroom isn’t the ideal.

Name: Huberdine Verhoeven, Bertie, and their daughter Evy Location: Drunen, the Netherlands Size: 1,647 square feet Years lived in: 11 years, owned Huberdine was born and raised in Drunen, a small town in the southern Netherlands. Today, she still calls it home, along with her husband Bertie and their daughter Evy. Eleven years ago, they bought the house when it was newly-built and modernly design.

Name: Jenny Mountford, owner of Attic and Fable Location: Bridgetown, Western Australia Size: 1894 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned Jenny has always been drawn to color, the avant garde and items that have a history. To hold something in her hands that’s been held by many hands before her gives her such pleasure, allowing herself to wonder about the life both it, and its owner, may have led.

Name: Milicent Armstrong, Brian, and Gerry Location: South End — Boston, Massachusettes Size: 1,800 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, owned Walking into Milicent’s South End home is like being invited into a small oasis. Upon entering, guests step into a hallway with soaring ceilings and beautiful wallpaper.

He's a programmer; she's a designer. And they both live and work in this big and bright LA loft.