The Latest: 2019

Name: Jawaria, my husband, and our four children Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Size: 675 square feet Years lived in: 16 years, renting My husband and I came to the U.S. for college and met in Florida. I moved to Pittsburgh for my master’s and my then-friend, now-husband followed suit. The rest of the 16 years are just a slightly elaborate version of that story. I make impulsive decisions and my husband follows along, and now our children are part of the adventure.

Name: Kurt, Sparrow and Simon the catLocation: Hoboken, New JerseySize: 950 square feetYears lived in: 2½ Before I became a contributor for Apartment Therapy New York, I wrote in to Good Questions asking for advice on paint colors. I had a funny experience with the question and almost as soon as it was posted online, I started changing my mind about what I wanted to do with the rooms.

Name: Boston Home Magazine Concept HomeDesigner: Hacin + AssociatesLocation: Boston, MassachusettsSize: 2,180 square feet + 1,000 square feet terrace Boston Home asked Hacin + Associates — architects of the FP3 loft building — to furnish one penthouse as their 2009 Concept Home.

Name: Amy Location: Jamaica Plain, MassachusettsYears lived in: Rented for 2 years The timing of this house tour, in concert with Apartment Therapy’s September Art, Craft, and Collections Month, is fitting — and a great segue into October’s Color theme and Room for Color contest! Walking into Amy’s first floor, one bedroom apartment is a delightful experience. The colorful walls and bunches of large and small collections make it impossible to feel gloomy here.

Name: Matt, Sara, and Bella JanssenLocation: On the road, at time of post: Scottsdale, AZSize: Approx. 200 sq. ft. (32 ft x 8 ft)Years lived in: 8 months >> We couldn’t have dreamed up a more appropriate house tour to end our Small Cool month. You may remember Sara, Matt and Bella as finalists from the contest last year. We were impressed by their declaration, “Small is BETTER! Even with a 3-year old and surely more on the way, we will never go back. Small is the new big!

Name: Alvar Aalto & family Location: Munkkiniemi neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland Size: approximately 2,200 square feet Years lived in: 40 years Alvar Aalto’s first building built in Helsinki was his own home and architecture studio.

Name: Layla and Kevin PalmerLocation: Prattville, AlabamaSize: 1,910 square feetYears lived in: 2 years Documenting their journey of home renovation, Layla and Kevin Palmer have set out on a mission to create a beautiful, functional, comfortable and inspiring home. Located in Prattville, Alabama this home perfectly blends antique/flea market finds with a subtle nautical style all under a neutral color palette.

Name: Simone GeorgetteLocation: Brisbane, AustraliaSize:  Approx 350 square meters (3,700 square feet)Years lived in:  2 years, Owned We featured Simone’s amazing waterside backyard a couple of months ago and we were excited to see inside her home today. Simone’s passion for all things vintage is evident throughout her house, with a lot of her furniture and objects coming from eBay, garage sales, op shops and found on the side of the road.

Name: Genevieve & Maxwell’s Poorgeoisie BungalowLocation: Silver LakeSize: 900 sq. feetYears lived in: Genevieve – 3 years. Maxwell – 1 yearWho else lives here? Lucy, our Pit-Lab mix. Sometimes you seek out house tours and sometimes house tours come to you. In the case of Maxwell and Genevieve’s Silver Lake abode, we discovered it when we showed up to buy some mid century chairs we’d spied on craigslist.

Name: LorinLocation: Greenwich Village, ManhattanSize: 400 square feet — StudioYears lived in: 9 years “Just because you have to live in a small space, doesn’t mean you have to forgo convenience, organization, OR luxury.” After nine years in a studio in the West Village, this is Lorin’s modus operandi. Not only did her square footage change dramatically when she moved from a townhouse in DC, but her style did as well.

Name: Jen & Rob French, Hank & Dexter French (twin 2-year-old boys)Location: Providence, Rhode IslandSize: 2,200 square feet | 3 bedrooms Years lived in: 1½ They may have dark-colored walls and a few dead things displayed here and there, but Jen & Rob French’s 1920s bungalow is still bright and full of life — thanks to a carefully curated art collection, a whimsical sense of humor, and the happy squeals of their twin two-year-old boys, Hank and Dexter, echoing through the house.

Name: Max and Peter Kater of Murchison-HumeLocation: Sydney, AustraliaSize: 250 square meters (2,700 square feet)Years lived in: 7 years We’ve loved Murchison-Hume products for a while now, not just because they’re effective eco-friendly products, but also because they also look so darn good. We were thrilled to discover the aesthetic of Murchison-Hume products flowed from the founders’ own home. Max and Peter’s abode is refined, yet is still entirely a family home.

Name: Jeff and Martha Location: St. George, Staten Island, New York CitySize: 3,000 square feet — 8.5 bedroomsYears lived in: 3.5 years >> We all know people who enjoy renovating their home and who take particular pride in respecting the original detailing or who wish to pay homage to the history of their dwelling place. Martha and Jeff, one can say without a doubt, have taken this approach to a whole new level…>> Martha and Jeff did not buy this century old house lightly.

Name: Jay RobertsLocation: Chelsea, New YorkSize: Studio apartment, 400 square feetYears lived in: Rented until 2005, then bought We recently toured Jay Robert’s Chelsea, NYC studio apartment, and boy were we impressed! What the apartment lacks in space (it is 400 square feet), it more than makes up for in efficiency, smarts, style and personality.

Name: Vicki, Richard and Dino (Portuguese water dog)Profession: Owners of Museum of Robots, a modern housewares company and KÜNGDESIGN, a creative studio specializing in design for Web and Second Life. Location: San Rafael, CASize: 1600 sq. ft.

Name: Jessica Engeman & Erik HovmillerProfession: Historic Preservation Specialist & Social WorkerLocation: Portland, OregonSize: 1500 sq. ft.Years lived in: 5 months, owned >> When they began their house hunt, Jessica and Erik, like so many first-time home buyers, found that most of the houses in their budget were old and needed a lot of work. But for a young couple with the creativity, vision, and unstoppable work ethic of these two, a fixer-upper can be a blessing in disguise.

Name: Shawn Gold and Amy Neunsinger Location: Laurel Canyon area of Los AngelesSize: 5,500 square feet Years lived in: 2 years since remodel, 8 years total >> Enter SlideshowWelcome to the home of Shawn Gold & Amy Neunsinger. Husband, wife and now business partners in cocodot.com. Amy is an accomplished lifestyle photographer and Shawn is the former CMO of MySpace. They bought a 1,500 square foot home on an amazing piece of property in Laurel canyon in 1998 and starting designing a year later.

Name: Michele and BradLocation: SoHoSize: 1600 square feet 1-bedroom rental loftYears lived in: 10 years >> Walking into Michele and Brad’s home elicits a gasp. It’s not everyday one sees such evidence of creativity, time, talent, and skill. After a career in fashion design, Michele migrated to accessories and tried her hand as a sole proprietor. Since 2001, she’s been creating pillows and textiles as well as curating cool stuff for her eponymous store on Crosby Street.

Name: Dave Lefner, artist and Shyla Marlin, actress and writer Location: The Brewery Art Colony in Downtown LASize: 2,000 sq. ft. Years lived in: 8 years >> We have to admit, when we walked into Dave and Shyla’s downtown pad, we felt like we were walking onto the set of “BIG”. The huge loft is a mixture of eclectic fun (and like their friends claim–we could have stayed all day looking at everything).