Aaron Able

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: Steve Schappacher & Rhea White of SchappacherWhiteLocation: Shelter Island, New York We bought this 1904 fisherman’s cottage 5 years ago. Originally planning to use the home as a weekend retreat from NYC, we now spend most of our time in the 1,100 square foot house, a block from Cockles Harbor.

Name: Ryan Brinkerhoff & Katie TyneLocation: Victorian Village / Short North — Columbus, Ohio I am owner and head designer of Bandito Design Co.. I live in a 450 square feet one bedroom apartment that I share with my girlfriend. It serves as both a living space as well as a studio space where I work as a graphic designer.The space is small, but that has led us to be creative with the boundaries (or lack thereof) of design area and living area.

Name: Nelly Reffet & Samuel DesmarisLocation: Watermans Bay, Western Australia (a mere hundred metres from Indian Ocean beaches) We were desperately looking for a cute beach house to rent at an affordable price. So when we stumble upon a very neglected shack that was screaming potential, we jumped onto it!

Name: Rosie & MattLocation: Highlands neighborhood — Louisville, Kentucky In January of 2008 we began the process of converting our new house, a very dark, cramped 1950s house with a bad 90s remodel into the space you see in the photos. I am a graphic artist, and my husband, Matt Frederick, is a furniture designer. We did all the design of the interior spaces ourselves, as well as most of the work.The big idea for the public spaces in the house was to make them as gallery-like as possible.

Name: SukiLocation: Capitol Hill — Seattle, Washington It has taken me two years and four months to get my 470 square foot condo finally ready for a House Call. It proves that my style is patience! It takes me forever to find any object that I truly love. Every shopping experience is like searching for a soul mate. I am mostly drawn to old, used objects that make you wonder their life story. Therefore, used goods stores, craigslist, and garage sales are my muse and inpiration.

Name: KatLocation: Reno, Nevada When we moved to Reno, Nevada from Oakland, California, I was hoping to purchase an old ramshackle barn and restore it into a rad loft, in the style we were accustomed to living. However, due to our great desire to take advantage of Mr. Obama’s phat tax credit for first time home buyers, our selections were limited by time constraints (the tax credit expired at the end of April).

Name: Hunter Wimmer (Design Educator) & Casie Permenter (Civil Engineer) and Marty the Cranky CatLocation: Concord, CaliforniaSize: 1,800 square feet + 200 square feet atriumYears lived in: 3 — owned On a blazingly hot 4th of July holiday, my wife and I moved from West Oakland to the suburbs of Concord to tackle a labor of love: a 1963 Eichler-built home in pretty rough, but somewhat original shape.

Name: Sacha & JohanLocation: Pretoria, South Africa We were in the very fortunate position of being able to build our own house. We both loved the idea of a large loft space, so decided it was now or never. The journey started off a bit bumpy as it was difficult to find an architect that wasn’t corrupted by the mainstream. We eventually found our house in the mind of a young rookie. High risk, high reward.

Name: Kristen EllisLocation: Pike Place Market — Seattle, Washington My apartment is located in the heart of the world famous Pike Place Market. The apartment is a studio and is approximately 125 square feet. The building in which it is located was originally built in 1907 and offered housing to the fisherman who needed a temporary place to stay while on shore. The building has a roof top balcony that not only overlooks the Market but the Puget Sound, Mt. Rainer and the Olympic Mountains.

Name: Alexandria CarterLocation: Nolita — New York, New York My apartment is the perfect eclectic mix of old and new. When I first moved to NYC two years ago, I immediately furnished my apartment with practical IKEA furniture. As I started walking around the city, I discovered a lot of beauty in antiques and used objects. They seemed to have an air of wealth that came from a history and a past life.

What: Showtime House 2010Location: Midtown — New York, New YorkSize: 3 Penthouse apartments in Cassa Hotel & Residences, Benefiting: Harlem Children’s Zone Showhouses are a bizarre animal — and the third Showtime House is no exception. Pulling inspiration from 7 Showtime original series, the designers mix high-concept and high-design into themed rooms for the public to tour.

Name: Benjamen PurvisLocation: Ballard — Seattle, Washington My style mixes colorful Pop Art with warm, earthy traditionals. Most of the artwork I have on display is my own — the “Hard Day’s Night”-era Beatles made out of Legos; the Lichtenstein-esque Superman painting; the Warhol-esque Coke can painting and soup can labels, plus others that aren’t in these shots.

Name: CarolynLocation: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Before getting married last spring, my husband and I lived in separate spaces. I owned a west-coast modern/ranch hybrid of 4,600 square feet, and he lived in a 1,200 square foot condo. After having talked about moving in together for many months, it came as a surprise to both of us that we chose to sell both and start fresh. The idea of amalgamating and downsizing was daunting but exciting as well.

Name: Kevin Sharkey, decorating editorial director of Martha Stewart LivingLocation: Far West Village — New York, New YorkSize: 2,500 square feetYears lived in: 2 After 18 months of renovations, Kevin Sharkey was so pleased to have his apartment complete for the September issue of Martha Stewart Living that he invited Apartment Therapy editors for a private tour! The contemporary space is high over the Hudson in one of the Richard Meier towers on the West Side Highway.

Name: SarikaLocation: Lower East Side — New York, New York My studio apartment is smack dab in the middle of New York City’s Lower East Side — a neighborhood that recently topped a list of best places to live for the “young, single and cash-strapped.” Fitting the bill on all three of those things, and zeroing in on the last item (working on a reporter’s budget here!

Name: WendyLocation: Hell’s Kitchen — NYC My apartment is a 350 square feet studio apartment located in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. I recently moved in back in February of 2010, so I’ve been living here about 4 months. I think it would make an great Apartment Therapy House tour because of the limited space as a studio.

Name: Randal DawkinsLocation: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC This is my small apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I am an antiques buyer for a Manhattan firm and an interior designer. My aesthetic is a layered look — filled with antiques and art of many periods and styles. I like to consider my apartment my miniature English country house.Thanks Randal!• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE Check out past house tours here• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy?

Name: Erin & Ben Location: Downtown — Laurel, Mississippi Our loft apartment was built around 1903 and was a toothpaste factory after World War I. Now it’s our home and the studio of Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence. After years of being a law office, my family bought this flatiron building and we got to work on renovations.

Name: Katherine HammondLocation: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn I would like to share my bathroom! It is a 5′ x 6′ shower room which is used by our two kids (6 & 8 years old) my husband and me. I designed a shower room , popular in Europe, to meet our long term and immediate needs. I used red subway for the walls and pennys for the floor, tiliing high on the walls to create the feeling of more space…Summer before last we bought a 4 story limestone building in Prospect Heights.