Alexis Buryk

Name: Charlie and Tommy, working toward their certifications in interior design and architecture, respectively Location: Edgewater; Cleveland, Ohio Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 2 months; Rented Walking into Charlie and Tommy’s polished-yet-oh-so-cozy Cleveland home, you would never know that this was their first place together, let alone the first “adult” apartment for them both.

Name: Felicity Graham Sargent; educator and interior designer/owner’s representative at Felicity Sargent Design Location: Brooklyn Heights; Brooklyn, NY Size: 800 square feet (studio with mezzanine) Years lived in: 2.5 years; Owned A visit to Felicity’s magnificent two-story studio in Brooklyn Heights is a study in the wonders of architecture and design, past and present.

Name: Deborah J Stein, painter, designer and owner of Bonbon Oiseau Workshop and James Knudsen, lighting director, production lighting designer and owner of Quazar Productions. (With Maxine and Icky the cats and Pablo the pup) Location: Long Island City, New York Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: Rented 4.5 years Like us, our homes have moods. On a sunny day, they’re cheerful and bright; at night, they can be quiet and contemplative.

Name: Alex Fitzgerald Location: West Village — New York, NY Size: 420 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, owned The trick to studios is how to make the most of the space you’re given. For Alex, a studio apartment previously owned by an architect obsessed with built-ins has proved both a boon and a challenge.

Name: Jenny, Konstantin & Simone Peysin (plus their dog Murray) Location: Windsor Terrace — Brooklyn, NY Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned Jenny and Konstantin were married in 2015, moved into their beautiful Brooklyn apartment in 2016, and recently welcomed baby Simone into their lives and the home they share with their quirky pup, Murray.

Doilies, murals, fake cake and Victorian vibes...Cole Escola (Matthew on Hulu's Difficult People) lives in a 425-square-foot candy-colored Brooklyn apartment.

Name: Jack Schmitz, Christopher Thompson, and their Frenchie, Edie. Location: Hell’s Kitchen — New York, NY Size: 675 square feet, plus terrace Years lived in: Almost a year, renting For creative couple Jack Schmitz and Christopher Thompson, the search for their first apartment together ended up working out far beyond their expectations.

Name: Alea Lovely Location: Greenpoint — New York, NY Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 8 months, renting The apartment of Alea Lovely more than lives up to her name. A creative whose expressions vary from photography to painting and beyond, Alea infuses her space with a sense of what motivates and inspires her. This includes plenty of art, lush colors and textures, and details influenced by places, people, and things she adores.

Name: Eunice Chang, Senior Principal User Researcher at Autodesk, a 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software company Location: Eureka Valley, border of Castro and Mission; San Francisco, California Size: 1,073 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Owned The soothing coast meets San Fran city living inside Eunice’s sophisticated-yet-laidback urban hideaway.

Name: Hillary Schuster, graphic designer and aspiring wedding stylist, and Michael Kiser, freelance writer, photographer, brand strategist, and founder of Good Beer Hunting Location: Ravenswood; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,600 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years; Rented Curios collected and lovingly composed unify the style of Hillary and Michael, a Chicago couple who balance home space with work space, and ephemera with plenty of classic, quality pieces.

Name: Jillian Schiavi, artist and founder of jilly ink, lettering and paper design Location: Lincoln Park; Chicago, Illinois Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rented Moving into your first solo apartment is a challenge best met with enthusiasm, flexibility, and vision.

Name: Sara Tunstall, Digital Producer, and Becky Kastelic, Art Director Location: Wicker Park; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Rented Longtime roommates Sara and Becky make cohesive cohabitation seem effortless. Friends since college, these ladies combine carefully selected additions from estate sales and big box stores together with favorite pieces from their childhood homes to give this historical space a sense of depth and timelessness.

Name: Jocelyn Mackenzie, Musician with the band Pearl and the Beard, and Jim Altieri, Programmer/Musician Location: Purdy’s, New York Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 1 year; Rented When Jocelyn and Jim decided to leave Brooklyn living behind, they looked northward for their next home.

Name: Jonathan Rubinstein, Founder/Owner of Joe, a coffee roastery and group of retail shops in New York City and Philadelphia; and Sally, age 4 Location: Brooklyn Heights; Brooklyn, New York Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 years; Owned Clean lines define the neat, loft-like space that is Jonathan’s Brooklyn home, a well-edited contemporary apartment.

Name: Elizabeth Tulipana, founder of Anticipation Events + Bad Loo Loo Location: Bucktown; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented Putting together a space that functions as both a home and base for her event planning business and Etsy shop came naturally to Elizabeth. A lover of all things vibrant and patterned, her spacious one bedroom apartment reflects her dynamic spirit and boundless creativity.

Name: Johanna Lowe, food and prop stylist, and Derek Richmond, food photographer; together, they are the co-founders of Richmond Lowe Studio. Location: Logan Square; Chicago, Illinois Size: 3,000 square feet, with an additional 2,000 square feet of outdoor space Years lived in: 7 months; Rented Could there be a more perfect pairing than a food and prop stylist and a food photographer?

Name: Kim Knoll and Kyle Eertmoed, graphic designers at Knoed Creative Location: Ravenswood Manor; Chicago, Illinois Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 7 years; Owned Kim and Kyle know a thing or two about space. As graphic designers who started their own company, Knoed Creative, they spend endless hours thinking about how forms and language communicate across visual dimension.

Name: Jessie and Jon Location: Brooklyn Heights; New York, New York Size: 710 square feet Years lived in: 7 months; rented Within every couple-cohabited space there is a love story: the how, when, and why a house adapts to contain the spirit of the two people who have worked together to share it and create for themselves a home.

Name: Tim Speicher, Director of Marketing and Communications at Victory Gardens Theater in Lincoln Park, and Ellenkate Finley Location: Lincoln Square — Chicago, Illinois Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: almost 9 months; Rented You know a tour is going to be different when you’re warmly invited to check out a cozy crawlspace/adult fort underneath a completely DIY lofted bed!

Name: Jaclyn Simpson, of Jaclyn Simpson Photography Location: Lincoln Square; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented Jaclyn is exactly the kind of wedding photographer you want with you all day during your big celebration: warm, generous, funny, and absolutely genuine. Her live/work space is filled with personal pieces and DIY projects galore, creating an earthy/quirky combination that is distinctly her own.

Name: Rachel Yacapraro, blogger at Taffeta and Cedar, and Brian Willard, Visual Effects Artist at Radar Studios Location: West Town; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,600 square feet Years lived in: 9 years; Owned Warmly considered and lovingly maintained, Rachel and Brian’s flat has the broad, open feel of a loft, while retaining the flow and privacy of a traditional apartment. Luckily for this couple, Rachel and Brian share a similar clean, modern aesthetic with a vintage twist.

Name: Micah Clasper-Torch, designer and artist Location: Bed-Stuy — Brooklyn, New York Size: 260 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented Tours photographed on rainy days always have a way of making me extra aware of the true coziness of a place. Micah’s space contains within in it such a wonderful sense of who she is and the things that make her happy and productive.

Name: Ashley Clauss, of CLAUSS & CO., a communications consultancy specializing in brand strategy, public relations and event production. Location: West Village; New York, New York Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 6 years; Rented Diligent editing and an honest desire to be surrounded in her apartment only by things she loves has served Ashley Clauss very well.

Felicity’s Brooklyn Heights home went through a complete shift in identity: from a dark, 1960s-style apartment with a sleeping loft to a modern-yet-historically-respectful and bright two-level studio. Felicity was particularly inspired by the work of Carlo Scarpa, an Italian architect. Just prior to closing on the apartment, a trip to Italy with her aunt provided many in-person experiences of Scarpa’s projects, including Castelvecchio and the Brion Sanctuary.