Name: Katie Avram and Butterscotch the cat Location: Bankview — Calgary, Alberta Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned I bought my condo a year ago and went to town on personalizing it from the beige/tan snorefest it was. I had been looking to buy a condo for over a year and had seen dozens in person that were definitely nice, but just weren’t me. The windows and view sold me on the place from the listing photos and I called my realtor right away to arrange a viewing.

Name: Erica Massey and dog Deacon Location: Dallas, Texas Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting I am a 26-year-old PhD student living with my four-year-old Belgian Malinois named Deacon. I live on fellowship/stipend from teaching undergraduate classes at my university, so I end up DIY-ing and/or IKEA-hacking a lot of home decor (my kitchen island, my bed, my couch, my bookshelves…).

Name: Kevin Wagner, wife Amber, two cats, Fjell and Fritz, a farm dog, Finn, and several chickens Location: Vandalia, Iowa Size: 2500 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned Our home is an Italianate-style brick home that we believe was built in the 1870s. It resides on the outskirts of a once prosperous rural town, Vandalia, Iowa. We own the surrounding seven acres, which is divided into our yard, garden, flower plots, and native virgin prairie.

Name: Louisa Johnsson Zea, husband Mario and cat Aycha Location: Lugnet — Malmö, Sweden Size: 667 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting Mario, my husband, and I share this place with our cat Aycha. We moved to Sweden from New York City almost two years ago for work (I’m the director for a European Social Fund project) but left most of our things in storage in NYC.

Name: Ilona Polcyn, my partner Daniel, our two sons Tycho, 13, and Fender, 7. Plus, two dogs. Location: Tilburg, The Netherlands Size: 3,229 square feet Years lived in: 7 years, owned I love to use my home as my test lab. If I haven’t painted anything for a few weeks, the paint tins literally call out to me from the closet. I like a fresh white canvas decorated with vintage, design or handmade items, mostly in fresh or soft pastel colors.

Name: Dani Loseke, partner, two boys Location: Bloomington, Illinois Years lived in: 7 months, renting This may sound really cliche, but after my divorce, I used designing and decorating as my own therapy. My goal was to make my home a place where I could come home and feel like I was on a vacation. Before I moved in to this three-bedroom ranch, I lived in a very small, but charming two-bedroom rental.

Name: Lauren White Location: Sacramento, California Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 4 months, owned This is the first home I’ve ever owned. I’m single, and have a full-time job as well as owning my own photography business, so when looking for a home to purchase, I wanted something that was new and wouldn’t require any flipping or renovation. I found this new development with the perfect 1,100 square foot condo for me!

Name: Carly Martin, my husband, and our rescue pup, Norman Location: Wicker Park/Bucktown — Chicago, Illinois Size: 1600 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting My husband and I moved from NYC a few years ago where we lived in a 500-square-foot apartment for four years, so now that we have nearly triple the amount of space (for less money!) we try to use it wisely and don’t take an inch of it for granted.

Name: Niraya and Humberto Location: Miami, Florida Size: 943 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned We are an architect (Niraya) and a civil engineer (Humberto) and yes, we discuss design a lot. And ever since we lived in Brooklyn, we’ve always dreamed of owning a loft. Living in Miami we knew this was not possible, especially if we wanted to stay in our neighborhood of Coconut Grove. So we looked and looked for a townhouse that we could convert into a “loft.

Name: Giulia Heiman, boyfriend, two dogs, and occasional AirBnb guests Location: Lake Arrowhead, California Size: 1,260 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned My boyfriend and I purchased our vacation home in Lake Arrowhead after getting frustrated with the Los Angeles housing market. Sick of competing for over-priced houses we didn’t really like in LA, we thought, let’s buy our dream home in Lake Arrowhead for a third of the price.

Name: Norm Ofstead Location: Orlando, Florida Size: 724 square feet Years lived in: 2 months, renting After having roommates for most of my life I am finally living in a space I can call my own. I recently moved into this beautiful second-floor apartment in Orlando and have loved getting to put my personal style into the space. I like to think of my style as well-traveled meets mid-century.

Name: Marie-Eve Lalande Location: Saint-Lambert, Quebec, Canada Size: 1000 square feet Years owned: 40 years This house was built in 1900 and for the last 40 years, it belonged to my parents-in-law who had one way of living: like in the old times! Every object that entered the house had to be antique, pretty, and authentic. So, you can forget about the microwave, no matter how helpful it could have been!

This rental apartment may be small, but it's in a dreamy Santa Monica location.

Name: Katherine Corden and her fiancé Dave Location: Lincoln Park Neighborhood — Chicago, Illinois Size: 600 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Dave and I moved in together about one year ago, around the same time we got engaged. We both are physical therapists full time but when we’re not working, we are pursuing our creative passions! Dave loves playing guitar and learning new music, and I am working to grow my fine art business.

Name: Marta Lemos and Tadeu de França Machado and a cat Location: Lisbon, Portugal Years lived in: 2 years, renting I’m a fashion designer and my boyfriend Tadeu is a photographer. We are very lucky to live in this beautiful apartment with tons of natural light, in a really great neighborhood, surrounded by amazing people—we are close friends with all the neighbors in the building!

Name: Victor Hoffman (he shares with roommates) Location: La Mesa, California Size: 852 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned I found my house as a rental. My intention was to rent for a year or two and then purchase a house once I knew what I wanted. My dog Gunner was a big dog so I needed a place with a decent-sized backyard. This house fit the bill. As strange as it sounds, once I moved in I felt a connection to this place.

Name: Taylor Abbott, husband, and two crazy pups. Location: Neskowin, Oregon Size: 846 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, owned My husband Keaten and I have always dreamt of buying a beach house on the Oregon coast. When the opportunity came, we jumped on it and bought a small, very outdated cottage built in the ’60s with a ton of potential. The cottage is only a few steps to the beach, which is our dream.

Name: Emilie Desjarlais and her daughter Location: Saint-Lambert — Québec, Canada Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting It is only me and my two year old daughter. Toddlers are messy, so to keep my sanity I made it as minimal as possible. I’m a very artistic person who also has their head in the clouds, so I can’t blame it all on my daughter. I work as a interior stylist and content creator so I spend a lot of time home.

Name: Fifi O’Neill with two cats, Minouche and Big Louie Location: Sarasota, Florida — The home is located in a historical neighborhood of vintage fishermen cottages known as The Maine Colony as it was settled by fishermen from Maine. Size: 950 square feet Years lived in: 20 years, owned I live alone with my two cats, Minouche and Big Louie, in a 1925 vintage fisherman cottage.

Name: Krista and Daniel Location: Little Italy — San Diego, California Size: 1400 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Krista runs Hand Meets Sky, “an online boutique specializing in authentic turquoise jewelry and jewels for the modern, boheme bride.” She’s an Apartment Therapy reader who submitted the home she shares with her partner Daniel. In her own words: Daniel had been living in the building for over eight years or so.

Name: Jenny Kakoudakis, husband Anthony, eight-year-old son, and Black Labrador Bella Location: Warlingham — London, England Size: 2150 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned Our home is a detached five-bedroom property in the outskirts of London, in the village of Warlingham. It is located in a quiet cul-de-sac alongside similar properties and fantastic neighbors. It’s only three of us (plus the dog, Bella!

Name: Coby Starck, husband Leeroy, and two boys, Guthrie and Ewan Location: Lethbridge — Alberta, Canada Size: 980 square feet Years lived in: 8 years, owned I am interior design obsessed! I have always loved architecture and design ever since I was a child. I stumbled across Apartment Therapy some years ago and have followed your site ever since; it is a great source of inspiration and entertainment. I work as a hairstylist and also do interior styling and design.

Name: Justine Celina Maguire and partner Adam Location: Calgary — Alberta, Canada Size: 1550 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, owned My partner and I both lead very busy lives and our home is our sanctuary. It’s also where I live and work—so creating a warm, inviting living room where we can relax, unwind and hang out with friends was really important to me. My ultimate goal was to create a comfortable, creatively inspiring room brimming with good vibes and positive energy!

She lives in a dreamy, minimal studio apartment in the heart of downtown SF.

Name: Samantha Nobles and husband Daniel Location: Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. Size: 500 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, renting The Nobles’ Nest is our first home as a married couple, for this reason alone we have a special adoration for this basement apartment. The couple who lived in the space before us are coincidentally our friends, and when they were moving out we conveniently slid right in to fill their spot! The best part of living here?

Name: Carey Hiatt, husband, two kids, two cats Location: Haddon Township, NJ Size: 1,700 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned We moved from a small row home in Philadelphia to this house. After looking for about a year, we fell in love with the neighborhood before the house. It had good bones and a lot of potential but was in need of cosmetic updates. We spent about a month doing a remodel of the kitchen, upstairs bathroom and converted a bedroom into a den, and an attic into an office.

Name: Stacy Hopkins and Mark Meyerrose Location: Hartland, Vermont Size: 2,000 square feet combined Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned My partner Mark Meyerrose and I renovated a partially restored 19th-century barn house with an adjacent stone blacksmith’s shop, (dating back to the late 1750s). Finding this place seemed like a godsend since I am a jeweler obsessed with metalsmithing, and Mark has mad carpentry skills; I loved the design work and he could bring our ideas to fruition.

Name: Peggy Wang Location: Ridgewood, Queens Size: 1100 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned A few years ago, I kinda just woke up one day and decided that I didn’t want to live in a tiny apartment anymore. It was like a weird sudden existential outburst in my usual lazy put-everything-off-forever mindset. My boyfriend’s friend happened to be looking to buy a two-family house, which is what planted the idea in my head.

Name: Kristin Nicholas. I live here with my husband Mark and teenage daughter Julia Location: Western Massachusetts Size: 3500 square feet Years lived in: 20 years, owned Our home was built in 1751 in western Massachusetts on a south facing knoll. It sits alongside an abandoned apple orchard that backs up to a small mountain populated with all kinds of wildlife. In the orchard during the growing season, our flock of sheep and lambs graze and rest, graze and sleep.

Name: Virginia Chamlee, my boyfriend, Tom, and our 13-year-old dog, Chloe Location: Jacksonville, Florida Size: 1767 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, first-time homebuyer Tom (my boyfriend), Chloe (our lab-shepherd mix) and I purchased our home and moved in roughly seven months ago. In the time since, we’ve gutted the kitchen, painted just about every surface in the home, hung dozens of pieces of art, and even ridden out a hurricane.

Name: Tamar Frenkel-Schechner of Nest Pretty Things, husband, two of my adult sons (temporarily), and our cat Location: Shelburne, Vermont Size: 1200 square feet Years lived in: 13 years, owned I’m a New Yorker originally but lived in Israel for most of my life, and in NYC for years when I attended Parsons School of Design in the early ’80s; my husband and I moved to Vermont from Tel Aviv in 2005.

Name: Lauren Williams and cat Levi Location: Fort Greene — Brooklyn, NY Size: 300 square feet Years lived in: 7 months, renting My little studio is inhabited by Levi (the cat) and me. I’m a fashion designer with a pottery/cactus side hustle and Levi is a professional cutie pie. Levi’s been with me since college (RISD) and has traveled around with me between Providence, Long Island, Manhattan and Brooklyn. She is key to making every place I move to feel like home.

Name: Bailey Li of Bailey Li Interiors Location: The Valley Arts District — Orange, New Jersey Size: 670 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting I love the idea of residing in a restored firehouse that is now used as a live/work art gallery that houses a group of creatives from different mediums! It’s like living in a piece of history that is birthing a new story.

Name: Dominique and Syeed Harris and their four kids Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee Size: 2958 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned Our home is a 1960 Georgian Colonial that we have enjoyed since closing in December on our anniversary in 2016. We love taking our time purchasing furniture for all rooms in the home, we love to get a sense, a feeling and we are striving to only include pieces that speak to us, that we love. Our family is a lively bunch.

Name: Meagan Mullens Location: Wurtsboro, New York Size: 1100 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, owned I’ve lived in NYC for the past 17 years. And as soon as I discovered that you can drive just an hour and half north of the city and be in the mountains, I was hooked. I started off renting places all around the Catskills/Hudson Valley and Berkshires. And I always thought to myself… “I should just buy a place.” But of course that seemed like just a pipe dream.

Name: Samantha Nobles and her husband Daniel Location: Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. Size: 500 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, renting My husband and I have been enjoying life on Capitol Hill for five years; this basement is our first home together as a married couple, and so it has a special place in our hearts. I work in real estate and own a side interior decorating business, and my husband works for an insurance company.

Name: Francisco Arrechea Martinez Location: Mar del Plata, Argentina Size: 291 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned This loft, located in the city of Mar del Plata on the Argentine coast, is owned by Francisco Arrechea Martínez, a young fashion stylist. The architecture and interior design are by Paola and Natalia Benedetti. It is located on the top floor of a very old tower, reached by a three-floor walk-up.

Name: Cory Everett, Dina Sankari Everett, and son Julian Location: Gramercy — New York City Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned After living for 10 years in a 375-square-foot studio on the Lower East Side, we finally decided it was time to move to a bigger space (which was any space with more than one room).

Name: Madison Kimball, her girlfriend Tori, and three adorable dachshunds: Ginger, Basil, and Fennel Location: St. Louis Size: 880 square feet Years lived in: 5 months, renting Originally from Virginia, my girlfriend and I moved to St. Louis almost two years ago so she could continue her education in nutrition. Since then, she has graduated, we’ve moved once already, and she has been named the executive chef of a new restaurant that is set to open in a few short weeks!

Name: Madison Wetter, husband Skyler, and Italian Greyhound, Warren Location: Boston, Massachusetts Size: 2,100 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned Furniture aside, our space is filled with three big personalities: my husband, Sky; our Italian Greyhound, Warren; and me, Madison. Like most, we wanted to decorate our first home with a style and quality that would not only last us but one that would also make us proud.

Name: Maximilian Monahan Location: Boise, Idaho Size: 195 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned I am a classic car dealer and I specialize in importing and retailing affordable Italian vintage cars. My father and I bought this 25′ x 120′ property in 2005, and it had a 550-square-foot concrete cottage built in 1948 that my dad used as his retirement pad.

Name: Michelle, Brad and Broc the three-legged pooch Location: Brooklyn, NYC Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned Our apartment is home to my husband and I and our three-legged dog. We fell in love with the area because it was convenient to a lot of places we frequent but had a neighborhood-y feeling to it, which instantly made us feel like we were coming HOME.

Name: Pam and her dog Franny Location: Houston, Texas Size: 1,900 square feet Years lived in: 8 months, renting I am an ER doctor, originally from NYC, residency trained in Detroit. I decided to not go back to NYC right away, pay off some loans, save money, and travel the world. I ended up in Houston in August 2017, two weeks before Hurricane Harvey. I don’t know anyone here so making my house a true home was extremely important to me. I was honestly thankful to have a home at all.

Name: Richard and Nicole and a Pomeranian named Sasquatch Location: Parkdale — Toronto, Canada Size: 1,400 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, owned I’m a designer by trade (The Directive Collective) and a being a collector is a hazard of the life. I’m always on the hunt for unique and interesting design artifacts for both professional and daily life inspiration. I love this area and building so much that I’ve been here for more than 13 years.

Name: Karst Rauhé Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Size: 269 square feet Years lived in: 9 months, renting I live in a 25-square-meter studio apartment in one of the best neighborhoods in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The studio is the front room of an old 1910s townhouse, with a beautiful ceiling and fireplace. Previously there were ensuite doors to the room at the back of the building, but currently the tiny kitchen is located there. My interior decor is 75 percent thrifted pieces.

Name: Amanda Location: Beverly Grove — Los Angeles, California Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: 17 years, renting My apartment was built in 1926 and has that classic Los Angeles Art Deco architecture and history that I adore. I live there alone and I work from home, so we spend a lot of time together. Honestly, it sort of does feel like this place is its own character. She’s gone through a lot of reinventions, but this latest one is definitely my favorite.

Built in the 1940s, it has the nickname "The Honeymoon Cottage."