Name: Kelly Shannon and “a sh*t load of plants” Location: Costa Mesa, California Size: 1120-ish… like my SATs Years lived in: 14 months, owned When buying this house, the idea was to keep it uniquely quirky. There’s a (very slowly) rotating carousel and a giant vintage street lamp in the garden, and a few hidden nooks around the property. The bones of the house were incredible, but it needed a ton of work and updating.

Name: Laura Hur and her husband Location: Chelsea — Manhattan, New York Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, renting My husband is a diplomat and I am an interior designer. My husband’s job has us moving often to far flung spots on the globe, and our home tells the story of our experiences, travels and shared life together. Moving every couple of years presents a host of interior design challenges, but luckily I am always up for the task!

Name: Kyra Markosian Location: Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting My living situation is quite unique. I live on the grounds of Strawbery Banke Museum, a multi-building local history museum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. My apartment is in one of the museum buildings with exhibits on the ground floor and living spaces upstairs.

Name: Ryan and Valerie Location: Packwood, Washington Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned Our home is a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom A-frame cabin just a few miles from Mt. Rainier National Park. We’re surrounded on all sides by old-growth forest, with a deck that backs up to National Forest land. This is a second home for my wife (Val), our dog (Emily), and myself. What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home?

Name: Kim and Kip Golden and two kiddos, Shae (9) and Micah (5) Location: Boulder, Colorado Size: 1600 square feet Years lived in: 7 years, owned We just remodeled our townhome to make it work for our family of four for a long time coming. I am obsessed with a healthy home, and so my most important priority during the remodel was to keep all of our choices as non-toxic and healthy as possible, without compromising our style.

Name: Myisha and Armon Moore Location: Pearl District — Portland, Oregon Size: 996 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Our home is a blend of both of our personalities. Armon is a Creative Director and I ( Myisha) am a Digital Brand Manager. Armon loves to play with color and I love storytelling through design. Pop art definitely speaks to us both; it’s fun, whimsical and most importantly, it provides a feeling of sunshine/brightness to the grey skies of Portland, Oregon.

Name: Arianna Danielson, my husband, our 2 children, and 2 mini Schnauzers Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Size: 4,000 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, rent-to-own This home is actually my childhood home! My parents owned this house for 22 years and were ready for a change and to downsize. This home has a lot of sentimental value and I have so many fond memories growing up here, and when my parents decided to move, my husband and I jumped on it.

Name: Lauren Zaser and Ryan Oskin Location: Big Indian, New York Size: 2,300 square feet Years lived in: 5 months, owned Originally built in the 1950s, my boyfriend, Ryan, and I put our ’70s modern twist on the house. Filled with big windows, wide plank oak floors and bluestone fireplaces, we instantly knew we had to make this house our own. Surrounded by about five acres of woods with a small creek running on the side you can really feel peaceful seclusion away from busy city life.

I recently moved back to my home after living in San Francisco for the past two and a half years.

Name: Matthew Minor Location: Fort Worth, TX Size: 895 square feet Years lived in: 3 months, renting I moved to Fort Worth, my hometown, after 10 years in NYC. To make a leap this big, I needed to be excited about my home. When I was in Texas for Easter, my mom and I were driving and I saw what looked like a warehouse being advertised as lofts. After seeing inside, I knew where I was going to live.

Name: Tashira Halyard and her partner Location: Arlington, Virginia Size: 950 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting My partner and I moved to the DC suburbs a little over a year ago and it changed our lives. Leaving the hustle of DC was the best thing we’ve ever done. Our little neighborhood is walking distance to cafes and hiking trails. It’s a quiet community that we’ve come to love. Home interior is one of my passions.

Name: Anne Staver Location: Pentes de la Croix-Rousse — Lyon, France Size: 226 square feet (plus a 97 square foot bed loft) Years lived in: 1 year, owned I recently had the chance to realize a long-standing dream of a pied-à-terre in Lyon, where I spent several years of my youth. It’s located exactly on the block that I always said I wanted to have an apartment, in the old silkworkers’ neighborhood in Lyon (Pentes de la Croix-Rousse).

Name: Andrew and Kiel Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Size: 1,400 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned. We moved to Milwaukee almost three years ago from San Francisco, as part of a challenge to ourselves to try a new adventure. Wisconsin is a slower pace of life than in California, and we’ve found it to be a great place to not only own our first home but to also enjoy being within it.

Name: Lita Lee, Mike Martin & their four children Location: Edmonton, Alberta Size: 2,300 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned My name is Lita Lee, my husband’s name is Mike Martin and we have four kids to keep us on our toes! Besides being a full-time mama I started a diary of our home on Instagram called Crave Interiors. We had been living in a home in Winnipeg that we built and lived in for six years.

Name: Zachary Ioannucci Location: Greenpoint — Brooklyn, NY Size: 1000 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting I live with my boyfriend Travis. We’re both into interior design and I’m sure we both wish we could start over again and do that. The furniture is a mix of his and mine. Nothing was really planned. We just went forward with what we already had/found and built around that. Also, fun fact — we had seen twenty six apartments before seeing this one.

Name: Rajiv Fernandez Location: Brooklyn, New York Size: 540 square feet Years lived in: 3 years I am a freelance architect, artist and children’s author. I founded my company Lil’ Icon in 2017 that does design to make you think and wink. The premise for my design company is evident in the apartment — sophisticated in base palette with pops of fun in the accessories. I originally hail from Iowa and moved to NYC for grad school 10 years ago.

Name: Shawn Location: Echo Park — Los Angeles, California The basics: 4 months, owned — 1,111 square feet Shawn’s funky cabin is full of warm wood, natural light and a ton of texture. From the wood floors to the planked ceiling the home has tons of laid-back California cool that makes you want to take off your shoes and relax.

Name: Sarah and Max Location: Miami, Florida The basics: 4 months rented, 750 square feet Sarah’s Miami apartment is colorful and fun and full of little surprises. Every picture has a fun detail, full of cool art and funky patterns. Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: My husband Max and I actually just moved from Indianapolis, Indiana to Miami four months ago.

Name: Vincent Location: West Village — New York, New York The basics: 2 years, rented — 700 square feet Vincent’s West Village home is classically urban and warmly welcoming, perfect for his supper club, Mr. Jones. His home is both personal and public, well curated with plenty to look at without feeling staged. And with the exposed brick and natural light, he hit the apartment jackpot!

Project by: Cynthia Ferguson Designs Location: Toronto, Ontario Cynthia was enlisted to help a family of four downsize from their family home into a condo that would better suit their life now. Working with her clients she was able to create a chic space that mixes new pieces with old favorites. From Cynthia: With their two daughters moving on to University, my client decided to take advantage of the crazy real estate market in Toronto and downsize from their family home.

Name: Jessica Location: Eastside — Milwaukee, Wisconsin The basics: 3 months, rented —450 square feet Jessica’s apartment looks much larger than its 450 square feet. Since hosting was a priority for her, and she didn’t want folks playing Apples to Apples on her bed, she decided to divide up her studio to carve out a specific spot for entertaining. Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I’m a public accountant and photographer.

Name: Hannah Location: Raleigh, North Carolina The basics: 2.5 years, rented — 385 square feet Hannah’s adorable apartment comes complete with an enviable amount of sunlight, which she in turn uses to grow a ton of plants. Green mixes with pops of color and funky finds to create a totally winsome little space.

Name: Sarah, her husband, their daughter and cat Location: New York, New York The basics: Owned, 5 months — 1,100 square feet Sarah and her family have created a sleek, minimalist family home in New York. Full of smartly hidden storage and light maximizing colors, the space feels airy and bright.

Name: Cori Location: San Francisco, California The basics: 3 years, rented — 235 square feet Cori’s San Francisco studio is so full of sunlight and whimsical finds that it seems much bigger than its 235 square feet. Decorated carefully over time, Cori mixes small space-saving furniture with funky art and accessories.

Name: Beth and Jake Location: Dallas, Texas The basics: 1 year, rented — 900 square feet Newlyweds Beth and Jake have created a cozy cocoon of a home that is warm, welcoming and perfect for entertaining. Layering textures and eclectic finds, their space is full of funky organic vibes. Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: My husband Jake and I recently got married, so this is our first space together as newlyweds, and it has been such an oasis for us.

Name: Alicia Lombardini Location: Bowery —Manhattan, New York The basics: 10 years, owned — 1,500 square feet Alicia, a stylist, has created a home that is so mind bogglingly cool it’s unreal. It still remains approachable and welcoming in all of its funky glory, however, inviting you to grab a cocktail and plop down on that incredible couch. Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: The loft has played a special part in my life.

Name: Oksana, her husband and their children Zion and Chloe Location: Sioux Falls, South Dakota The basics: 9 years, owned — 1,200 square feet Oksana’s home is a mix of white and wood which keeps the space warm and inviting and maximizes the natural light, a big plus during South Dakota winters. Her philosophy is to take designing her space one corner at a time, and you can tell by the smartly collected moments sprinkled throughout the house.

Project by: Gaurav Kharkar and Vidhita Kharkar of Gaurav Kharkar and Associates Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India This gorgeous duplex for a family of six has some incredible window action going on. Gaurav and Vidhita Kharkar created a space that is modern and sophisticated but exudes a welcoming warmth. From Gaurav and Vidhita: This three bedroom, sea-facing apartment is home to a family of six. Spread over 2,000 square feet across two levels, the residence exudes warmth and liveliness.

Name: Diana, her husband and their two kids Location: Logan Square — Chicago, Illinois The basics: 5 years, owned — 1,000 square feet Diana and her husband decided that while their home was totally fine, it wasn’t really them. Being on a budget and humans with jobs and children they opted to do smaller fixes when they could find the money and time. The result is an airy home, perfect for a fun young family.

Project by: Lilian Weinreich of Lilian H Weinreich Architects Location: New York, New York The scramble for space is never ending in New York City and occasionally you have to get creative. Lilian Weinreich did exactly that when she combined two small studios to create one open and modern apartment. From the Lilian Weinreich Team: In New York, where real estate it at a premium, flexible space planning can help make minimal living a reality in a small space.

Name: Emily Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia The basics: 2 years, rented — 900 square feet Emily’s on her own for the first time, so she decided to create the most uniquely “her” space she could. Filling her home with quirky finds, heirlooms and unique collections her space is homey and warm. Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: For as long as I can remember my favorite activity has been decorating.

Name: Marta, Tadeu and Spock the cat Location: Lisbon, Portugal The basics: 1 year, rented Marta and Tadeu’s apartment is full of tiny bright surprises. It seems to be about 80% a super stylish neutral apartment with 20% colorful and quirky and delightful finds — perfect for a game of interior eye spy. Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I’m a fashion designer and my boyfriend Tadeu is a photographer.