See inside a modest ranch house in Cape May County that hadn't been updated since the 1970s — it was beige and brown before its colorful and cool reno.

See inside the home of two architects with a great love for interior design who use lots of bright colors to spark joy in their 600-square-foot rental.

Architect and interior designer Anand Sheth plays around with saturated paint colors in unexpected ways.

Sophie Donnelly and her partner, Mark, have owned this 702-square-foot London flat for two years.

See inside this 600-square-foot Chicago rental of a Pakistani American woman who mixed both U.S. and Southeast Asian decor styles.

Denise Rodriguez and her husband bought a run-down 1920s Sears Catalog bungalow 22 years ago, slowly turning it into a "year-round vacation destination," complete with lots of colorful, vintage, beachy collections — from bathroom mermaids to candy-colored pottery.

Maddie Hilbrant and her fiancé both value a warm, welcoming home to come back to at the end of the day.

Contemporary artist Hazel Dooney's small studio apartment, built in the 1960s by a famous modern architect, is used as an art studio and is incredibly energy-efficient. "It doesn't need lights during the day, heating during winter, or cooling during summer. It is almost like being half outdoors."

Christina Long runs a heavy metal magazine and has filled her Yonkers rental with musical instruments and her favorite things: "Art, lighting, and books that all reflect my identity as a queer Black woman."

Because Lili Pillet and her husband have moved so much, every single piece of furniture in their LA house has to be "affordable, practical, and possibly customizable (so I can change the color or the configuration to meet my needs)."

Kea calls their rental townhouse's private patio an "urban oasis. It's tucked away and looks like its apart of a tropical resort. I can relax there, read there, sleep there. Makes me feel like I’m in a completely different part of the world," they write.

William Swinton-Ginsberg has been renting this studio apartment in Austin's Cherrywood neighborhood for four years, and built the kitchen table, which has a round gap that was designed to wrap around a cement column.

Kelsey Smoot is a graduate student, but didn't want this rental apartment to feel "collegiate," so they leaned into pops of color for this apartment in a way that they hadn't previously done in past apartments.

Paula and her partner, Martin, have created a "vintage-inspired eclectic, somewhat cluttercore" home, including a gorgeous green home library with built-in shelves and a five-meter-wide gallery wall!

Sanjana Ahid, her husband, and their cat babies have lived in this apartment for six years, and while nothing is too precious, everything was selected intentionally. It's a cozy, functional, lively, and soothing home.

Emmanuel and Katy have rented this loft in a building from the 1920s, and figuring out the layout was the biggest challenge because there are no walls in the main space.

The rental loft holds incredible architectural character, like 20-foot ceilings, original metal beams, wood planks, incredible original bricks, and a 15-foot paneled window that bathes the living room with sunshine.

With creative furniture placement and storage solutions, Ashley's place came together perfectly despite only being 450 square feet.

This is the tenth apartment Kit has lived in, in ten years and with this three-bedroom, two-bathroom rental apartment they share with a dog (and sometimes a roommate) they have put down more permanent roots and really make a space their own.

Emily and her boyfriend made sure to focus on function when decorating their small shared studio apartment, including making visually separate spaces in the one-room rental.

Teresa Golpe is a Spanish interior designer who moved to Portugal three years ago with her husband, creating this bright, warm, spacious, chic, and sophisticated home in Lisbon.

Tarah Baker shares a 1500-square-foot house in Louisville, Kentucky, with her partner and four dogs.

After living in this same rental apartment for 13 years, Dave says the place was starting to feel stale and not adult enough. But he spent a few months and a few thousand dollars elevating his rental's style.

Tamera Walters has been renting this townhouse for two-and-a-half years and shares it with her husband, Max, and four kids (ages 7, 5, 3, and 1). She tells us about her home: With four kids under seven, our home is loud, fun, and full of systems. Every inch needs to be child-safe and friendly, but also feel like two adults live here!Every closet has been converted into rooms or play space. And we have even changed the primary bathroom into a small office.

Veda Banerjee combined touches of her Indian background with her love of Paris apartments with some lucky mid-century modern scores on Facebook Marketplace, all to create this colorful and cozy home.

After Marilou's 40-year marriage ended, she wasn’t sure if she'd be able to afford to live alone, but with careful planning she was able to buy a little one-bedroom condo in a town in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tour this exceptionally designed home for humans (and cats!) that's the home of Victoria Karieva, the lead architect and co-founder of Between the Walls. She bought this apartment with her husband, Volodymyr, two years ago.

Robert F Samuels Jr. (AKA "Bobby Trendz") refers to his home as "The Trendz Gallery," and it features a black-and-white minimalist but luxurious aesthetic with architectural elements, patterns, contemporary art, and mid-century design.

Tour this 880-square-foot rental apartment that's shared by two creatives; there are cool painted wall squiggles and a couple of fantastic secondhand scores.

During the pandemic Gillian Lyons moved to Savannah, Georgia, from NYC to be closer to her family, purchasing this 744-square-foot apartment.

Nicolas Lecoeur's rental apartment is a Haussmann-type space with moldings and parquet flooring, located in the historic district of Montmartre.

"I consider myself to be a fun person, and I want to be surrounded by stuff that makes me happy," explains Federico Duarte, an art director, of this two-bedroom Valencia, Spain, apartment he shares with his partner, Pilar.

Lifestyle and food blogger Camilla Hughes lives alone in this small London rental studio apartment, so she has the "freedom to make my home exactly how I like it."

While architect Keaton Cizek would love to own and renovate his own home one day when he has the means, as a renter he finds "so much joy in making an apartment feel like an extension of myself as much as I can."

One day Olivia Huffman was driving to work and saw something out of the corner of her eye in an alley: the "dreamiest, curved clamshell sofas" just sitting there, ready for the taking!

The kitchen in Courtney's SF studio apartment is no wider than her arms can spread out, but it is "character rich, with wood shelving painted pale blue."

Damini grew up in India and moved to the U.S. in 2016. "After four years of art school and three years into my graphic design career, this is the first place I've stayed at where I've run wild decorating and watched it transform into a space that feels like home (and part art studio)."

"Our home is a place for us to visually express ourselves. I like to think of it as one big canvas on which to design, taking inspiration from our lives together and telling little stories in different corners of our home."

Lee Newman lives in a time capsule home built in 1974 that has been "maintained by the original architect and his family. It was one of his first builds, and has some quirks."

Film, dance, and theater artist Brighid Greene has lived in this rental apartment in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood for five years, and her partner has rented here since 2012. They pay $1700 per month, and say their landlord has not raised the rent in over a decade.

Jenny and her husband hired plumbers and electricians, but did the rest of their home's renovation all on their own. "From demo, framing, drywall, installing tile, installing hardwood floors, painting, knocking down walls, and building out closets, we've done it all!"

Before Selma bought their condo two years ago, it had been a plain rental with popcorn ceilings, old appliances, and a dark kitchen. But after renovating, the condo is now fresh and bright.

Jessica's rental house was built in the 1930s; she says it has a lot of "quirks, but also a lot of historic charm. It has original built-in cabinetry, windows, and tiling and a big backyard for us to all enjoy."

When Lindsey Kephart first arrived, the previous tenants (and friends) had painted the kitchen a color they loved: yellow. With a little paint and new hardware, Lindsey transformed the room — and the entire apartment — into a chic space more fitting to her personality.

Artist Mauro Baiocco loves a bargain, so most of the furniture in this rental apartment has been found on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or the street.

Lily’s favorite thing about her apartment is all “the sunlight that comes in through the windows. The entire front wall is curved in a semicircle shape, so strong sun comes in from all sides. The plants have all really flourished, and I love watching them grow over.”

Bianca Tueretsky wrote a series of YA books called "The Time-Traveling Fashionista" about a girl who travels back in time through an enchanted vintage dress. Her small Prospect Heights apartment reflects her love of books, history, vintage pieces, and travel.

Aparna Jayaraman is Indian and has always been "inspired by the bold colors, patterns, and glitz of traditional saris." But while she says color is very important to her home, "neutrals provide it the foundation to really pop."