Carli's brick home in Michigan is filled with colorful artwork in her own style. "Each room has gotten a makeover — some just paint, others light fixtures, and some major overhauls," Carli writes.

After her divorce, Calvena wanted to focus on finding herself and her happiness. She created a home is filled with pieces that are female forward that bring her joy.

As a fashion accessory designer, Courtney is used to taking on creative projects and making art. With her studio apartment in Manhattan, she uses thrifted furniture and brings it back to life with a fresh coat of paint to add a finishing touch to her home.

Lois' home is leopard print everything. From the couch to the bedroom to the statue of a leopard, she uses prints as neutrals to bring maximalism to life in her UK home.

When newlyweds Courtney and John bought their first home by the Jersey Shore, it was a fixer upper with exposed pipes and a family of raccoons living there. They were able to completely transform the space into a modern home that reflects them.

When Hege gut renovated her 1920s home, located in an old power-transformer building, she opened up the space with large floor-to-ceiling windows and by using lots of light wood and white surfaces to maximize light, along with storage solutions to maximize space.

Sarah Jackson, her husband Greg, and their dog Rex live in a well-curated apartment on Roosevelt Island, best-known for the tram that connects it to Manhattan over the East River.

When I moved into my Colonial Revival-style building, I was a freelance editorial assistant and was simply striving to pay rent on my own!" exclaims fashion stylist James Bianca. "Despite having very little money, I had a hardy wish list, which included a full kitchen, a working fireplace, south-facing exposures, and outdoor space."

Jen brings her Latina background into decorating her home by using colors that she loved seeing on a trip to Mexico City. She believes in creating a space without fear of judgment, and through that, she has been able to curate a home filled with items and designs she loves.

Artist Michael Pybus turned a new construction white box into a wildly colorful home filled with vintage IKEA pieces, tropical fish, and an art studio.

"As a retired person I knew I wanted a unit that fit me and my needs perfectly," writes Gwendolyn Hillesheim. "I took the time to assess my wants and prioritized four things."

Michele keeps the '70s style of her California house alive by bringing in items from vintage and garage sales. By using the elements of her house that give it that vintage feel, she adds in her own modern flair.

Melanie is a "hobby designer" who uses items in new, creative ways. She suggests finding items from flea markets and finding a new use for them to give your home a designed feel.

When Lily and her husband bought their first home together in Brooklyn, they knew it would need to be gut renovated. This gave them the chance to open up the space and make it their own. Now with they've created a clean, modern space that still has a place for a disco ball.

When it comes to Isabelle's New York studio apartment, she has one piece of advice: measure everything! Her home mixes vintage a traditional styles with pieces that pop like her leopard print chair.

Sara and her Frenchie Cashew live in the suburbs of Detroit. Sara has been passed down art and other items that she fills her home with to bring her closer to her loved ones.

When Paul made the moved from renting to owning, he wanted to create a space that was filled with his favorite books and art. Now his home is a place where no matter where he looks, he finds happiness.

The size of Dana Miller's Upper West Side studio apartment isn’t huge, but there’s a separate kitchen, a loft, 11’ ceilings, and huge French windows that open onto gardens.

After living in a small apartment in Manhattan, Jesse decided to make the move to Brooklyn to find more space and in-unit laundry. Now Jesse has a larger home that provides a breath of fresh air from living in New York.

Along the Delaware River, sits Barryville General Store — a cute traditional, small town store. But upstairs is a small country retreat that is cozy and clean.

Kate and her partner Levi are two grad students who filled their home with vintage items that they find at local antique shops. With massive windows that let in sunlight, their townhouse apartment is cozy all year round.

Natalie Doef describes her style as bohemian, whimsical, modern, and fresh. "I tend to gravitate towards earthy features; I love incorporating natural materials like rattan, bamboo, clay, ceramic, and stone."

Jen and her husband are hands-on DIYer's and were very involved in their own home renovation, from the design to some of the work, like kitchen renovation (floors, tile wall, cabinetry, and range hood).

Tracy Bennett, a self-proclaimed interior decorator and avid DIYer, loves to have color, modern furniture mixed with vintage, and tons of art in her home, a 1977 Ranch house she shares with her family.

Nicollette and Magnus live in a condo in a renovated schoolhouse from the 1800s. "The way the building was constructed preserved the beauty of the old architecture while adding modern finishes."

"My color palette (lavenders, mauves, whites, and vintage wood tones) calms me down and puts me in a creative mindset," explains designer Kate DeWitt. "I also focused a lot on mood lighting in this space."

Mish, who founded design studio Tangerine Living, says this rental apartment was initially a very awkward studio with a tiny, unused upstairs storage room. But along with partner, Ryan, they redid floors, ceilings, doors, kitchen, bathroom, and decor... and all on a DIY budget!

Eqbal and Ashleigh's home style is "cozy, artful, Greek-inspired, bohemian, and colorful."

"My apartment is an extension of how I feel, and wish to feel, all the time! I love home decorating because to me it's a way we can make permanent certain moods and states that are dear to us, that we can't in real life," says comic artist and graphic novelist Em Frank.

Sarah Jane Park and her fiancé, Steve, share this 686-square-foot London flat they describe as "rustic cottage meets boho."

Arnold d’Alger, the creator of bazar d’alger, and Bruno della Mattia, a web developer, have been renting this Paris apartment for three years.

Mackenzie Schell and her two roommates had to make this small apartment as functional as possible but also wanted it to be a really fun space that wouldn’t get boring to them.

Amanda Lowthian added a pink adhesive backsplash and adhesive checker flooring took the doors off the cabinets in the kitchen, installed shelves over radiators, and added lots of art and unique accents.

Marion's super small apartment in Paris' 11th arrondissement had lots of potential when she purchased it, and she's been DIYing a smart, functional, and fabulous home full of personality and character since moving in!

This apartment in France is teeny in size, but with high ceilings, lots of natural light, a cute balcony, and original features such as traditional limestone walls and 1930s encaustic tiles, it's also GORGEOUS.

Ben and Kyla love finding art and accessories during their travels and incorporating them into their home; nearly all of the art has been accumulated from local artists during their adventures.

Sabina Chhetri's studio apartment in Chennai, India has a style she describes as "Contemporary Indian."

Irene describes her Barcelona apartment's style as "bright, hyggelig, personal."

Visual artist and designer⁠ Meagan Jain and her partner, Nikolas, fell in love with the skylights and the south-facing windows of this Brooklyn rental apartment. They also loved the amount of space; there is enough room for her art studio and more.

When Ashley and her husband Max got married and moved into their first home, their house was in "rough shape" but through the power of DIY, they were able to transform their home into a space they love.

India, who's the owner and curator of the colorful home goods shop Apartment 528, lives in this incredibly colorful rental apartment in Cincinnati, Ohio.

As a professional organizer, Sachiko has prioritized simplicity and balance in her home. She has turned her home into a space that expresses her happiness.

Sarah Stieber is a painter, tape artist, muralist, and jewelry designer with a recent passion for designing spaces around her art, like the incredibly colorful house she's created with her husband.

There's wallpaper on the dining room ceiling, a pink and green Art Deco-style bathroom, and TONS of other colorful and bold decor elements in this vibrant UK home.

Alisha named her bed and breakfast after her son Nicholas. She filled the place with pink and green as a nod to her sorority and has created a place of peace and fun that's a safe space for everyone, especially minorities groups to come and vacation.

This Edwardian farmhouse was originally a dairy farm, and the whole place needed renovating when Charlotte Clark and family moved in. "It had been let go to rack and ruin and we could not wait to bring back its charm and create our forever family home," she writes. "We have worked through the house renovating it one room at a time, knocking through a few walls along the way."

Bethanne updated her Victorian Home by painting the walls and fireplaces to add cheer to her house. She believes in only holding onto items that bring you joy and has surrounded herself with items that tell the story of her life.

"Your home is for you, and if you’re into kitsch or kooky or kinda out-there aesthetics, embrace it. A home filled with personality is easy to love," advises Australia-based graphic designer and typographer Sophie Elinor.