Diana Paulson

Emily Gershen and Dion Harris have owned this Detroit house — built in 1928 and featuring intricate plasterwork and original stained glass windows — for a year and a half. They share their home with their young son, Milo, and another baby on the way! (Along with two fur babies, Goose and Birdie.)

This envy-inducing modern house remodel showcases indoor-outdoor living at its finest.

Artist John Neary worked with design firm Parini Design to restore this house, built in 1960 and designed by Michigan-based architect Paul Moffett. The structure was stabilized and the interior was fully modernized with a nod to its mid-century past.

When it comes to creating your dream home, Dylan believes in doing it yourself. Through YouTube videos he learned how to update his California house, including uncovering and reimagining the statement fireplace, opening up the living room, remodeling the bathrooms, and more.

Mike and Courtney met at a birthday party in Michigan eleven years ago. Little did they know, it was in the exact neighborhood they would later buy a house and raise their family. Specifically in this A-frame that they brightened by painting the walls white and adding windows.

Emily's house, built in 1938 on a hillside in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood, is like living in a vibrant 1980s tropical treehouse. Emily and her husband remodeled and designed the home themselves, creating a "colorful family home with daily vacay vibes."

Kit Williamson and John Halbach have completely transformed this 1958 cabin on five acres in Yucca Valley, using patterned tiles, fun furniture, and lots of dreamy outdoor elements.

Hilary and Doug share a love of design, fashion, and art, and filled this large house in Detroit, built in the 1930s by George McKnight, with all three when they renovated it for themselves and their two kids, Haze and Sway.

Inspired by spaces within Europe like in France, Denmark, or Italy, Stephen and Christina's entire home has been gorgeously remodeled.

Colin Tury and Ellie Ingram have put A LOT of work into transforming this house into what you see today. “Every square inch of this house has been affected by us and we’re proud of it” he writes.

When Andy Grant first moved in to this house, every single surface in the home needed repainting... and she's been renovating it and adding her own personality through tons of DIY projects since.

When COVID hit and ruined Mike Han's restaurant dream before it could open, he pivoted from sushi to art, transforming his small apartment into an art gallery.

Christian Doble and Alicia Gbur have spent the past seven years updating their coastal-inspired Craftsman house.

This young family lived abroad for a few years, just outside of Munich, Germany, and living in Europe turned them onto German architecture and timeless European home design.

What a kitchen island!

Isabelle Weiss is the founder of NEXT:SPACE, a contemporary art space in Detroit. Her small studio apartment is absolutely filled with great furniture and art.

Two of the four walls throughout the entire house are all glass.

Lisa Backus and Andrea Richardson of Design Bar Detroit transformed this dark and dated Detroit loft bathroom into a bright, modern space.

Name: Leslie and Gilbert, kids, and pets Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan Size: 2,600 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned Leslie and Gilbert moved to Michigan a couple of years ago and were excited to find a fun mid-century modern house next to some wooded land. They love music, learning, and nature and wanted to be able to bring all of those things together into their home.

Name: Wes Trammel, Ben Cooper, (Dog) Duffy Location: Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Size: 1,870 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned An Alabama native and graphic designer, Wes relocated to Detroit three years ago with his fiancé, Ben. Having worked for 16 years as a graphic designer for a national home and lifestyle magazine, Wes has recently turned his attention to home renovation and interiors.

After a tiresome year of home searching, Wes—an Alabama native and graphic designer who relocated to Detroit—and his fiancé Ben weren’t very optimistic about seeing this house. It wasn’t the one-and-a-half-story colonial style that they were interested in… and the exterior struck them as being more formal than they liked. Additionally, while it had been maintained by out-of-town family, it had been unoccupied for nearly a decade.

"What if happiness came in a package?"

The time spent in this minimal Michigan home-away-from-home no doubt feeds a couple's creative spirits.

The nice part about a spec home is you start with a great blank canvas with such potential for personalization.

Name: Kim and Patrick + daughter Fiona + dog CeCe Location: Brighton, Michigan Size: 2,000 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, owned Built in 1940 — with a mint green exterior and eggplant shutters — Kim and Patrick’s Cape Cod style house is steeped in history. “There has only been one owner prior to us and the land for the home was originally parceled from the lot belonging to the house next door.

Name: Courtney, Paul, and (daughter) Redding Location: Corktown — Detroit, Michigan Size: 2,000 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned After living in Brooklyn for 10 years, Courtney and Paul relocated to Detroit in 2016 and took a chance on buying a house…without ever walking inside. The couple discovered the property through family: Paul’s cousin moved back to the Motor City a few years before them and found this duplex. Now they all currently live in it!

Name: Leo + Jordan Miller + Alexander Lynch Location: West Village — Detroit, Michigan Size: 550 square feet Years lived in: 8 months, renting Jordan is an Ohio native who moved to Detroit on a whim in the summer of 2016 because of her love for the state of Michigan, particularly its lakes. Al grew up in a small town in the Upper Peninsula called Norway.

Name: Haley Lertola Location: True North — Detroit, Michigan Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 1/2 year, renting Haley Lertola owns an event planning and design company, Detroit Cultivated, where she’s “committed to disrupting the Detroit event industry by creating inspired experiences that incorporate sustainable practices. One of the goals of each event is to transport guests to a truly original setting.

Name: Lisa Palmer, husband Rob and son Quinn Location: Fenton, Michigan (a suburb of Detroit) Size: 5,300 square feet (including basement) Years lived in: 16 years, owned Lisa Palmer is a seeker of all things vintage, lover of nostalgia, and fan of making her home a place where anyone can walk in and feel loved by it. On the professional side, Lisa is a serial entrepreneur (16 years in) who has a knack for developing products and building lifestyle brands such as her most recent Lillybee.

“When we first moved in, our bathroom was COVERED in flowers,” reports Kathy Davies, a wedding and portrait photographer. She and her husband, James Binder, bought this 1950s tri-level house in Michigan two years ago and have slowly been remodeling parts of it. She continues describing what an outdated nightmare the small bathroom was when they purchased the house: “The floor, the curtains, the wallpaper… and not a pretty modern type of floral pattern.

There’s nothing worse than those builder grade vanity strips in bathrooms, the ones that absolutely scream “HI, I’M CHROME AND WAS SENT FROM THE ’80s TO DATE YOU!!” As a renter your options are limited, but I came up with a smart way to deal with these common eyesores. Instead of swapping it out with a new light fixture, I decided to instead embrace the challenge and work with what I had. I couldn’t paint it, because that was permanent.

“Renovating the kitchen was my first major project in my first home,” admits Brandon Bourdganis, who purchased this 900-square-foot Michigan house three years ago. He loved the character of his new house and wanted to stay true to it while also incorporating his own modern and functional style. And though the kitchen the house came with was perfectly fine, Brandon wanted a kitchen he could be proud of. A space he would be happy to use every day.

Name: Brandon Bourdganis Location: Ferndale, Michigan Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned “My home is a snapshot of my life…I try to incorporate memories from my family, travels, city, state and friends while making it look very personal and uniquely me.

Name: Gretchen and Kevin Location: Detroit, Michigan Size: 2,200 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned After spending four years in 800 square feet in New York City, Kevin and Gretchen were able to design their dream loft back in their home state of Michigan. They found a space in an old, industrial building in a mixed-use neighborhood that’s lively and vibrant.

These classic mid-century houses were meant to be homes with a garden in every room.

Name: Jackie Blair Location: Lake Orion, Michigan Size: 882 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, rented Jackie is a photographer and social media creative who loves to travel. She lives in a townhouse condo with her son and her new puppy. By keeping her condo neutral and simple, she has turned it into a peaceful hangout spot where they can all play and relax. Though living in the rented space comes with its challenges, Jackie strives to add the family’s personality wherever possible.