Living room with dark sofa, gallery wall, large plant, and modern light fixture. Coffee table with books and decorative items.
Danielle’s Little Greenwich Village Rental “Penthouse”
Name: Danielle Location: My boyfriend and I are smitten with our charming pre-war one bedroom rental in Manhattan. Overlooking one of Greenwich Village’s historic, tree-lined streets just a few blocks north of Washington Square Park, our little 650 square foot apartment is situated on our building’s rooftop giving it a Penthouse address.
Jul 21, 2014
John’s Third Floor Flat in Ft. Greene
Name: John of Coil & Drift Location: Fort Greene, Brooklyn, NY My partner and I moved into this one bedroom with a separate den in the heart of Fort Greene, Brooklyn three years ago. We fell in love with Fort Greene because of the diversity and green spaces it offered and with our apartment because of it’s simple, clean layout and pre-war character and charm.
Jul 18, 2014
Graylin’s Craftsman Influenced Bungalow
Name: Graylin Location: Corydon, IN We are about to move out of this adorable 900 sq. ft bungalow and into our dream house which is right across the street! My dad, Steve Porter, is a professional woodworker and took this house on as a side project. He gutted it and put his touch on every inch. Craftsman style cabinets and built-ins throughout, which is perfect for our style. We consider our style to be an eclectic form of modern with craftsman influences.
Jul 17, 2014
Darren’s Castro Casa
Name: Darren Location: Castro/Dolores Park Heights, San Francisco My partner and I are Los Angeles natives who moved to San Francisco about a year ago. We found a beautiful, one-bedroom apartment with amazing views of downtown and even the Bay Bridge and Oakland on a clear day. Given the competitive renter’s market up here, we consider ourselves very fortunate to find such a great home.
Jul 11, 2014
Amanda’s Favorite Room
Name: Amanda Location: New York, New York This room is seriously my favorite of the whole apartment. I managed to make it sleek enough that I can have guests over for wine and cheese, yet comfortable enough for my husband to plop down on the couch and watch a game. I conquered this mission by : 1. Sticking with a neutral color palette of grays and whites 2. Choosing sleek and simple furniture – like white Barcelona chairs and a chrome legged coffee table 3.
Jul 3, 2014
Basic Befores and Awesome Afters: 3 Rooms, 3 Total Makeovers
If you are an Apartment Therapist, you most likely love a “before and after” (who doesn’t?) and nothing (nothing!) beats the reveal of a full top-to-toe room decorating redo. Paint, fabrics, lighting, artwork, furniture…these three rooms are out with the old, and in with the new, new, new! To create the accent wall, Katja first painted it a light turquoise. Then, strips of painter’s tape were placed vertically every 14 inches.
Jul 3, 2014
Janine’s Beautiful Baltimore Home
Name: Janine Location: Lauraville, Baltimore, Maryland I live with my boyfriend, Michael, in a three story 2200 sq ft 1914 colonial located in the historic Lauraville neighborhood of northeast Baltimore. Though I’d been house hunting for years, I discovered our house by accident when I went to the previous owners’ estate sale, sourcing items for my online shop Guermantes Vintage. Right away I fell in love with all the historic details.
Jul 2, 2014
Trisha’s Suburban Twin Cities Style
Name: Trisha Location: Edina, Minnesota We moved from a row house in Chicago to this light-filled, 5,000 s.f. home in Edina, MN a little over two years ago. The location is excellent — within 5 minutes, we can walk to the grocery store, grab a coffee, pick up our dry cleaning and even see a movie in an indie theater if we so choose. We have small backyards which forces everyone on our street to their front yards, making our neighborhood very social.
Jun 30, 2014
Yana’s Globetrotter Home
Name: Yana of NoMad Luxuries Location: Chicago, Illinois The great thing about this city is that each and every neighborhood has its own style and energy. We live in the Uptown/Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago and really enjoy the proximity to the lake. We especially fell in-love with the charming details of our condo. When we started looking, we knew we wanted a space that had good bones and vintage character, but didn’t necessarily want to pay for someone else’s style.
May 15, 2014
Lindsey’s Life in the West Loop
Name: Lindsey Location: West Loop, Chicago In our seven years in Chicago, we’ve moved seven times and this is honestly the most interesting building we’ve ever lived in… We packed up and purged from a 3-bedroom house into a 900-square foot space with our dog, Max. As soon as we unloaded the truck, people began welcoming us into the building and telling us about its history. We were invited to the annual progressive dinner where you visit different units.
Apr 25, 2014
A Professor’s Small Space in Brooklyn
Name: Nicholas Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn A writer and college professor, I fell in love with this apartment immediately when I went looking for a place to live and work. It’s an awkward space—-living room, two very small interior rooms, kitchen with small toilet room and separate shower—but it gets tremendous light. On a budget, I mixed old family furniture and some key purchases on sale at a local furniture store, Organic Modernism.
Apr 23, 2014
7 Great Ways to Use Leftover Hardboiled Eggs
(Image credit: Leela Cyd) From The Kitchn —> 7 Ways to Use Up Hard-Boiled Eggs
Apr 21, 2014
Renee’s Elegance on a Budget
Name: Renee Location: Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada Our home is a two story, three bedroom house built in 1950. It’s just a little over 1400 square feet. We have lived here for about 5 years now and we have loved every moment. Our house is full of light and the layout is perfect for entertaining. We love that it has character with plenty of molding, wood fireplace, rounded doorways and lovely french doors. My design inspirations are simple and classic, with a fun twist.
Apr 14, 2014
Maria’s 500 Square Foot Studio
Name: Maria Location: Brooklyn I lease a very tiny apartment in Brooklyn. A high ceiling helps add some air and creates an illusion of a larger space. I’ve managed to divide my 500 square foot room into four different zones: entry, bedroom, work & lounge, kitchen. My studio is decorated with flea market and antique finds as well as with accessories from Objects Reartiste. Thanks, Maria! • Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy?
Apr 14, 2014
Nicole & Mike’s Warm Industrial Loft
Name: Nicole & Mike Location: West Loop, Chicago My husband Mike and I live and work in a work/live loft in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. The loft is almost 2000 square feet, located in an old factory and has no doors other than the one on the bathroom. I am a graphic designer/photographer and Mike is a graphic designer/illustrator and we run a small studio together so we needed a place that has as much space as possible for all of our work stuff as well as our living space.
Apr 9, 2014
First Look: 12 Favorites from IKEA’s New PS 2014 Collection
The editors in NYC got the chance to go see the new IKEA PS 2014 Collection this morning, and it’s an amazing one. Created by 14 young designers from around the globe, its focus is on solutions for small space living – in IKEA’s words “to live more simply and do more with the space you have”.
Mar 13, 2014
Emilie’s 17th Century Cottage in France
Name: Emilie Location: France We live in a small stone cottage from the 17th century in a little hamlet at the top of hill in Dordogne, France. It’s our escape in the countryside. We furnished it only with flea markets and brocante stuff. Our favorite furnitures are in the kitchen, we found an old icebox furniture from the 50’s on “Le bon coin” (like Craiglist in France). Thanks, Emilie! • Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy?
Feb 25, 2014
Benne’s Cantina Turned Casa in the Yucatan
Name: Benne Location: Merida – Yucatan, Mexico Just over two years ago I sold my Austin, Texas home and moved to the Yucatan Peninsula. I bought a post-colonial corner 900 sq ft home with a small patio in the historic center of Merida, the largest city in the Yucatan. I immediately fell in love with the high ceilings and the mosaico tile floors. The house was a hovel making it difficult for most of my friends to see beyond the mess.
Feb 24, 2014
Jesse & Jolijn’s Art Appreciation in Antwerp
Name: Jesse & Jolijn Location: Antwerp, Belgium My girlfriend Jolijn and I bought this lovely home in an up-and-coming neighborhood of Antwerp exactly one year ago. We immediately fell in love with the light and the openness of the structure. We decided to keep it clean by painting everything white, and adding color by filling up the walls with art. Being a photographer, I use the walls of our home to try out different types of prints, frames, and combining my work with that of artists I love.
Feb 20, 2014
Kim’s Petite Perch in Montmartre
Name: Kim Location: Montmartre – Paris, France I moved in to my Montmartre apartment in Paris five years ago and have steadily collected vintage finds (a mid century table, a Charlotte Perriand Lamp) and contemporary pieces (Verner Pantone chair, Habitat sofa, Ferm Living and Donna WIlson soft furnishings) to create a modern eclectic decor.
Feb 18, 2014
Leah & Kris’ Lovely Live/Work Home
Name: Leah & Kris Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada I’m a jewelry designer living in Vancouver, BC with my husband, Kris, who is a music composer for film and television. We were given the opportunity to buy the great space we had been renting for one year and have since made it our own. Running our own businesses from home, we have incorporated both studio workspaces and living spaces to flow dynamically throughout our home. Our space is a three-story, 1080 sq. ft.
Feb 12, 2014
Brittany’s Big New Brunswick Bungalow
Name: Brittany Location: Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada The best way to describe our home on the East Coast of Canada is a woodsy retreat with fresh finishes. Our home is located in Quispamsis, in an area known for its outdoorsy roots with cool tree lines and beaches that surround the Saint John River. This 2,700 square foot walk-out bungalow was built by my husband’s company in June 2013.
Feb 11, 2014
Sean & Kristen’s Warm Rustic Style in Seattle
Name: Sean & Kristen Location: Pike Place Market area – Seattle, Washington Our home is a rented 950 square foot condo in downtown Seattle between the Elliott Bay waterfront and Pike Place Market. It’s a large open floor plan studio with exposed brick, beam, and ductwork. We are two commercial product photographers who moved to Seattle a little over a year ago because we both loved the mountains and water.
Feb 10, 2014
A Peek Inside Alek’s Tiny Project House
Name: Alek Location: Sebastopol, California The Tiny Project is my attempt to live a simpler, more conscious, debt-free life, and in doing so helping to set and example and educate the community about alternative, affordable, more sustainable ways of living. Sick of the high cost of renting, and determined to own my own home, I recently completed an 8×20′ tiny house on wheels. I designed every inch of this unique home and did most of the construction myself as well.
Feb 5, 2014
Matt & Mel’s Cute Little Yellow House
Name: Matt & Mel Location: Fairfax, Virginia Our home is a cute little yellow 816 square foot 2 bed/1bath house from the 50s. Our style is a mixture of mod, MCM, funny/playful, and cozy. We have one bedroom turned into a dual home office, I’m an animator/editor and Mel’s a graphic designer. We’re both unafraid of color. When we moved in, the entire house was various shades of brown. We spent an entire week repainting every room.
Feb 4, 2014
Brett & Chad’s Merging of Styles
Name: Brett & Chad Location: Minneapolis, MN As soon as Chad and I toured this apartment last year, we knew we had to have it! The 90 year old, 72 unit building building had a ton of character and was recently renovated, so it totally felt like a blank canvas just waiting for us. Though it was our first time living together, it was awesome seeing our styles merge – Chad’s things were much more clean and modern (ie.
Feb 3, 2014
Natasha’s Urban Glam Apartment
Name: Natasha Location: Gramercy Park – Manhattan, NY Apartment Therapy has been an inspiration as I have been renovating and decorating my new 1 BR apartment in New York’s Gramercy area. I have lived in the apartment for about half a year now. It’s a relatively small space, about 630 square feet, and like many New York apartments, only has windows only on one side.
Jan 29, 2014
The Cure Email Inbox: Reader Before & After Projects from the January Cure
The Cure “graduating class” of January 2014 is a kickass bunch. They scrubbed floors, cleaned out closets and whipped their wayward fridges into shape. At this point, the sight of an overflowing outbox doesn’t scare them one bit. And, in addition to all of this homekeeping frenzy, they managed to pull off (at least) one project from their wish list too.
Jan 29, 2014
Sheena’s Unbelievable View in Dumbo
Name: Sheena Location: Dumbo – Brooklyn, NY Our 650 square foot apartment is located in Dumbo in Brooklyn, in a former warehouse, which was gut-renovated in 2011. It has one bedroom with a den, and an open plan kitchen, dining and living space.
Jan 27, 2014
Sara & Nick’s Architectural Drama in Cambridge
Name: Sara & Nick Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts My husband Nick and I have been in our place, a rented one-bedroom, for just six months. It was a scramble to find it—Nick was on the ground looking at apartments in Boston while I trolled my Padmapper alerts from the UK. It was a relief to move in, getting all our stuff out of storage after two years living in China and the UK.
Jan 22, 2014
Declutter & Organize: Bathroom Cabinets Cleanout
Day 15: Wednesday, January 22 Assignment: Clean and declutter your bathroom & medicine cabinets Get this done today and I guarantee you’ll be a happier camper tomorrow morning. Why spend precious moments each morning searching through an overcrowded jumble in the bathroom when they could be used to be blissfully snoozing…or sipping coffee…or how about about catching up with the posts on your favorite blog?
Jan 22, 2014
Jen’s Lovely Light in Seattle
Name: Jen Location: Seward Park, Seattle I fell in love with this house online, before I’d even moved to Seattle. It was an estate, so it hadn’t been touched since the 60’s. But there were great original bones – a flagstone entry way, a stone fireplace that divided the front and back of the house. Not to mention a view of the lake. When I was re-doing it I had a totally different color scheme in mind – cooler, with more greys.
Jan 21, 2014
Cynthia’s Gentle Renovation
Name: Cynthia of Recreational Decorator Location: The Beach – Toronto, Ontario, Canada We bought our home just about two years ago and renovated it from top-to-bottom. The elderly woman (her refurbished sofa still sits in our livingroom) who sold us the home had lived here for years and wanted a family to move in who would not tear the house down or do a monster reno (we have a very large city lot so the home was certainly appealing to builders).
Jan 16, 2014
Cesar’s Colorful & Eclectic Aesthetic
Name: Cesar Location: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil It all started in my childhood. I was always in love with architecture, art and history, and consequently, I started collecting all sorts of objects. To me, they told a story and reminded me of specific times and aesthetics. Over time, this seemingly disjointed collection made sense, and I use it in my decor.
Jan 15, 2014
Shawna & Stef’s “Put Together” Apartment
Name: Shawna & Stef Location: Seaport/Financial District – NY, NY When friends and family walk into our apartment, their first response is your home is so “put together”. For us, our home represents our individual (and often opposite) styles ‘put together’ as a couple. Stef (a banker by day) has a love and great eye for street art that serves as the source of inspiration for our decor.
Jan 14, 2014
Christina’s Notsobig Happy Home
Name: Christina of The Redesign Company Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Our home is our happy place. We downsized 10 years ago and use every square inch of this notsobig house. Even the garage, which we turned into a teen cave for our ohsobig boys. We want the whole wide world to know that it doesn’t have to cost a lot to be beautiful and bigger is not always better. sometimes… but not always. Hehehe… Thanks, Christina!
Jan 9, 2014
Lea & Mike’s Charming Craftsman Casa
Name: Lea & Mike of Casa Pino, a textile, interior design and art collaboration Location: Arlington, Virginia My husband and I moved to Arlington from a small apartment in Brooklyn 2 years ago. We now live in a 2 bedroom/ 1 bathroom 90+ year old bungalow with our dog and 2 cats. We live right in the heart of Clarendon, a fun vibrant neighborhood with tons of shops, restaurants, and nightlife just minutes from Washington, DC.
Jan 9, 2014
A Fantastic London Flat in the Shadow of Big Ben
I’m experiencing an definite mix of emotions over this home: envy, jealousy, but mostly pure admiration! I discovered this amazing submission in my inbox today – a beautifully designed and decorated flat in central London. Here’s the story from JP: The flat is located in a small Edwardian mansion block on a square in central London and enjoys not just the view of Big Ben, but also its chimes.
Jan 8, 2014
Layne & Rand’s 1928 Bungalow
Name: Layne & Rand Location: Springfield, Missouri My husband, Rand and I live in a 1928 bungalow in Springfield with our two cats. When we moved in, all the original trim downstairs was unpainted, and I tried my best to decorate around it for nearly four years. Finally, I gave myself permission to paint it all white. I love it so much more now! The white walls and trim are the perfect background for my mid century furniture and eclectic collection of handmade art.
Jan 6, 2014
Neil & Eddie’s Amazing Adaptive Reuse Loft
Name: Neil & Eddie Location: Long Beach, California Here’s a story of loft life from readers in California – complete with soaring ceilings and streamlined modern industrial style in a reimagined retail space. Take it away, Neil and Eddie: Our loft is located on Pine Avenue in the Historic district of Downtown Long Beach.
Jan 3, 2014
Erika’s East Village Apartment
Name: Erika Location: East Village – New York, New York Erika sent us photos of her lovely, dramatically dark-walled NYC apartment. She writes: These are pictures of my apartment that I share with my girlfriend and three (!) cats. My style trends towards warmth with modern and vintage pieces mixed together. What I love about my home is how guests respond to it when they are here; the design makes people feel at home.
Jan 2, 2014
Kate’s Restyled Little Lost Gems
Name: Kate Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada I live on the second floor of an older character home in the west end of Toronto. When I moved in, four years ago, the apartment was painted a mishmash of vibrant colors. Going against my instincts to paint the entire space white, starting from a neutral palette, I decided to try to work with what was already there.
Nov 18, 2013
Andy’s Vintage Industrial Timber Loft
Name: Andy Location: Chicago, IL My brick and timber loft in the West Loop was recently remodeled. My friend helped with the design work. The style is mostly industrial with a bit of MCM in the mix. . Much of the furniture is vintage. Some items were purchased at local shops and fairs and some I came from my family. They’ve been in the dry cleaning business since 1907 and we were able to use items from the original plant. My building is was built in 1910 so it worked out perfectly.
Nov 15, 2013
Jane’s Heritage-Contemporary in London
Name: Jane of Korla Home Location: London, UK I would call my style heritage-contemporary as I love mixing old and new. I have to have lots of colour in my home as it makes me happy. I don’t stick to any design ethic, I just trust my eye to create a well designed livable space – I have three kids so white everything wouldn’t work! What I really love about my home is my sitting room.
Nov 13, 2013
Fabienne’s Most Happily Colorful Apartment in Canada
Name: Fabienne Location: Montreal, Quebec Color, color, color! Cats and dogs and lots of artwork and funky found furniture. What I love most about our apartment is that it feels like a country house even though it’s in a big city. It is a work in constant progress that reflects our interests and passion for animals. Right now, it’s all about birds, birds, birds! Thanks, Fabienne! • Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy?
Oct 31, 2013
Insider Info: IKEA Employee Shares Tips for Buying IKEA Kitchen Cabinets
Today, I’m sharing some great insider info found in our comments section. Drew wrote: I worked for IKEA for four years—one as a kitchen planner, three as an interior designer. If you buy an IKEA kitchen, specifically the Akurum fitted line that the rest of the world outside the US calls Faktum, you can get a great product. The question is what’s your time worth to you?
Oct 17, 2013
Whitney’s Live/Work Canal Cottage
Name: Whitney Location: Venice Beach, California Our 450 square-foot live/work Canal Cottage was built in the 1920’s. It was renovated a decade ago with several built-in features, including a queen bed, spacious couch and numerous storage cubbies. It’s a delightfully unique mini-home & yard that we’ve decorated & upgraded on an extremely limited budget. We (and our rescued beagle-foxhound mix) have called this home for 2.
Sep 9, 2013
Jasna’s Art at Home
Name: Jasna Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Jasna sent us an email: We love seeing photos of artists’ homes—they are always inspiring, loaded with art and unique details and offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the people and their habits. Being artists ourselves, we would like to share ours with you! Our apartment does not have any spectacular architectural features and it’s bones are generic, but we made it into pretty sweet hideaway.
Sep 3, 2013