Marisa Vitale

Rory Rockmore, celebrity jewelry designer by night, lives in this Los Angeles loft that’s “dedicated to any early ‘90s movie or sitcom with a ‘cool’ character who lived in a 'downtown' loft.”

The best decorating advice artist Ben Cuevas ever received came from Amy Sedaris. "...[S]he says that she viewed her rental deposit as her design fee — which I think is just brilliant. If you’re renting, but plan to stay put for a while and want to really make your space your own, consider your deposit the fee you pay for being able to live in a space you truly love and can call your own."

Yuka, partner Daniel, and two fur babies, Bear and Penguin, share this colorful 700-square-foot Echo Park rental apartment.

TV writer, actress, author, and producer Franchesca Ramsey moved to Los Angeles fall of 2020, decorating this rental apartment with DIY murals, color, and more.

Francesca owns Francesca Grace Home, a home staging and interior designer company, and her California Craftsman in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood is full of vintage furnishings, modern lines, bold colors, and energetic patterns.

Dani Dazey, the owner and founder of the clothing line, Dazey LA, and the interior design studio, Dazey Den, and her partner, Phillip Butler, live in this colorful, patterned house in Los Angeles with their dogs, Franklin and Yuki.

Peter Quinn and Caitlin Dawson bought this house in Mount Washington three years ago, and recently finished a remodel that modernized the small home, while retaining a lot of the original history and charm

Los Angeles-based interior designer Kara Thomas' small LA apartment is full of ideas on how to make your rental apartment look good.

It's like Lisa Frank meets Hot Topic with a sprinkling of theater kid, rhinestone cowboy, and disco daddy.

Creative director Willow Rothbart's style in her small Los Angeles studio apartment's style is a mix of industrial, minimalist, and a touch of transitional.

Artist Sharlene Kayne calls her style "evolutionary design." She adds layer after layer, piece by piece over time until it's done.

Ali and Evan's Los Angeles home is filled to the brim with eclectic art from all over the world

As a mortician, Caitlin Doughty is dedicating her life to creating a more open conversation about death and dying.

They used to make kombucha in their small apartment. The success of the company allowed them to buy this beautiful home.

Name: Jennifer Emerling Location: Pasadena, California Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: Rented 6 months Jenn is a visual storyteller specializing in travel, editorial, and wedding photography. She considers herself a modern day explorer, particularly enchanted by her muse of the American West for its exaggerated folklore and whimsy. Jenn’s home base is a quiet back house in Pasadena, California that started as the perfect blank canvas for her to drench it color and effervescence.

Name: Matt Gourley and Amanda Lund Location: Pasadena, California Size: 1340 square feet Years lived in: Owned 1 year Amanda and Matt live in a 1947 bungalow in the San Rafael hills of Pasadena. Although most people think of Los Angeles being more like a concrete jungle, Amanda and Matt found a place to call home on a gorgeous, quiet, tree-lined street with no sidewalks that ends at a lake. Wildlife roams their backyard.

Name: Meghan and Jesse Arlen Location: Mid-Wilshire area — Los Angeles, California Size: 540 square feet Years lived in: Renting 1 year Meghan and Jesse have made their studio apartment feel like a haven of old world charm. They focus on living a waste-free, conscientious lifestyle, and part of this involves buying older things and repurposing as much as they can. They both greatly value authenticity of objects and especially prize the stories behind each thing they own.

Name: Lindsay Hollinger, kitty Hewson Location: Joshua Tree, California Size: 1236 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, Owned Walking into Lindsay’s home is like walking into a desert landscape of whites and cacti and hues that just make you feel good. Lindsay felt these same good vibes when she first visited the desert, deciding to make it her home. The dreamy desert look came naturally once she moved in and began to decorate.

Name: Raquel Lynn and Adam Korbesmeyer (plus Mango the Pomeranian ) Location: Silver Lake — Los Angeles, California Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Originally from Ohio (and after a short stint in New York), Raquel and her husband Adam found their way to Los Angeles two years ago. Situated in Silver Lake, this recently renovated apartment is in a great location, but the couple needed this space to be more than just a home base for exploring Los Angeles.

Name: Megan Martinez and Caleb Light-Wills Location: Santa Monica, California Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting When Megan moved to Los Angeles seven years ago from New York, she didn’t feel like she was really home until she found what she now calls her, “Boho Beach Bungalow” two years ago. As a blogger and designer, Megan’s home became the perfect canvas to create the beachy vibe she longed for while living on the Westside of LA.

Name: Jenn Pablo and Paco de Leon and Dauphine, their dog Location: Echo Park, California (Los Angeles) Size: 1690 square feet Years lived in: 9 years, renting Paco and Jenn actually met when they were just kids at a birthday party, and ended going to the same high school. Later they became best friends and eventually, Paco and Jenn fell in love. How they came to live together in this house is an interesting story, as well. Jenn moved into this Echo Park apartment nine years ago with a roommate.

Name: Aditi Khorana Location: Los Feliz — Los Angeles, California Size: 1300 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned As a writer herself, Aditi Khorana‘s eclectic mid-century home captures the essence of storytelling in more ways than one. As if a grand entrance with high ceilings, open windows and an expansive view of the Hollywood Hills weren’t enough to gush over, the novelist has filled her entire space with personality and memories from all over the world.

Name: Caroline Rodrigues @shopmercimilo @rebelandquillobjects Location: Mt. Washington, Los Angeles Size: 2 bed, 2 bath Years lived in: 1 year, renting Caroline and her husband, Jason, have designed their home in a way that strongly reflects their personality and aesthetic. After moving from New York City back to their home state of California, the couple took every opportunity to feel more connected to nature. They settled into the Mt.

Name: Dina Epstein and Michael “Frosti” Zernow Location: Century City, Los Angeles Size: 2000 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, renting Bi-coastal and bold, Dina and Frosti wear many hats. The duo started Clark and Madison together, a locally sourced, hand-crafted, heritage leather goods company based in Los Angeles.

Name: Rebecca Buenik and Bruno Tysh Location: Echo Park, Los Angeles Size: 1050 square feet Years lived in: 8 years, renting Both creatives in their own right, Rebecca, a prop stylist, and Bruno, a television and movie writer, have created a home that also doubles as their creative workspace. The pair met at a school in Chicago, moved to LA after graduation and made a home for themselves in the Echo Park area before it became the popular area it is today.

Name: Robert Ingraham Location: Eagle Rock — Los Angeles, California Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, renting When Robert, a passionate filmmaker and director from the Midwest, found himself caught between who he was and who he wanted to be, he knew he needed an apartment that did more than just house personal objects. He realized his largest sources of inspiration — music, film, literature — were missing from his daily routine and his surroundings.

He's a programmer; she's a designer. And they both live and work in this big and bright LA loft.

Name: Eva Goicochea and Ian Goicochea Location: Greenpoint — Brooklyn, NY Size: 1300 square feet Years lived in: 3 months, renting What happens when two creatives — one from California/New Mexico and the other from Arizona/Oregon — come to New York together with four animals? They make some serious West Coast meets Southwest minimalist magic. Ian and Eva met nine years ago through a mutual friend.

Name: Salvatore and Amina and Worf and Princess Leia, the couple’s dogs Location: Downtown Los Angeles, California Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting Amina is a firm believer that your home “should be the ultimate happy place.” And the Downtown Los Angeles rental apartment she shares with her husband Salvatore (and pups Worf and Princess Leia) certainly shows that she practices what she preaches.

Name: Lourdes Hernandez and Zach Leigh Location: Highland Park, Los Angeles Size: 1900 square feet Years lived in: 18 months, owned Creative duo Zach and Lourdes started their relationship as musicians — they met one night at The Largo while playing a show. But recently their creative energies have gone in another direction: Refurbishing an old church in Los Angeles’ Highland Park.

Name: Michelle Paul Toney and James Toney III Location: Chinatown — Downtown Los Angeles Size: 1,115 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting Michelle and James’ lives seem to revolve around downtown LA. After meeting in the Arts District one fated Tuesday night, the couple have since been married, started the Los Angeles-based company Morrow Soft Goods with two friends, and moved into the beautiful and brightly lit Chinatown apartment where they currently reside.