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Name: Natasha Nyberg and Brad Sammut; children Lisette and Maxine; cats Matilda and Pickle; dogs Greta, Lotte, and Mr. Chips Location: Garfield Park; Grand Rapids, Michigan Size: 2,200 square feet Years lived in: 5 years; Owned Natasha and I met through Instagram. She began following my account and when I scrolled through her feed, I saw images of a very cool home: rich colors, objects with stories, and a refreshing indifference to trends.

Name: Christine and John and Gertie the dogProfessions: Christine is an art teacher and John, also an artist, is studying to be a nurse. They also run an Etsy shop, Poison IcebergLocation: Ann Arbor, MichiganSize: 960 square feet, ownedYears lived in: 2 1/2; owned While flipping through this year’s Small, Cool contest entries, I came across Christine’s Perfect Location.

Name: Sara & Jason and 3 furry children: Ash, Ronin, and KumaLocation: Kansas City, MissouriSize: 1,700 square feetYears lived in: 3 — owned When it comes to displaying collections no one quite takes the job as seriously as the residents of this house. What started as a passion and a hobby of collecting vinyl toys and artwork from artists around the world has turned into a way of life for these folks in The Heartland.

Name: Amy & David Butler Location: Granville, Ohio Size: 4,500 square feet – Post & Beam Modern Circa 1969 Years lived in: 8 Years What a wonderful treat! We’re thrilled to be able to share this peek inside the home and studio of textile designer, Amy Butler and her husband, David.

I’ve got to tell you: if you didn’t believe in reincarnation before, you will now. These five projects are so brilliant, it will leave you wondering if those things weren’t destined for their new use all along. It’s one thing to recycle, it’s quite another to reinvent. Peeking through Tom & Allison’s Amazing DIY House of Reclaimed & Unusual Objects is like an I-Spy game of recycling brilliance.

The power of painted-on pattern is well known. You can conceal damage on thrifted furniture pieces, you can update dated kitchen and bathroom cabinets—you can use paint patterns to upgrade just about anything you can put paint on. But not everyone has the DIY skills (or energy or time) to paint elaborate patterns. Thankfully, there’s a paint pattern trending—and it’s easy to do, can be done in any color and helps both beautify and conceal.

What costs nothing, takes seconds to complete and is a small detail that can have a surprisingly charming impact on your window? I spotted this tiny but clever detail on some drapes in this recent real-life home…it might be a way for you use a fashion accessory you may have been neglecting as well as jazz up your window coverings. It’s one of those “duh, of course!” ideas that you may have never considered before.

Katie and her boyfriend Patrick worked wonders on their Charlotte, North Carolina home that was once a foreclosure. They opened up the kitchen, replaced flooring and added their serene style to the space, creating a beautiful, calming home. Katie manages annual giving at a local private school and, on the side, operates Maiden Flower Crowns with her business partner and friend Allison Purmort. Today, she shares some favorite local businesses in the Charlotte neighborhood she lives in.

Textile designer, sourcing consultant and founder of Artisan Project, Nina M. Alami lives in a patterned, colorful riad in the Old Medina of Fes with her husband, Mohamed and their kids. The mother of four, she’s also an “artist producing textiles with a community of cooperatives, and a lineage of craftsman; simultaneously sourcing, consulting, and overseeing production in Fes, the Middle Atlas and the Rif regions of Morocco.

Occupied by a creative couple, this Downtown Los Angeles loft is a vibrant and textured home. Nina Hans is Creative Director of Weekday Studio, a design studio that helps brands visually express themselves. She lives in DTLA with her husband and Weekday Studio co-Founder Jon Hans. They’ve lived in Downtown Los Angeles for ten years, and today, Nina shares some of her favorite well-designed places to visit.

Sarah Ashley Schiear is the founder of Salt House Market, a curated e-commerce site for kitchen and home goods. Sarah began her career as a chef and caterer for high-end dinner parties after appearing on ABC’s The Taste. She founded Salt House with a goal of creating a modern brand to revolutionize the way we think about homemaking. She’s lived in Brooklyn for three years (and NYC four years). Today, she shares some of her favorite (and yummiest!) spots in Williamsburg.

Since moving to San Antonio’s Southtown neighborhood in 2015, Hannah Lynn has made it her mission to show what an incredibly colorful, rich place the Alamo City is. She writes: “My personal blog shares my 365 day staycation experience in San Antonio and all the places that make it a great place to love. That was a typo, but love is more accurate than live.

Marni Epstein-Mervis has been an Angeleno for 11 years now. She and her husband moved to LA’s Highland Park Neighborhood nine months ago after a number of years in neighboring Echo Park. Marni’s an architecture journalist and owner and Principal of STRUKTR Studios, “where we create content and communications for companies in architecture, design, and real estate.

Anyone else having a rough day? I hope you’re all feeling your feelings in whichever way helps you, being kind and supporting to the people around you who need it, and finding some solace and joy when you can. If a bit of sunshine in the form of adorable floofballs from our House Tours can add a bit of light to your day, well, that’s something. These cuties are here to give you some hope, love, and virtual cuddles. Like, what even just happened? We’ve all been there.