New York

With the help of crafty family members, Skylar Pittmon was able to totally customize her teeny home with DIY furniture and storage that's as stylish as it is functional.

Gaby Neira and Chris Yera moved into their Upper West Side apartment almost a year ago. "Living in New York is expensive, especially for college students. We had to design the space with a small budget, limited stock availability across the city, and a two-week moving time constraint."

It was small, the kitchen was basically nonexistent, and the bathroom wasn't exactly pretty, but Irene Shamas saw the potential in this studio unit. She worked with Luki Anderson of Studio Officina and EDR Construction to transform this small one-room apartment into a functional and cozy home.

Megan Zietz is a content creator and designer, and shares this small NYC rental apartment with her husband, three kids, and two cats.

Meng and his husband, Andrew, gorgeously transformed this outdated two-bedroom co-op, which they say hadn't been updated for almost 60 years. There was worn green carpeting, an odd layout, and a very dirty bathroom, to name only a few of the things that would need remodeling.

Illustrator Gica Tam shares this 760-square-foot rental apartment with a roommate, but thanks to smart storage ideas and lots of light, the space doesn't feel too cramped or cluttered at all.

"There’s always something going on within the four walls of my apartment — whether it’s testing a new recipe for my blog, tinkering with the interior design of the apartment, an art or DIY project, hosting friends for a mandoo (Korean dumplings) party, or simply cranking away at my computer," writes Christine Han, a Korean-American recipe developer and food blogger who founded the blog, Dear Saturdays.

Aurora Yim has used smart layout and small-space ideas in her Brooklyn studio apartment, like using a rug to visually define the living room area, creating the coziest sleeping nook with storage shelves and a very cool plant stand, and wielding mirrors to bounce light around the space, making it feel larger and brighter.

Melissa Chang's thoughtful (and smart!) furniture layout, her approach to collecting, and her experiences living even smaller in Tokyo have all contributed to a gorgeous, cozy, functional home, despite being a one-room studio apartment only 250 square feet large.

Rebekah Love, a professional organizer and the owner of company, Organize For Love, shares this Staten Island home with husband, Olushola Bashorun, a fine arts photographer with AQut Photography, and their daughter, Loren.

Designer and vintage Instagram shop owner Giovanna Macejka leaned into a "maximalist 1970s retro vibe that relies heavily on mixing patterns and textures, going bold with color, and creating movement throughout the space."

Josie says that limitations breed creativity, and that certainly applies in the home she shares with her partner, Alec. "I have never gotten more ideas for a space than for this tiny apartment."

Rini has made this teeny studio apartment into a beautiful, functional home she's rented for 17 years.

Artist and art teacher Laina Weiss is the creative director of L’or de Seraphine, an artisanal candle brand, and calls home this cozy and colorful East Village apartment, sharing it with her cat, Abby.

Interior designer Nicole Arruda's whole rental studio apartment is proof of how much architectural interest and beauty you can add to a space with just a few details.

Grace Zhang chronicles her many home improvement efforts personalizing this "boring new construction” 650-square-foot apartment she shares with her boyfriend.

Thanks to light colors, smart storage ideas, and intentional dividing of "zones," Kristy Marhin has done an amazing job of creating a cozy home in just 230 square feet.

Caley Adams is the founder and creative director of Wildes District, an NYC-based design studio that specializes in design for emerging women's and e-commerce brands. She shares a beautiful house on a small cul-de-sac with her husband, Max, and their 1.5-year-old son.

Though just 500 square feet, Jacqueline Clair's studio apartment is a bright corner unit with tons of windows, and features lots of ideas for maximizing a small space.

Amanda Holden, also known as "Dumpster.Doggy" on Instagram, is an entrepreneur, educator, and the founder of Invested Development. She aims to answer the question: “How do I teach dusty investing topics without making my students want to stick needles into their eyeballs?”

This apartment was a white-walled, blank canvas before Robb Wexler moved in. "This gave me the chance to completely transform the space into something very personal, which tells my story."

Behavioral scientist and science communicator Vanessa Hill shares a look inside her stylish Brooklyn rental AND reveals why she keeps old technology in her bedroom, what kind of mattress she sleeps on (under $500 from Amazon), and other smart secrets to getting better sleep.

This "contemporary eclectic" apartment blends clean lines with lots of vintage and mid-century modern pieces.

Emily Auffrey describes the rental apartment she shares with her family as a NYC dream space. “We truly feel like we moved into our dream NYC apartment. In addition to being the dream home; the area is just absolutely ideal for a family," she writes.

Content creator, blogger, style lover, YouTuber, and Instagram strategist Marikah shares this one-bedroom apartment with her husbae and their baby. The apartment has lots of clever organizing tip and renter-friendly decor ideas, including a very cute nursery nook in the bedroom.

Steffy Degreff is a lifestyle and fashion content creator and shares things like style hacks and home DIYs on her website, Instagram, and TikTok. She and her family have been renovating this 1974 A-frame cabin in the woods of Upstate New York.

Bleached herringbone oak wood floors, white-washed wood detailing, high ceilings, and impeccably organized spaces all contribute to the serene atmosphere of this professional organizer's home.

Tynan wanted this small studio to feel like a "1950s honeymoon suite, a cocktail lounge, a powder room, the Playboy Mansion, a 1960s TSA terminal, and a little gay space station in the clouds."

The only thing that came in Julie Gordon's rental studio apartment was a small stove, fridge, and three cabinets. But after some major TLC, a few great peel and stick finds, and lots of patience, she's turned this shoebox-sized into a cozy, beautiful, and organized home.

"My style is modern vintage, eclectic, maximalist, seriously whimsical, adventurous, nostalgic, queer, unapologetically colorful and femme, bold, energetic, cozy, life affirming, unconventional, and wholeheartedly personal," explains Sarah Hartley.

These two artists created a versatile home space for art making and showing off their tour posters.

Thanks to collaborating and facetiming with her bestfriend everyday, Christine was able to DIY furniture, create an enviable bed loft/home office setup, give an ugly kitchen a renter-friendly facelift, and create a stunning home that feels much bigger and more expensive than it actually is.

Shelley V. Worrell is the founder of caribBEING and led the initiative to designate the Little Caribbean neighborhood. She shares this beautiful Brownstone home in Brooklyn with her husband, Janluk Stanislas (a filmmaker and a co-founder of caribBEING).

Becca Crawford, who works at textiles and decor brand St. Frank, fell for the high ceilings and charming pre-war details of this Brooklyn Brownstone; it's the perfect canvas for her enviable collection of gorgeous textiles.

Brooklyn resident Lidey Heuck is a recipe developer, food writer, blogger, and the former assistant of Ina Garten — so it only makes sense that she designed the apartment she shares with her fiancé and their dog to reflect her love of cooking and entertaining. 

The wall-to-wall exposed brick is the star of this small home, and Fredd has filled the rest of the space with books, plants, and music.

With plans for a larger gut reno in the future, Katrina and her family to still wanted to make their old, shabby home look good for them NOW. Using smaller, high-impact but low-budget ideas helped transform the space from blah to “I really want to hang out here."

Musician Emma Frank and her husband work from home in this bright rental apartment in Park Slope. "It’s a really nice space to be creative in."

When designer Gianna Marzella-Vazquez refreshed this townhouse she shared with her family, she paid special attention to the main bedroom, devising a clever IKEA cabinet hack that looks custom and much more expensive than it actually cost.

Celia runs a YouTube channel and founded the decor shop Sticki Icki, and shares this 760-square-foot apartment with her partner, Sean, and their baby son, Cassius.

"I often say the vibe I’m going for is the home of a Time-Traveling Anthropologist," says artist Keighty Alexander, who has owned this two-bedroom apartment for four years.

Nicole, also known as "The Cuban Carrie" on Instagram, transformed her entire 600-square-foot rental apartment, including turning a tiny loft into a very chic dressing room, home office, and yoga area.

Roxy Michaud brought in textures like wicker, dark wood, bamboo and greenery to her Brooklyn home, as well as used the color black to make the space feel more warm and cozy.

Maleeha has dreamt of living in New York City since she was a little girl, and renting this 400-square-foot studio is making her dreams come true!

Lily, a fashion designer and Holistic Health Practitioner, and Llew, an illustrator and folk tattoo artist, find inspiration from their collection of antiques and treasures found at flea markets.

The period charm in Danielle's Upper East Side apartment is a dream: original hardwood floors, exposed white brick, a painted tile backsplash in the kitchen, and a wood burning fireplace.

One of Khadija Gulzar's talents is finding pieces that look and feel expensive but are actually quite affordable, like the sofa she snagged for much less than a more expensive one she had been eyeing.

Jenny and Cory have rented this small one-bedroom apartment in New York's Upper East Side for 14 years... and it's had to change and adapt with the addition of a 4-year son and 1-year-old twins. 

There's also bold color, wall murals, a working disco ball, and plenty of other fun, vibrant, warm, and homey decor elements.

Sure, the shower is in the kitchen, but there's also a sink on top of the toilet, a bed loft with walk-in closet below, and plenty of other smart small space ideas to steal from this ultra cozy and comfy tiny studio apartment.

Adam worked with Kim White to design this 715-square-foot rental apartment that came with a unique element: a small platform bed area that instead got transformed into a perfect home office.

Alyse Eisenberg hacked IKEA storage pieces to look more expensive than they are, found items at scrap yards, vintage stores, and second-hand stores, and DIYed art to design this large rental apartment she shares with her husband.

This home represents new beginnings for Tiffany Lanham.

Geneve Lau may only live in 350 square feet, but it feels much larger and is very organized and comfortable.

Maggie has made her small apartment look and feel like a fantastic home without a huge price tag, optimizing every area for storage and adding shelving.

With only 600 square feet, Celeste and Lucas had to get creative to fit as many functions into their small home as possible, employing an interesting furniture arrangement to do so.

There's a recently renovated attic bedroom suite, a vintage library card catalog-turned-bathroom vanity, and a basement transformed into a speakeasy/brewery space.

"My home makes me feel healthy because it’s a place I can fully relax," says Naj Austin, founder and CEO of Ethel’s Club and Somewhere Good.

Architect Jill Porter says her Brooklyn apartment had zero original details when she bought it 16 years ago. But after a makeover it now has color, pattern, and most of all joy and charm!

It was important for Kaitlyn that her apartment be "dually comfortable and creative." She describes her style as "refined maximalism."

Gina works in the arts and loves color and camp, so wanted something cozy but fun for her small studio.

Haley Boyko, a footwear designer and freelance illustrator, shares this three-bedroom apartment with her partner, Nick Sylvester, and their three dogs, Maya, Emma, and Penny.