California

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."

Jahzeel and Joseph, who are both vintage furniture hunters and sellers, live with their two cats in a San Diego condo they renovated, replacing old appliances and bulky kitchen cabinets, adding fresh paint, and incorporating STUNNING vintage art and furniture pieces throughout. They also turned a closet into a top notch cat bathroom!

Allegra Rose Berger is a creative freelancer, influencer, and artist, and it has always been important to her to have a space that inspires her.

Designer Laurel Harrington has filled her Mill Valley cottage with a ton of color and cheerful furniture designs.

Sarah Stieber is a painter, tape artist, muralist, and jewelry designer with a recent passion for designing spaces around her art, like the incredibly colorful house she's created with her husband.

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

Mural artist and content creator Champagne shares this large rental home with two roommates, a cat named Pony, and a dog named Ted. She loves mixing modern pieces with vintage elements. "I’d call it a colorful eclectic mix of happiness."

Ashley Maeda lives with her husband and two daughters in the Southern California desert. "I look at my home as my canvas," she says. "There is always a half-finished mural somewhere because I am constantly painting something new."

Lots of IKEA, a sprinkling of handmade furniture, a dose of DIY, and PLENTY of paint have all been used brilliantly by clothing designer Haley Boyko in her Long Beach rental loft apartment.

When Bridgette and her boyfriend, Blue, moved into their loft apartment, they committed to making the space their own while not breaking the bank. They used Facebook Marketplace to find staple pieces that they DIYed to fit their style.

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.

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.

Documentarian Reilly Dowd bought this vintage Airstream Sovereign travel trailer sight unseen in the midst of pre-vaccine Covid and after losing their family home in Sonoma to a wildfire.

Where are all my natural-wood enthusiasts? Aleksandra Zee and Antrom Kury, artists and woodworkers, live in this rental house that showcases the beauty of warm wood tones and terrific natural textures.

This 560-square-foot studio apartment in San Francisco's Lower Haight neighborhood is Dipa Halder's first solo apartment, and she's personalized this blank canvas with murals, DIY art, and furniture and decor that remind her of the colors of a sunrise.

It's mid-century Boho meets Palm Springs in this small but cute home-away-from-home.

"I think that every room in my house is a different color — pink, yellow, green, red —  and they all go together," PR and marketing firm owner Nicole Balin says.

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.

Meg Quinn, author of "THE CHEESE BOARD DECK" and the popular website, "Ain't Too Proud to Meg," rented this LA apartment for 10 years.

Actress Hayley Orrantia, who is also a singer and songwriter, loves interior design, and also buys, flips, and renovates homes alongside her father in Nashville, Tennessee.

Nonnahs focuses on keeping her home — which she shares with her husband and kids — tidy and lived in, not perfect. Her company, Get Organized Already!, emphasizes personal comfort and living with different tidiness types.

"I love my space because it encourages room for creativity — I'm surrounded by items that I find comforting, such as big soft blankets and plush textured pillows, as well as items that creatively inspire me, from art to books and objects from my travels," explains painter Kristine Overacre.

Jennifer is a part-time nursing professor and the full-time CEO/lead professional organizer for organizing company, Organized by Jen D. She shares this San Diego home with her husband, Tony, sons Alton, Aiden, and Sean, and pets.

A dated and dark house is now a warm, modern, tranquil home with a beautiful color palette.

Every detail of this rental appealed to Lauren Meichtry, the designer behind Elsie Home, from the high ceilings, wainscoting, built-in benches off the fireplace, green marble countertops in the kitchen, to the ocean view from the primary bedroom.

"The goal for my home has always been to make it feel like the most fun place you’ve ever been in, and I want every room to have a surprise in it once you enter," says TikTok DIY decor star Taylor BeepBoop of her "Pee-Wee’s Playhouse chic" San Francisco condo.

Professional organizer Shira Gill's definition of minimalism is "not about deprivation or scarcity, but rather, defining what is essential and meaningful to you, and then stripping away the clutter and distraction that stands in the way."

When interior designer and artist Sophia E. Aguiñaga realized she'd be moving out of her Oakland rental apartment, she took the opportunity to pare down and refresh the home's style. She re-homed almost everything and used minimalism, ease, and traveling light as a style guide.

Interior designer Ryan Black incorporated family heirlooms and antique pieces from Asia and Europe along with a mix of modern design elements to create an eclectic, worldly feel in Jean-Francois Alix's newly purchased condo.

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.

It's honestly stunning both inside and out!

"Being an interior enthusiast, I also knew that I wanted a home that I could put my very-own stamp on. I didn’t want anything too turn-key. We instantly fell in love with this 1300-square-foot 1930s row house perched high up on a mountain top," says Anthony.

Alyssa Fetini works in HR but has a passion for interior design that she was able to express when she and her partner renovated this large house in Oakland's Lake Merritt neighborhood.

Vincent's Halloween-ready house is like an "Edwardian-era vampire meets a 1960s ghost hunter meets a modern day maximalist."

Laura is a pro at designing and optimizing small spaces, and lives in this condo located in a 1909 Victorian building. And a clever dog crate camouflaging idea is just ONE of the great ideas you'll find in her home.

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

Because Natalie Wong's condo in Los Angeles' Koreatown neighborhood was built in the 1930s, her interiors were heavily inspired by the Hollywood Regency era.

Denise Bayron's tiny home is like a secret oasis... a personal paradise that's both a home and a creative workspace.

Holistic nutritionist Dave Coast shares a 1920s classic Venice bungalow with his partner, George, and their dog, Stanley.

When it came to decorating this Oakland apartment, interior designer and artist Sophia E. Aguiñaga painted the entire space, and surrounded herself with pieces that inspire and start conversations: like art by Black artists and artists of color, queer artists, and pieces purchased from Black- and woman-owned shops.

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

Maya Goldfine breathed life into her rental home by embracing a mixture of textures, color, and styles, which was primarily inspired by a trip to Mexico City.

The Historic Wallsworth House is DRIPPING with original details, like untouched hardwood floors, windows with diamond-shaped panes, an original fireplace, stained glass built-ins, majestic woodwork, cabinetry, tile, hardware, and an astounding collection of vintage light fixtures.

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

A warm-colored bedroom mural, thrifted parquet flooring repurposed in a fresh way in the kitchen, and absolutely incredible outdoor spaces... this modern farmstead has a little bit of everything.

If you're the kind of person who likes to fill your Instagram feed with useful information, you may already know of Jessica Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist and the science communication lead at the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.

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.

When it came to decorating this 800-square-foot rental apartment, photographer Nesrin Danan chose a mix of mid-century modern meets Scandinavian vibes to create a soothing sanctuary.

Amanda Montell is a language scholar and the writer and author of the books "Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language" and the just-released "Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism."

Designer Antonio Deloatch describes his rental apartment's style as "curated relaxed luxury."

Drew Scott of Lone Fox HATED this apartment when he first saw it. Thick popcorn ceilings, mirror-covered walls, and too pricey. But the landlord gave Drew and his roommate the go-ahead to paint and really make the apartment their own!

Sheta Chatterjee, who works in user experience design at a tech company, shares this 823-square-foot condo in San Francisco with her cute pup, Stanley.

After a breakup, Kat purchased this 1963 mobile home that needed a lot of TLC, remodeling it to add her own personality while keeping some charming original details like cute built-ins.

Podcast host Latoya Coleman and violinist Jordan Waré love their LA rental. "Overall this apartment has a very New York City feel, in LA, which is perfect for us two native New Yorkers escaping winter in search of sunshine."

This total fixer upper was dark, dingy, and closed off, so interior designer Isabelle Dahlin opened up the ceilings to expose original beams and put in skylight windows to brighten the space.

Living in 380 square feet required Danielle to ditch her walk-in closet, live minimally, and get creative with DIY projects to make a small home beautiful and functional.

Conceptual art house designer and consultant Shawn Button's home in Los Angeles' Echo Park area is a delightful 1950s-era cabin surrounded by lush vegetation and filled with dreamy bohemian details.

Instead of using heavy or bulky room dividers, Abigail was able to maximize all 415 square feet of her tiny studio apartment and create an entryway, living room, dining room, bar, bedroom, and office!

Trinity Shi of Cube House Jungle lives in a bright modern LA home that's full of bold bursts of colors on a crisp white background, surrounded with lots and lots of leafy green plant life.

Alann says that nearly everything in this apartment was either found, stolen from his parents’ house, or picked up at a flea market or yard sale.

Katrina, the owner of home organizing company Badass Homelife, is big believer in minimalism, sustainability, DIYing projects, and incorporating her design and organization philosophies in this home she shares with her husband and their two dogs.

Actors Jessica Parker Kennedy and Ronen Rubinstein loved the layout and high ceilings of their Los Angeles house when they bought it two and a half years ago. Only about 1000 square feet, the couple's biggest challenge was storage, so they hired designer Mandy Cheng to help.

Hannah is a registered nurse, but loves to do DIY/interior design on the side. "I love having lots of plants and using bright colors to give spaces definition and character."

Battling beige wall-to-wall carpeting and plain wall paint colors isn't easy when you're renting, but Dominique Fluker played around with intentional use of shapes and colors to create a fresh look that matches her and her partner's style.

When this couple saw the beautiful Spanish tiles on the fireplace and molding details on the wall, they knew this was the home for them!

There are original barrel ceilings, hand-done textured plaster and a giant arch window, arch bookcases, arch doorways, and a fireplace.