House Calls

They even found room for a washer, dryer, and a large amount of fitness equipment on board!

"This city is all late-night neon energy, which is fun on a Friday night, but this little place is our reprieve."

Marie Cox renovated every single room in this three-bedroom, two-bath, 1700-square-foot Ranch house.

Subletting this apartment from some friends who decided to go home and wait out the lockdown, this is the first time Cydney hasn't had roommates and has been able to decorate in her own style, which is "Dreamy. Pink. Marie Antionette."

Prathima grew up in India, and you see elements of her culture in her apartment, like art by an Indian artist and prints sourced from India.

Audrey Sprinkle and her husband, Dustin, combined tons of DIY projects with vintage furniture finds to create a space for their family, which includes five kids and two dogs.

All Jacquie's favorite pieces in her Toronto rental apartment were found in garbage piles on the side of the road, but she's styled everything fantastically!

There's an entryway, living area, dining area, library/office area, and sleeping area!

The long, narrow, rectangle-shaped layout of this studio is versatile and there's an abundance of natural light.

Mandi Smethells' home was built in 1989, so the character is OAK, OAK, and MORE OAK; she's been spending the past four months "finding a balance of infusing my aesthetic but also embracing some of the '90s elements that are everywhere."

There are lots of plants, which bring life into a small space, and a mix of materials, like brick, light wood, and darker wood.

Full-time blogger and content creator Katerina Seigel created a laid-back, natural vibe in her rental by including elements like jute, rattan, and cane, while keeping it modern with velvet and marble accents.

Sylvia's Crown Heights studio apartment proves it's possible to be eco-friendly, buy used, and not get bedbugs in NYC!

The apartment is 100-years-old (built in 1921 according to city records) and has a ton of quirky older features that are beautifully preserved and classic old-San Francisco, including an original brass bell buzzer (that still works!), a beautiful built-in cooling cabinet, real wood floors, high ceilings, and gorgeous bay windows.

Over quarantine, actress Taylor Hook transformed her space with touches of antique charm, beautiful ornate details, gold accents, art, and of course, lots of plants! It's like a 'vibrant neo-classical apothecary.'

This little in-law studio is behind a house and it's perfect and right down the street from a cute little downtown area.

This homeowner's advice for creating a home you love? "Get a disco ball and some plants."

Sarah and Greg did lots of things to this apartment to make it feel like their own, including painting a big green arch in the living room.

Despite the tiny size, this apartment in Italy feels airy and open, and has lots of clever small space maximizing ideas within it.

Karina Mansfield recently painted the wall mural in her home's hallway, inspired by the local landscape and the work of Jean Dubuffet.

This apartment features original hardwood floors, brick fireplace with landscape motifs, and huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

Lily Fuentez transformed her standard sliding-door-closet into a kitchenette using a storage cabinet from Home Depot and some creative use of shelving that is usually meant for under sinks.

Justine introduced pops of color by painting walls with bright colors to complement an open layout. "I specifically wanted to do color blocking on our walls to create an imaginary border between the different areas of our space."

Kristin and Joel splashed color on all the walls, added a couple murals, painted the kitchen cabinets, tile-stenciled the cement floors, added molding to doors and swapped all the lighting, faucets, and doorknobs to make this space fully their own.

Alison and Stephen stripped rooms and rooms of old wallpaper and added their own, painted kitchen cabinets and every single wall, updated gardens, rebuilt the white picket fence, and more. After five years, this house is a character- and art-filled forever home.

Stacey O'Brien has personalized her 800-square-foot rental apartment with books, art, and a little bit of driftwood DIY.

This cottage hadn't been decorated in almost 30 years; the layout was dark and there were fake beams and faded maroon carpet. After ripping out walls and saving the old stone walls, the log burner, and the real beams discovered under a false ceiling, the home's renovation is amazing.

Living in a small studio apartment has made Senaida realize you don’t need a lot of space; you just need a little bit of creativity and storage options.

Margy's landlords turned the original family room of their house into this ADU, and designed the layout with large, oversized kitchen cabinets for extra storage and created as much storage in the bathroom/closet area as possible. "It's a renter's dream!"

Over the past three years Joan has been transforming this new construction house to something more personal. So far she's painted, wallpapered several rooms, and even tiled the powder room floor and changed its vanity.

Marble contact paper, wallpaper, and Facebook Marketplace finds were all used to personalize this university student's apartment, especially her small bedroom.

The apartment's building is about 100 years old and has lovely vintage features including tall ceilings, which make the small space feel even larger and luxurious.

Hildos, an artist, channeled her anxiety of the challenging last year into creativity, taking on some major home decorating projects. "It took a lot of patience, research, building, and injuries."

For Mitch, going tiny was a way to minimize housing costs. "It also helps encourage me not to buy things I do not need, while being able to curate my space with nice things I really like. I like to call it 'tiny luxury.'"

This 1901 cottage was vacant for over a year before Amy bought it six months ago. She moved in two weeks before going into lockdown, and working from home for six months has meant she's been able to do a little improvement every day.

"Creatively finding a way to accommodate a good work/life balance within 734 square feet took some time and unique design decisions."

Stephanie and her husband purchased this pre-war triplex that's packed with cute features, renting out two of the apartments while living in one.

Ryan's rental was in bad condition: "the walls were a terrible shade of crimson, and there were dribbles of dust-stained wax on all the wash basins. Two days of elbow grease, hot water, and many bottles of cleaning agents later, the house was good to move in to."

The apartment came with a loft bed, which allowed Isabelle Eshraghi to create an entire living room and study space within the cramped square footage.

Since being trapped inside because of quarantine, Jessie Ruane found solace in painting (and painting...) all her walls and redefining her style.

Mindy King and her husband began an addition in 2020, doubling the size of their home, adding a mudroom/laundry, sunroom/reading nook, and bedroom and bathroom suite. "We designed it all ourselves and lived through the construction while working from home and sheltering in place."

Alexa shares this rental apartment with a roommate, and says it's been "the perfect place to hang out with friends and survive a pandemic when there is nowhere to go."

After downsizing to this 1000-square-foot house, Miranda Wulfekoetter gave this 1954 ranch home more personality, going on a DIY journey.

Jo Ann and her boyfriend lovingly and painstakingly renovated this 1959 cabin with their own personal tastes and whimsies. It's called "Little Apple A-Frame."

Although the apartment has a mini fridge and no oven, Gina Luisa is able to cook full meals with a toaster convection oven and built-in hot plates on the counter.

Sarah describes her studio apartment as a mini palace. "It has the regal feel of a a kingdom (very much inspired by Palace of Versailles), the allure of a Parisian apartment on a summer afternoon, with a rich and luxurious decadent decor."

Laurel created a layered, romantic vibe in her rental apartment inspired by the psychic shop on the ground floor. She painted each room a deep, textured color, hunted down cheap vintage furniture, and added excessive amounts of rugs, curtains, fairy lights, and incense.

The rental duplex has all the original details, including an arched picture window, hardwood floors, and Spanish tile.

"It’s all about collecting pieces slowly and filling up your home with things that represent you and your personality."

This artist's home is like a colorful play palace.

From doubling the shades as a projector screen to a side table that can double as a coffee table, Vivian spent a lot of time taking measurements for this micro condo. "Just inches can make a huge difference for small spaces."

There's also an amazing space-saving and functional IKEA product that makes studio living easier!

Jamila's home is a 1976 Coho Chris Craft "floating condo" that she can take out on the open seas and is a "gem with vintage mahogany throughout."

Every inch of this cottage is adorable, inside and out.

When Julian moved into this rental apartment the walls were beige and the terrace was just an empty concrete space. But he got the landlord's permission to repaint the flat and decorated it on a shoestring budget with pieces found online, at local auctions, and on eBay or Gumtree.

Picking a favorite room is an easy choice when living in a studio since all of your furniture is in one room!

Daria and husband, Faizal, decided to use Peranakan patterned cement tiles for the kitchen and balcony floors because they're just "beautiful and evoke a sense of old-school Singapore charm that we both love."

The apartment initially didn't have a lot of opportunity for light outside of the gorgeous natural light during the day and one light source in the kitchen, so the renter's parents installed under cabinet lights and lights behind the bed frame.

Ashley scoured the internet for storage solutions for every inch of this apartment; there wasn’t one space that wasn’t fully utilized. They basically live in a hotel room that they've decorated!

Wendy Nguyen moved into this room in an attic after relocating to Vietnam from London, and the small space boasts plenty of tropical sunshine, a fantastic space-saving loft, and artificial greenery to create a cute cottage core vibe.

Buying this house was a stretch for designer Amber Kaye's budget, so she had to decorate resourcefully by buying second-hand/vintage, upcycling furniture, and painting bathroom tiles.

Karen and her husband are interested in DIY and try to be sustainable, so they've bought preloved things or reupholstered furniture rather than buy new. She made curtains and cushions, painted furniture, and even painted a rainbow headboard.

Brendan used a bookshelf to divide his narrow studio apartment, carving out a cozy little cocoon of a living room, and a bright little "millennial jungle" bedroom nook.

Despite being one room, Liza Taney feels like she's created a place that feels like home in her super small New York City studio apartment.

This flat is naturally beautiful with large windows, lots of natural light, and exposed brick, but renter Sruthi Ramesh made the space infinitely more lovely and cozy by adding light textiles, a mirror for light to bounce off of, and nice lighting.

This magical 1930s studio apartment has original Spanish details including French glass doors, hardwood flooring, built-in wood bookshelves, purple-tiled bathroom, and glass door knobs. "The courtyard is accessed through French doors right off of the kitchen and feels as if you've entered a Nancy Meyers movie."

"Don't be afraid to paint it and use exciting color. It's amazing how you can express yourself by declaring your home."

Myriam uses mirrors, lots of plants, and her favorite color orange to make her small rental studio apartment a cozy and warm place where she can forget the outside world.

Léa purchased very few new things for her apartment. The owner left the couch, bedframe, and kitchen island, and she scored deals on Marketplace and items from her parents. But she also rented her entire dining set, leather chairs, and kitchen chairs through a furniture rental company called Pivot.

Despite the 499 square footage, its overall layout renders the space surprisingly open and comfortable.

She used electric appliances and makeshift counter and storage to craft a kitchen, and also managed to fit storage for clothes, books, tchotchkes, couch, TV, and coffee table in the teeny "living room."

Now that Ricardo is working from home, he reimagined one of his closets to create a sleeping nook with a platform bed with storage, allowing more room for a work station.