House Calls

Name: Benne Location: Merida – Yucatan, Mexico Just over two years ago I sold my Austin, Texas home and moved to the Yucatan Peninsula. I bought a post-colonial corner 900 sq ft home with a small patio in the historic center of Merida, the largest city in the Yucatan. I immediately fell in love with the high ceilings and the mosaico tile floors. The house was a hovel making it difficult for most of my friends to see beyond the mess.

Name: Kate Location: San Francisco, California I’ve taken a long time to furnish our place on a budget. Flea markets, craigslist, and the occasional splurge. The challenges I’ve overcome include budget, small spaces, and a husband who is minimal (I’m maximal!). I’m proudest of the nursery which features wallpaper from the Beverly Hills Hotel (not visible in the photo I’m sending, but it’s there!), among other things.

Name: Martijn & Melissa Location: Mauritius We live currently in a small apartment in Mauritius, after a year in living in Martijn’s home country, Netherlands. The apartment was first just a “big” room with its own bathroom, but we decided to move in and make it a cozy apartment and save money till we are done building our next home. The size of the apartment was challenging, specially after we adopted Auggie our dog.

Name: Jesse & Jolijn Location: Antwerp, Belgium My girlfriend Jolijn and I bought this lovely home in an up-and-coming neighborhood of Antwerp exactly one year ago. We immediately fell in love with the light and the openness of the structure. We decided to keep it clean by painting everything white, and adding color by filling up the walls with art. Being a photographer, I use the walls of our home to try out different types of prints, frames, and combining my work with that of artists I love.

Name: Kim Location: Montmartre – Paris, France I moved in to my Montmartre apartment in Paris five years ago and have steadily collected vintage finds (a mid century table, a Charlotte Perriand Lamp) and contemporary pieces (Verner Pantone chair, Habitat sofa, Ferm Living and Donna WIlson soft furnishings) to create a modern eclectic decor.

Name: Kirstie Challis Location: London, England When we bought the house everything was brown — floors, walls and ceilings! It had no central heating and was freezing cold. Now there is colour and warmth everywhere. We lived in Asia for nearly a decade and tried to create a modern Asian vibe in an English townhouse Thanks, Kirstie! • Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.

Name: Emily & Kevin Location: Reston, VA We bought this condo one year ago in March, and minutes after settling and receiving the key, we came in and began gutting the place. We bought it for one reason: it had an exposed brick wall. After a year of searching and five failed contracts on other properties, I had realized I was going to have to buy a place I was prepared to fix up. And I considering I am quite particular, I can’t imagine doing it any other way.

Name: Leah & Kris Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada I’m a jewelry designer living in Vancouver, BC with my husband, Kris, who is a music composer for film and television. We were given the opportunity to buy the great space we had been renting for one year and have since made it our own. Running our own businesses from home, we have incorporated both studio workspaces and living spaces to flow dynamically throughout our home. Our space is a three-story, 1080 sq. ft.

Name: Brittany Location: Quispamsis, New Brunswick, Canada The best way to describe our home on the East Coast of Canada is a woodsy retreat with fresh finishes. Our home is located in Quispamsis, in an area known for its outdoorsy roots with cool tree lines and beaches that surround the Saint John River. This 2,700 square foot walk-out bungalow was built by my husband’s company in June 2013.

Name: Sean & Kristen Location: Pike Place Market area – Seattle, Washington Our home is a rented 950 square foot condo in downtown Seattle between the Elliott Bay waterfront and Pike Place Market. It’s a large open floor plan studio with exposed brick, beam, and ductwork. We are two commercial product photographers who moved to Seattle a little over a year ago because we both loved the mountains and water.

Name: Katy Robinson Location: Downtown Orlando, Florida We have been living in this home for a little over a year now. The first time I saw it I was taken by its 1930s bungalow style charm. The hardwood floors, the arched entryways, the original crystal doorknobs and fixtures. The two front rooms have windows running down one whole side, allowing gorgeous light in for a good part of the day.

Name: Alek Location: Sebastopol, California The Tiny Project is my attempt to live a simpler, more conscious, debt-free life, and in doing so helping to set and example and educate the community about alternative, affordable, more sustainable ways of living. Sick of the high cost of renting, and determined to own my own home, I recently completed an 8×20′ tiny house on wheels. I designed every inch of this unique home and did most of the construction myself as well.

Name: Matt & Mel Location: Fairfax, Virginia Our home is a cute little yellow 816 square foot 2 bed/1bath house from the 50s. Our style is a mixture of mod, MCM, funny/playful, and cozy. We have one bedroom turned into a dual home office, I’m an animator/editor and Mel’s a graphic designer. We’re both unafraid of color. When we moved in, the entire house was various shades of brown. We spent an entire week repainting every room.

Name: Brett & Chad Location: Minneapolis, MN As soon as Chad and I toured this apartment last year, we knew we had to have it! The 90 year old, 72 unit building building had a ton of character and was recently renovated, so it totally felt like a blank canvas just waiting for us. Though it was our first time living together, it was awesome seeing our styles merge – Chad’s things were much more clean and modern (ie.

Name: Melissa Location: Washington, D.C. After years of living with roommates and not feeling enough ownership of my space, I decided that this was going to be the home where I finally put nails in the wall. My boyfriend Andrew and I have been renting a 645 square foot apartment in a former embassy building in the Kalorama/Adams Morgan neighborhood in DC.

Name: Robin & Dave Isely Location: Alameda, California Our 1919 one bedroom Craftsman kit cottage is a bit of a cranky old lady (not unlike myself) and I’ve learned to respect her old but lovely bones and definite Craftsman esthetic after years of experimentation.

Name: Natasha Location: Gramercy Park – Manhattan, NY Apartment Therapy has been an inspiration as I have been renovating and decorating my new 1 BR apartment in New York’s Gramercy area. I have lived in the apartment for about half a year now. It’s a relatively small space, about 630 square feet, and like many New York apartments, only has windows only on one side.

Name: Sheena Location: Dumbo – Brooklyn, NY Our 650 square foot apartment is located in Dumbo in Brooklyn, in a former warehouse, which was gut-renovated in 2011. It has one bedroom with a den, and an open plan kitchen, dining and living space.

Name: Anna Reser Location: Norman, Oklahoma One of the best things about moving for graduate school was the opportunity to have my own place since I’ve always lived with roommates. My little apartment has some issues (those cracks along the windows, yikes) but I like it quite a lot and I’m slowly making it my own. I’d like to paint soon, as it’s a bit like living inside a jar of peanut butter at the moment.

Name: Lauren Ebedes Location: Toronto, Canada My fiancee Jordan and I have been living in our 900 square foot apartment in midtown Toronto for 1.5 years and our apartment is a constant evolution. As an interior designer and lover of design blogs and DIY projects, I am continually looking for ways to improve our pad on our modest budget. Do I think I’ll ever be done decorating our apartment? Definitely not…because what’s the fun in that?

Name: Sara & Nick Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts My husband Nick and I have been in our place, a rented one-bedroom, for just six months. It was a scramble to find it—Nick was on the ground looking at apartments in Boston while I trolled my Padmapper alerts from the UK. It was a relief to move in, getting all our stuff out of storage after two years living in China and the UK.

Name: Jen Location: Seward Park, Seattle I fell in love with this house online, before I’d even moved to Seattle. It was an estate, so it hadn’t been touched since the 60’s. But there were great original bones – a flagstone entry way, a stone fireplace that divided the front and back of the house. Not to mention a view of the lake. When I was re-doing it I had a totally different color scheme in mind – cooler, with more greys.

Name: Chelsea Park Location: Chinatown, New York, NY I remember thinking my 9×7 room looked a lot bigger when it was empty. Then I got my bed in there. Once I was done crying on the inside, I decided right then would be a great opportunity to stop hoarding and start making good use of my walls. I have a ton of books, so I hung several bookshelves and made the words the focal point of my room. Now it’s my happy little place.

Name: Tina Gonsalves and Matthew Wild Location: Port Douglas, North Queensland, Australia We bought this five bedroom house in late May 2012, just a few days after returning from a year long overseas trip. It was a really ugly house, on a wonderfully quiet street, just near to the beach. It had been on the market for a long time, as I guess no one knew what to do with it. My husband and I took up the challenge.

Name: Cynthia of Recreational Decorator Location: The Beach – Toronto, Ontario, Canada We bought our home just about two years ago and renovated it from top-to-bottom. The elderly woman (her refurbished sofa still sits in our livingroom) who sold us the home had lived here for years and wanted a family to move in who would not tear the house down or do a monster reno (we have a very large city lot so the home was certainly appealing to builders).

Name: Cesar Location: Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil It all started in my childhood. I was always in love with architecture, art and history, and consequently, I started collecting all sorts of objects. To me, they told a story and reminded me of specific times and aesthetics. Over time, this seemingly disjointed collection made sense, and I use it in my decor.

Name: Shawna & Stef Location: Seaport/Financial District – NY, NY When friends and family walk into our apartment, their first response is your home is so “put together”. For us, our home represents our individual (and often opposite) styles ‘put together’ as a couple. Stef (a banker by day) has a love and great eye for street art that serves as the source of inspiration for our decor.

Name: Christina of The Redesign Company Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Our home is our happy place. We downsized 10 years ago and use every square inch of this notsobig house. Even the garage, which we turned into a teen cave for our ohsobig boys. We want the whole wide world to know that it doesn’t have to cost a lot to be beautiful and bigger is not always better. sometimes… but not always. Hehehe… Thanks, Christina!

Name: Lea & Mike of Casa Pino, a textile, interior design and art collaboration Location: Arlington, Virginia My husband and I moved to Arlington from a small apartment in Brooklyn 2 years ago. We now live in a 2 bedroom/ 1 bathroom 90+ year old bungalow with our dog and 2 cats. We live right in the heart of Clarendon, a fun vibrant neighborhood with tons of shops, restaurants, and nightlife just minutes from Washington, DC.

I’m experiencing an definite mix of emotions over this home: envy, jealousy, but mostly pure admiration! I discovered this amazing submission in my inbox today – a beautifully designed and decorated flat in central London. Here’s the story from JP: The flat is located in a small Edwardian mansion block on a square in central London and enjoys not just the view of Big Ben, but also its chimes.

Name: Layne & Rand Location: Springfield, Missouri My husband, Rand and I live in a 1928 bungalow in Springfield with our two cats. When we moved in, all the original trim downstairs was unpainted, and I tried my best to decorate around it for nearly four years. Finally, I gave myself permission to paint it all white. I love it so much more now! The white walls and trim are the perfect background for my mid century furniture and eclectic collection of handmade art.

Name: Neil & Eddie Location: Long Beach, California Here’s a story of loft life from readers in California – complete with soaring ceilings and streamlined modern industrial style in a reimagined retail space. Take it away, Neil and Eddie: Our loft is located on Pine Avenue in the Historic district of Downtown Long Beach.

Name: Erika Location: East Village – New York, New York Erika sent us photos of her lovely, dramatically dark-walled NYC apartment. She writes: These are pictures of my apartment that I share with my girlfriend and three (!) cats. My style trends towards warmth with modern and vintage pieces mixed together. What I love about my home is how guests respond to it when they are here; the design makes people feel at home.

Name: Kate Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada I live on the second floor of an older character home in the west end of Toronto. When I moved in, four years ago, the apartment was painted a mishmash of vibrant colors. Going against my instincts to paint the entire space white, starting from a neutral palette, I decided to try to work with what was already there.

Name: Andy Location: Chicago, IL My brick and timber loft in the West Loop was recently remodeled. My friend helped with the design work. The style is mostly industrial with a bit of MCM in the mix. . Much of the furniture is vintage. Some items were purchased at local shops and fairs and some I came from my family. They’ve been in the dry cleaning business since 1907 and we were able to use items from the original plant. My building is was built in 1910 so it worked out perfectly.

Name: Jane of Korla Home Location: London, UK I would call my style heritage-contemporary as I love mixing old and new. I have to have lots of colour in my home as it makes me happy. I don’t stick to any design ethic, I just trust my eye to create a well designed livable space – I have three kids so white everything wouldn’t work! What I really love about my home is my sitting room.

Name: Fabienne Location: Montreal, Quebec Color, color, color! Cats and dogs and lots of artwork and funky found furniture. What I love most about our apartment is that it feels like a country house even though it’s in a big city. It is a work in constant progress that reflects our interests and passion for animals. Right now, it’s all about birds, birds, birds! Thanks, Fabienne! • Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy?

Name: Ali & William Hanham Location: Albany, London, England Size: Two bedrooms, one bath Years lived in: Since 1811 During my visit to England this past month, I visited William and Ali’s amazing ancestral home in Wimborne and then took a peek at William’s elegant and modest London apartment at Albany.

During my travels in England and France this month, I was very nicely invited by Terence Conran’s team to meet them all and see their offices at Shad Thames as well as Terence Conran’s old apartment on top. This part of London was largely re-developed with Conran’s help in the early 90’s, and he moved all of his offices here at the same time. He lived here as well until recently. Here’s a little eye candy for you!

Name: Whitney Location: Venice Beach, California Our 450 square-foot live/work Canal Cottage was built in the 1920’s. It was renovated a decade ago with several built-in features, including a queen bed, spacious couch and numerous storage cubbies. It’s a delightfully unique mini-home & yard that we’ve decorated & upgraded on an extremely limited budget. We (and our rescued beagle-foxhound mix) have called this home for 2.

Name: Jasna Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Jasna sent us an email: We love seeing photos of artists’ homes—they are always inspiring, loaded with art and unique details and offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the people and their habits. Being artists ourselves, we would like to share ours with you! Our apartment does not have any spectacular architectural features and it’s bones are generic, but we made it into pretty sweet hideaway.

Name: Bridget & Matt Location: LaGrange, Illinois My fiance Matt & I purchased this suburban ranch back in November. Since then, we’ve slowly worked to make it feel like home. We believe that we can create a comfortable and homey space…without breaking the bank. Therefore, much of what you see is a do-it-yourself project or thrift store find.

Name: JeanieLocation: East Village – NY, NY I likened the aesthetic of my home to Pee Wee’s Big Top situated in Candyland. Being a child of the late 70s, my biggest influences were cartoons and candy which have somehow shaped my personal design approach. I’m an avid collector of nostalgic pop culture like lunch boxes, glass soda bottles, Pez and vintage finds like globes and Carnival Chalkware.

Name: KittyLocation: Bangkok, Thailand I recently acquired a 490 square feet 1-bedroom in an upscale condo in downtown Bangkok but it costs as much as a three story house with a garden in the suburbs. So to save money, I gave my friend who’s a budding freelance architect the project and an impossible task—to give me a lot of storage on the cheap while making the room look bigger.And he did it!

Name: CharlotteLocation: Southport, Connecticut We bought our circa 1900 house a couple of years ago from an older woman who’s idea of upkeep was locking the door behind her. (The only ‘repair’ she would admit to was the leaking skylight in the foyer…).

Name: Patricia JeanLocation: Montréal, Quebec I am the first owner of this 600 square foot condo which was built in 2010 in a cute Montréal, Quebec neighborhood. For me, this condo represents freedom and adulthood. I knew this was my chance to create the ultimate bachelorette pad I had always dreamed of decorating without having to make any compromise.So that’s what I did!

Name: AlexandraLocation: North End – Boston, Massachusetts Our condo, located in the historic North End, is not only our first home, but our dream home as well. We wanted an open space with light and charm (and an elevator) in the heart of the city to raise our kids. When we finally found our home, it was love at first “light:” the sun shining in from the vast windows was almost overwhelming.

Name: RuthieLocation: Nashville, Tennessee My boy and I bought our 100 yr old Victorian fixer upper home 8 yearrs ago, 2 months before we were married, in a neighborhood called East Nashville in Nashville, Tennessee.We were totally broke, but I have always been one that has had to be in a aesthetically pleasing and feel good environment, so I immediately got busy scouring flea markets, garage sales and antique malls.

Name: Christopher Location: Van Vorst Park — Jersey City, New Jersey This month we’re all about renting on Apartment Therapy so when this quick peek inside an amazingly well-designed rental arrived by email, we were thrilled to get it up on the blog.Christopher writes: My home is where I am most myself. I use it as a design laboratory for my Interior design career. I enjoy playing with eclectic style, tonal values and unexpected quirk that brings a smile to my family and friends.

Name: David & JohnLocation: West Village, New York City The apartment blends two distinct tastes, into a cohesive style: The traditional taste of John based on the Art Deco style of the building and David’s modern tastes.John, a Philadelphia born lawyer, with fairly traditional taste in interior design had lived in this West Village Art Deco condominium for fifteen years.

Name: EmilyLocation: Covington, Kentucky Although I can’t actually live here, working on this mini home for the past few months certainly makes it feel like I could curl up on the tiny couch and call it home. The idea of a renovating and decorating a dollhouse was interesting to me because it allowed me to decorate rooms and transform spaces in days rather than weeks/months and to be honest, I was looking for a project with a little more instant gratification.

Name: AnuLocation: Seattle, Washington My home is like a canvas bringing my thoughts to life. Its a haven for me and my family. I love to decorate my home with things that have a special meaning for me. In my home silver treasures go together with a few sea shells from a memorable trip to the beach.I believe that one should not be afraid to blend different styles and colors as it will all come together to create the”look” thats all yours!

Name: JessicaLocation: Kerrisdale — Vancouver, BC We found this gem of a character building in 2010, while hunting for a new, pet-friendly space and something to get us out of the suburbs and a little closer to work downtown…The SO good!:This building blew our minds, 1200 square feet, late 1920’s – early 1930’s character, built in glass door cabinet, wood floors, 10 foot ceilings, working fireplace, window seat, cat and dog friendly, above an amazing candy store (!!

Name: Hunter Wimmer (Design Educator) & Casie Permenter (Civil Engineer) and Marty the Cranky CatLocation: Concord, CaliforniaSize: 1,800 square feet + 200 square feet atriumYears lived in: 3 — owned On a blazingly hot 4th of July holiday, my wife and I moved from West Oakland to the suburbs of Concord to tackle a labor of love: a 1963 Eichler-built home in pretty rough, but somewhat original shape.

Emily Henderson is a professional prop stylist, so it comes as no surprise that her own home is very lovely to look at — her talent for creating beautiful rooms is wonderfully apparent and for HGTV viewers, familiar. Her design skills are on display on HGTV’s Design Star, where she has made it very far in the competition, currently she is one of the final two contestants.

Name: SarikaLocation: Lower East Side — New York, New York My studio apartment is smack dab in the middle of New York City’s Lower East Side — a neighborhood that recently topped a list of best places to live for the “young, single and cash-strapped.” Fitting the bill on all three of those things, and zeroing in on the last item (working on a reporter’s budget here!

Name: WendyLocation: Hell’s Kitchen — NYC My apartment is a 350 square feet studio apartment located in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan. I recently moved in back in February of 2010, so I’ve been living here about 4 months. I think it would make an great Apartment Therapy House tour because of the limited space as a studio.

Name: Randal DawkinsLocation: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC This is my small apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I am an antiques buyer for a Manhattan firm and an interior designer. My aesthetic is a layered look — filled with antiques and art of many periods and styles. I like to consider my apartment my miniature English country house.Thanks Randal!• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE Check out past house tours here• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy?

Name: MaryLocation: Louisville, Kentucky I am a Freshman in college. My parents announced this fall that they were selling the home that my siblings and I had grown up in. I took the news very hard. I had a very special room that was built for me when I was little. As a little kid, I never stayed in my bed.

Welcome to our new Boston-based blogger, Ronee Saroff!Name: Libby and John Lodge (of John Lodge Architects)Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts Most Boston dwellers are familiar with the pitfalls of living in period houses: small rooms, miniscule closets, and dim lighting. So when product designer Libby and her architect husband John stumbled upon a Cambridge Greek Revival with not one, but two large sunny common rooms, they jumped at it.

Name: Anne & NathanLocation: Bellevue, WA Anne features her own kitchen as part of her tryout. She writes: Our 1976 tri-level boasts light-filled clerestory windows with views across Lake Washington’s largest freshwater wetlands as well as vaulted ceilings with exposed dark wood beams. But when it came to the interior design, this house reflected none of our design aesthetics.

Name: Valery Location: Prospect Heights, Brooklyn NYC Our house is truly a marriage of styles. A duplex in an 1860’s Brooklyn brownstone, we’ve filled it with family heirlooms, antique kilims and textiles, our growing art collection (many by local artists) and vintage finds to create a colorful mix that is 100% us.I think the house is a great example of how spaces grow organically over time — this space is constantly gaining new layers.

www.apartmenttherapy.com chicago house-tours house-callgregory-christines-custom-chicago-style-085583> click thumbnails for larger picsNames: Gregory & ChristineLocation: Chicago Some classic Chicago style arrived in our inbox recently. Here is what Gregory had to say about the home he shares with Christine: Our two bedroom condo in Chicago, IL – full of antique furniture, painted wall murals, and custom built shelves.

Molly Meng’s stationery line, 8mm ideas, is a collection of little works of art. We especially love her whimsical handmade collages that often include vintage accents. And, when we got word that her San Francisco apartment is just as charming as her cards, of course we went knocking on her door. Below, Molly gives us a peek at her home and her studio. The ottoman is from Community Thrift, and the pink couch was a gift. A close-up of her celadon collection.

We continue to be impressed by her work. We already love her Etsy shop — especially those calendars that we’re sure will sell out — and now she’s giving us even more to pine for. Diana Fayt is putting together a collection for a new show at Candystore, and we want one of everything we’ve seen so far.