House Calls

Katelan Foisy painted all the backdrops in her rental apartment, which mixes theatricality with luxury hotel vibes. "I always wanted to live in a theater and this is the way I bring that dream to life."

Sarah's been in their apartment for only a year, and shares it with cat, Margo, and a "seasoned collection of flora. While small in size, it fits us perfectly."

Marcie says her house is "middle aged — not old enough to be utterly charming and not new enough to have the latest and freshest look. But we have put our stamp on it to make it our own and we love it the way it is."

Erin's place is a mix of mid-century and Scandinavian and like one big DIY project.

"I believe walking into my home is like entering an experience," renter Candice Sing says.

The building Rosie's apartment is located in was constructed in 1929 and her apartment retains some of the charming original architecture features,

Jeremy, our dogs, and Meghan moved to this Spanish-style bungalow apartment in Los Angeles five years ago from Louisville, Kentucky bringing only two vintage pieces of furniture and a large collection of art, records, and books.

When musician Leeroy Stagger and his designer/artist wife Coby Starck decided to pack it up and leave Alberta at the beginning of Covid, they had no idea that a 1973 Airstream would be their lifeline.

Originally built in the 1850s as pig barn, when Elle and Martin first bought this place, the floor was literally just earth. The couple did much of the conversion work themselves using mostly reclaimed materials to convert this barn into a cozy, rustic dream home!

The homeowner's best advice for creating a home you love? "DON'T BE TIMID."

A lot of the objects in Emily and Jay's home reflect a combination of science and art — you'll find an abacus or a model of a T-Rex head next to one of Emily's sculptures or a musical instrument.

Salomé identifies as a maximalist who loves pink and mixing and matching prints, patterns, and textures.

There are eclectic art piece from local contemporary artists mixed with exquisite New Orleans antiques and family treasures.

A folding chair and folding tables bring flexibility to this teeny studio apartment shared by Daryl and his fiancée.

Faith moved here with no furniture, and it was both overwhelming and exciting for her to design an apartment with DIYs and fun furniture finds.

This 128-year-old carriage house was in very poor condition due to decades of neglect. After being restored, it's now the perfect Victorian tiny house!

Noah's home features shades of saturated gorgeous greens.

This apartment is located in a charming building from the 1940s centered around a large courtyard and features original hardwood floors and windows, but an updated kitchen.

Nicoll Davis and her husband, Jake, travel and live full-time in this absolutely tiny home out of a converted cargo trailer.

Heidi's small condo is a balance of things she's been collecting for years, an ever-revolving jungle of plants, and recently found objects that speak to her sense of home.

EVERY room in this Spanish apartment is gorgeous, but the studio has a spectacular original ceiling from the 19th century, with moldings, painting, and details in gold leaf.

Andrea's 1952 tri-level was a time capsule when they purchased it; it hadn't been updated since it was built! Andrea and her husband replaced all the flooring, renovated the kitchen, and painted thousands and thousands of square feet of walls, ceilings, trim and doors.

Savannah's favorite room in this Fort Greene apartment is the bedroom because the corn sculpture is in it. "I often just stare at it and marvel at its beauty. It's a sculpture, but it's also a stool, and I love it so much."

This studio in a 100-year-old converted factory has high ceilings and exposed brick, making it feel larger than its 450 square feet.

This home's remodel goal was to be well-designed but whimsical and fun... and there are over 1,000 books!

Geraldine initially thought she'd go with a neutral color palette in her small SF apartment, but decided to instead embrace bold colors, cute characters, and even a few plushies!

Through creative layouts and careful decor selection, Kelsey and Luke were able to create a home that's the perfect combination of function and beauty despite the super small size.

Inspired by Bauhaus and Scandinavian designs, Kristen Rosario blended the two designs to create a truly vibrant, clean, and minimalist space.

The only furniture pieces Katie started with when she moved into this small apartment were a large gold mirror, a blue velvet sofa, and a mattress. On a very tight budget, she had to get creative and make what she wanted or shop from local antique and thrift stores to furnish the rest of the rental.

Madeline and Michael's 120-year-old home has rickety original hardwood floors, tall ceilings, original light fixtures, a wood-burning fireplace, a sweeping staircase, transom windows, and other gorgeous charming historic details.

This is the first ever apartment Vicki has lived in and decorated totally by herself and she had so much fun making the space her own.

Among many other stylish decor elements, including a bathroom with absolutely stunning tile.

Claire loves beautiful things, in particular art, ceramics, textiles, and flowers, and she has tried to fill her small rental apartment with all of these.

This floor-to-ceiling theatrical and artistic space includes a formerly 1980s kitchen turned 1920s Parisian style, murals on the walls and ceilings, gobs of gold leaf, and three hairless cats.

Annabelle purposefully chose white furniture pieces, accented with gold and light wood tones, to maximize space and evoke a sense of airiness in her small rental studio apartment.

Makea purchased an older home with good bones so she could make small improvements to it over the next couple of years. The first thing she did was paint every wall.

Marie's vision for this 1920s-era Seattle house was to strip away the changes that had been made in the '60s, '70s and '80s and add back the 1920s feel.

Dani's three-bedroom Georgian style maisonette offers all the things you would expect with a period property, including high ceilings and a number of original features like parquet flooring and beautiful coving details in every room.

Mostly unused for almost 40 years, this house has tons of its original 1974 charm, like windows, tile, wood burning fireplaces, and an amazing solid wood front door.

It is the "quintessential New York studio."

Tisha's Toronto rental apartment is small, but she's got room for a cozy couch, a kitchen island, and a workout pole, and the apartment even came with a cute clawfoot tub!

Jessy bought this 1978 Dodge Commander motorhome for $1900, and while she had no previous carpentry, plumbing, electrical experience, she spent a year bringing it back to life and remodeling it for full-time living.

Anlan Yao's home is filled with pieces that bring her happiness, light, and laugher, and is surrounded by greenery (lots and lots of greenery) and pieces found and repurposed.

Olivia and Andres' rental home is filled with pieces new and old and some bold colors, some neutrals, and lots of plants and personal art on the walls.

Coralys Guzman's space truly reflects what she believes a home is all about: "a sanctuary where its habitants can be and express themselves as they will."

Alexandra sourced art from local Etsy artists, purchased furniture through Facebook Marketplace to cut down on waste, and chose lots of calming plants and soft rugs to keep the space cozy and inviting.

Stefany and her husband took this new apartment as a way to "really invest in some quality pieces and truly make it a home that reflected where we were at this stage in our lives."

Nisha and her husband, Jason, decided to invest in their space last year since during quarantine. "We bought several pieces secondhand and added family heirlooms from the homes that we grew up in."

Jenn moved into this place with nothing more than a mattress on the floor, and then one by one only bought things she genuinely loved to fill it up.

This apartment's main selling points for Joyce were the huge windows and the natural light. "I wanted to create a home that felt equal parts like a warm hug and a peaceful retreat, so the overall decor vibe is purposely minimalistic, earthy, and neutral."

By being intentional with every piece, Rachel and her partner Chris were able to create a home that looks great and is functional.

This small, top-floor, quiet studio has plenty of windows that let in a lot of light and showcase the home's artsy '70s surf-inspired style.

Katie rearranged her studio apartment thousands of times to make it seem separate from the bedroom area.

Kina de Cordoba moved in to a new rental apartment during the pandemic, and decorating the space has been their fun COVID project.

Sarah McPherson loves the evolution of her home. "As with most things in life, it is okay to experiment, try things, change things up, and change your mind."

Lydia and Mike had to get extremely creative in putting their stamp on their house while they save for further renovations.

Michelle Dain uses fun, beachy, retro colors paired with white for a home that's both fun and relaxing.

As a maximalist, Derek Cooper has had to find specific furniture to help him display his collections in a more organized manner, such as shadowbox side tables, coffee table, and bookshelves.

Thanks to all the natural light, the high ceilings, and how everything is laid out, Hannah's apartment feels much bigger than it is! With the new loft bedroom, it feels even more distinctive.

Chad used light colors to make their small space seem larger, open, and airy.

Logan Reulet's monochrome palette of white, beige and sand tones makes his small space feel 10 times larger.

It's eclectic, colorful, vintage, and personal.

This loud and fun family's rental home reflects their joyful personalities!

Rehma's DIY paint job of the builder-grade, standard black tile fireplace and built mantel is just one of the great projects in this home.

Furniture is multi-purpose, storage is absolutely everywhere, and everything is nicely hidden away behind cupboard doors to keep visual clutter at bay.

This modern new-build in a Chicago suburb may be clean and modern, but Sunny Amirpor has filled it with collected soul and traditional details. "Don't be afraid to mix old with new, high with low."

Erica Leader and her husband were able to get into the Portland neighborhood they wanted by buying a MAJOR fixer upper from a man who had lived in the house for 50 years!

Kate Pearce transformed this Long Island fixer upper into a jaw-droppingly gorgeous home.

There are no doors or walls separating the living room, dining room, playroom, and kid's room, but each area of this one-bedroom feels like a separate zone.

This coach house was built in 1910 and converted to a residential home years ago, and while Jean loves A LOT about the home, they admit it may have been the windows that sealed the deal!

Surrounded by trees and with a skylight in the bedroom, sleeping in this Scandinavian-inspired cabin is like sleeping in a treehouse!

The charcoal gray concrete floors, white walls, white cabinets, white appliances, and light wood accents are the perfect blank slate for Angel and her wife, Monica, to add personality to their Portland apartment.