Reader Submissions

Name: Wesley & John Location: Carroll Gardens — Brooklyn, New York We moved into this 1890s Brooklyn townhouse last summer. We were formerly living in separate windowless dumps in North Brooklyn and when we got engaged last year we decided it was time to grow up and move south, to the land of brownstones and strollers.

Name: Colie Location: North Loop — Minneapolis, Minnesota This is my one bedroom apartment in the North Loop of Minneapolis. I chose this space because I LOVED the bright white feel and large floor to ceiling windows since there is only lighting on one side. The white kitchen was also a winner for me. I would love to be in an older building with exposed brick, but didn’t really love any of the kitchens I saw. My style is a mix of traditional and eclectic.

Name: Matt & Amanda Location: Pasadena, California We just finished a bunch of work on our home. I did most of the work myself, including the all of the wood wainscoting, molding and arches. I didn’t do the cat though, that was just right place, right time. A little about us and our house. It’s a 1947 bungalow in west Pasadena – so far west, it’s practically Eagle Rock. We bought it in 2016 and I’ve spent the year fixing it up.

Name: Melanie Location: White Rock Lake — Dallas, Texas My home is a mid century traditional built in 1950. I have lived here for three years with my husband Dalton and two pups, Addie and Mr. Cooper. It’s in East Dallas which has a bit of an eclectic vibe and really feels like an escape from the city without being too far. We purchased the home from Architect DJ Perkison, who designed the amazing back patio.

Name: Mo & Rachael Location: NOPA — San Francisco, California I’m a filmmaker and my wife is a private chef/nutritionist! We live in a beautiful, quintessential San Francisco Edwardian right next the Panhandle in the NOPA neighborhood. It’s a quiet home, very clean, with a beautiful view of a tree filled backyard. The home is filled with original artwork from local San Francisco artists and also plenty of authentic mid-century furniture and some quirky details!

Name: Inga Location: Gahanna, Ohio I live in a 746 square foot one bedroom apartment on the first floor, in a newly built apartment community in Gahanna, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. Since I was the first tenant to occupy this particular unit, it really feels like MY home. It’s located in a great area, surrounded by premiere shopping centers, as well as a 10-minute drive to work, which is a major plus. I would label my aesthetic as transitional and ever-changing (literally.

Name: Vivienne Location: Singapore, Malaysia My profession is trading but I have always dreamt of being an interior stylist. I’ve lived in Singapore for ten years, and this is the first apartment I’ve owned by myself and I’ve decided to treat it as a project to turn the plain condominium into my dream space. I’m a world traveller and have visited more than 40 countries. My home is therefore a mix of styles – a little bit of everything.

Name: Ursula Location: Logan Square — Chicago, Illinois I moved to Chicago from Los Angeles earlier this year and found a teensy apartment in my favorite neighborhood, a block from the center. I’m a baker professionally and use my home kitchen for recipe testing, so it took me a while to figure out how to utilize the narrow, poorly lit space.

Name: Johan & Jose Location: Silver Lake —Los Angeles, California We are Jose and Johan from Los Angeles. We recently moved to a newly renovated rental in Silver Lake, one of LA’s busiest and most eclectic neighborhoods. We’ve always loved this part of town, and it’s a convenient location for both of us as it’s close to our respective jobs. We love the space for its openness. The 500 square foot one-bedroom feels spacious thanks to the abundant natural light.

Name: Reka Location: Budapest, Hungary Our remodeled apartment in the hills of Budapest is living out its 9 lives in full style. The 45 square meter/485 square foot space is situated in a 1930s Bauhaus style villa, and was originally a chauffeur’s apartment until the ’40s, when my great-uncle bought the place and settled in with his wife.

Name: Micaela Location: Bouldin Creek —Austin, Texas I am a Texan through and through, more importantly: a true Austinite. I was born and raised in Austin, TX and can’t bring myself to leave. I absolutely love the city and the energy it exudes. I have lived in my current 620 square foot apartment in the central neighborhood of Bouldin Creek for about three years. I love the place; the outsides of the buildings look like 1970s log cabins and all of the windows in my unit face trees.

Name: Christa Location: South End — Boston, Massachusetts My little home on Dartmouth Street in Boston is my favorite place on Earth. It is about 550 square feet on the parlor level of a brick row house. Being a corner building I have windows on three sides which makes the snug space feel a bit grand. The ceilings are about 10 feet and have one big exposed brick wall in the living/dining room. My style is simple, a mix of affordable staples and found items through the years.

Name: Tara Location: Park Slope — Brooklyn, New York I moved into this charming pre-war Park Slope apartment less than a year ago and had to have it when I discovered the outdoor space. It’s the first Brooklyn apartment I’ve lived in on my own and I’ve dressed it up with all of my favorite design elements: simplicity, rustic and elegance—not to mention travel-inspired touches.

Name: Monica Location: Cathedral Park — Portland, Oregon My husband and I relocated to Portland this past April from Los Angeles. We’re both from the midwest, and we love the way this city combines all of our favorite aspects of home (family friendliness, slower pace lifestyle, nature, trees, water, swim holes) with everything we loved about living in L.A. (great art, culture, work, amazing food).

Name: Lili & Dwayne Location: Paris, France Dwayne (my husband) and I live in a one bedroom apartment in the North East of Paris, by the park Les Buttes Chaumont. I met Dwayne in New York when I was an intern at the Metropolitan Opera. We lived in Los Angeles together and got married in Lyon, where I still had my student apartment. We are both creatives working in the film industry and last year we decided to live in Paris.

Name: Abby & Chris Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina These pictures are from the first home my husband Chris and I shared together in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in a really pretty neighborhood called Glen Lennox. The homes were built in the 1950s, and they are little one story red brick units with lots of beautiful old oak trees and wonderful walking paths. Our unit had a lot of charming old features (beautiful hardwood floors! adorable tiny stove!

Name: Anna Location: Tonbridge —Kent, United Kingdom We bought our home four years ago and since then have spent ages totally remodeling it, taking it from dated and chintzy to colourful and modern! The overall building is Victorian and was converted in the 1970s from one large house into a well proportioned front half and a higgledy piggledy back half (which used to be the servants quarters) and which become our home.

Name: Josef Location: Vrsovice — Prague, Czech Republic Josef, a 34 year old, Czech media professional, purchased this apartment in the hip Prague neighborhood of Vrsovice in 2009 and did little to no renovation, so last year he asked his friend Daniele, a 34 year old Italian interior designer, to help revamp the entire apartment. With a small budget available, they tried to save money on builders and did most of the work themselves apart from electric and plumbing.

Name: Ashley Mary Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Hello! My name is Ashley Mary of @ashleymaryart. I’m a freelance abstract painter and illustrator. I live and work out of a small, older apartment in Minneapolis with white built-ins that is charming as all get-out. I’m a frugal SOB so I pride myself on a finding unique and affordable decor that feels custom to my story and flavor. I want a space to feel above all bright, white and light so I can make colorful/crazy art.

Name: Jody Location: Carlsbad, California Our mid-century modern home is located in South Carlsbad, California. It was first owned by musician Harry James and model/actress Betty Grable and was a hangout for The Rat Pack. It was later owned by Dustin Hoffman. What initially sold me on the house was the 15 foot copper doors and giant wall that leads into a courtyard. The home is 2,900 square feet and mostly windows or doors that open up to the outside.

Name: Jaclyn Location: Park Slope — Brooklyn, New York We are a young married couple living in Park Slope Brooklyn, trying to survive in New York, and our one bedroom apartment is absolutely everything to us! For starters, it is 75% MIRRORED… the kitchen cabinets, the kitchen island, the bathroom cabinets, both walls of the bedroom. It’s the very first thing people notice and talk about.

Name: Joanna Location: Silver Lake — Los Angeles, California When we saw this house, it was love at first sight. The lofted ceilings, leaded glass windows and striking dark wood floors knocked our socks off. Not to mention it had room for our little one who was on the way. My husband is an animation director and I’m an art director/interior designer, so having an inspiring place to live and work was extremely important, as well as having a walkable neighborhood.

Name: Janelle Location: Santa Ana, California I live in an 800 square foot industrial loft in Santa Ana, California. My apartment is located inside of an old spiral staircase factory, and my design studio is just downstairs. I choose to live here because as a creative entrepreneur it offers me flexibility in my daily workflow. Plus I love being surrounded by other artists, there is always someone around to bounce ideas off of. My studio is filled with all of my favorite things.

Name: Celine Location: East Bay, California I am an Interior Designer and would like to share how I styled my small, sweet apartment. Our apartment is located East Bay, California and is 1250 square feet. The first time I walked through this apartment, I truly felt at peace and believed that we could do something special here. Our style is eclectic, airy and chic. My husband, who is from Africa, wanted to keep a breeze of Africa as well. I worked to create a space that feels like home to us.

Name: Candida & Jeff Location: San Francisco, California My husband (Jeff) and I have lived in our tiny but ridiculously charming Apartment for around two years. We both wanted a home with charm, built in the 1920s and close to the ocean. We were looking at Studio and Jr one bedroom homes in San Francisco. I had actually been browsing Apartment Therapy to get inspo on how to decorate a small space, and saw a feature of a home that converted their walk in closet into a bedroom.

Name: Vanessa Location: Montréal-West — Québec, Canada Our home is a Craftsman style semi-detached brownstone built in 1926. The character and charm of the house’s architectural details are what sold us when we purchased it three years ago. The previous owners made us PROMISE that we would never paint over the woodwork or coffered ceilings as they were original features of the home.

Name: Sunny Location: Williamsburg — Brooklyn, New York I moved into this apartment in 2009 with a roommate when I was 26, needless to say it has gone through MANY changes, from bad vintage furniture to a lace teepee in the middle of the living room, to finally, my little sanctuary that I call home. My husband and I share this modest 700 square foot, two bedroom apartment and I love coming home to it.

Name: Tracey and Ruben Location: Loganville, Georgia Our 1,600 square foot apartment was featured as a House Call two years ago. In May of this year we purchased a 2,900 square foot home, our forever home, and we didn’t buy a thing! Not one piece of furniture. The only thing we’ve had to purchase are window treatments. Our new home has a ton of windows and a lot of natural light and we love it!

Name: Farida Location: IJburg — Amsterdam, Netherlands I live on the man-made island of IJburg, developed on reclaimed land in the former lake IJmeer. There is one bridge connecting IJburg to the rest of Amsterdam. The first residents moved to the neighborhood in 2002. I moved here in 2005, to a newly built apartment (900 square feet). I love living here because of the modern architecture, proximity to the lake and back in 2005 it was affordable to buy an apartment.

Name: Veronica Location: Vicenza, Italy Hi! I’m Veronica! I’ve lived with my husband Giuseppe and our cat Spulcy in our rented apartment for almost ten years. Our home is located in the heart of Vicenza, a city in Palladio in the north of Italy. I’m a designer in an artisanal leather factory and a visual artist. Giuseppe is a teacher of graphic design and an artist as well. Our style is eclectic, a little boho, and we love to customize our furniture and walls.

Name: Annie & Rush Location: Riverdale Park, Maryland I’m in public relations and Rush is an artist. We live in Riverdale Park, Maryland in a 1904 rambler with our cat, Osmond. Our neighborhood is in Prince George’s County, an inner-Beltway suburb of D.C. where we were both born and raised, so when we decided to buy a house it naturally felt like home. We bought our house in 2015 after months of hunting for an affordable apartment. Rents in the D.C.

Name: Ana Maria Location: Ottawa — Ontario, Canada I own an 800 square foot condo in the heart of downtown Ottawa. I have lived in the unit for exactly three years as of today. I purchased the unit for its open concept style and spacious rooms which makes it feel larger than it actually is. I was also attracted to the condo’s classic and high quality finishes that don’t go out of style. My decor style is classic rather than trendy.

Name: Nicole & Dave Location: Baltimore, Maryland Nicole and Dave are an artist and designer couple who discovered this hidden 900 square foot gem nestled in South Baltimore. Previously a box factory, the industrial-chic apartment boasts one bedroom, one bathroom and a studio with high ceilings and plenty of natural light. The space was furnished with modern pieces and a growing art collection that play off of the bold window lines and brick work.

Name: Ashley Location: Portland, Maine When my fiancé and I moved back to Portland almost two years ago, a lot had changed. Portland had become not just the place to visit, but the place to live. It has many of the same features as bigger cities like New York, but with the easy of a small city. While we knew we wanted to find a place we could make into a home to live in for a while, we didn’t know how hard it would be to find. Real estate had changed.

Name: Audra Location: Parkfairfax — Alexandria, Virginia Our 900 square foot condo is located in Parkfairfax, one of the greenest residential areas in the DC metropolitan area. Built in the 1940s, it has plenty of little quirks that you can expect to find in an older home, but we love how it’s built with solid materials like sturdily laid brick and solid woods.

Name: Maria Location: Moscow, Russia Located in the old district of Arbat in Moscow, Russia, our three bed city center penthouse has lots of charm with its mix of modern and historical. Black marble retro fireplace, a mix of updated granite and original hardwood flooring, tall ceilings with crown molding and bright rooms. It’s a modest 128 square meters (1,378 square feet) but its layout makes our space feel bigger. Originally from the United States, we moved to Moscow as expats.

Name: Jody Location: Round Hill, Virginia We lived in a 3,500 square-foot house, and owned five other traditional American homes. One day, when looking over finances, we realized we were both working to support our home. The house owned us. At the same time, we’d been questioning our carbon footprint. I “blame” that on the Solar Decathlon.

Name: Mollie Location: West Loop —Chicago, Illinois My husband, Dave, and I have lived in this space for a little over a year. Prior to moving in we did an entire gut rehab of the space. The condo was originally a factory that was later converted to residential condos (imagine maple cabinets and dark granite counter tops).

Name: Victoria of Prospect Refuge Studio Location: Fulton Neighborhood —Minneapolis, Minnesota It’s been said that the house is “built like a ship” with a use for every space and nothing extra. This simple 1920s foursquare on the south end of Lake Harriet was ripe for a refresh when Minneapolis designer, and co-owner of Prospect Refuge Studio, bought it in 2014.

Name: Max & Mia (2 years and 3 months) Location: Austin, Texas My son Maxwell’s black and white nursery was actually featured on Apartment Therapy when he was born in 2014. When I found out I was expecting another baby just 14 months later, I was excited to update the nursery to welcome our baby girl. We absolutely needed another bed or crib and a larger dresser to make room for two kiddos.

Name: Mia Location: Bed-Stuy — Brooklyn, New York I live with my boyfriend and our roommate in a charming two-bedroom brownstone in Bed-Stuy. It is a fairly tiny (700 square feet) home, but it is very cozy and charismatic. The boys are from Florida and comically obsessed with orange so that color can be found all over the apartment.

Name: Gina Location: Canberra — Australian Capital Territory, Australia Located in the leafy suburb of Hughes, Canberra, Australia, our newly built architectural home uses contemporary black metal cladding and red brick to connect the house with the more traditional homes in the area. We originally bought the land nine years ago with a small white brick house on the block and made some renovations immediately to make the house liveable.

Name: Ana Location: Tacoma, Washington After a long house hunt last year, I bought my first home in early October. It is a 1921 fixer-upper craftsman with good bones that I bought in lieu of having the money to buy a “nicer” place. But after much elbow grease I now have the house I couldn’t afford! I am a special events designer by day and I run an online vintage shop by night. I think my space is unique as it is a showcases of my eclectic worldly style on a budget.

Name: Jess Location: Ravenswood — Chicago, Illinois When I moved to Chicago for a job I looked at a ton of apartments. I had a couple showings on a Sunday I was in town, but Chicago was hit with one of the worst snow storms that day and all the brokers canceled on me but one. I told him I really wanted to see the place and he said if I made my way up to the apartment from the Loop he would be there as well.