Reader Submissions

Name: Darien, Matt, and two rescue dogs, Jagger and Wile E. Location: Culver City — Los Angeles, California The basics: 2 years, rented |3,000 square feet What started as a simple search for garage space turned into a very lucky home find. Darien and Matt not only found the motorcycle and car storage they were looking for, they found an airy and cool living space as well.

Name: Mohammed & Sally Location: Point Breeze/East End — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania The basics: Two years, rented | 1,065 square feet Mohammed’s Pittsburgh apartment is full of the kind of antique charm that seems to only fall into the hands of TV characters and beach read heroines. Not one to rest on the laurels of enviable wood paneling, he has filled the space to the brim with stunning finds and impressive DIY upgrades. Can we move in?

Name: Janna, her husband and two other families Location: Mohave Valley, Arizona The Basics: Around 3 months, owned 2,400 square feet Building a house from scratch is tough. Building a house from scratch that is going to eventually be the vacation home of three families is extra tough. Janna’s vacation home manages to blend style, function, fun and enough space for a whole host of people.

Name: Iná Location: Copacabana — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The basics: 2 + years renting | 200 square feet Iná’s small studio is so open and bright, it looks much more expansive than its small footprint would lead you to believe. Yellow pops out against crisp white, while plants add some earthiness. Tell us a little about your home and the people who live there: My home is a tiny, 200 square foot studio apartment. Although it is very small, it has everything I actually need.

Name: Will, Florent and Dolly, a Mini Holland Lop bunny Location: West Hollywood, California The basics: 10 months renting Will and Florent’s Hollywood abode is full of small, unexpected moments of delight (spot the bunny!) and fantastic found pieces that give the space a welcoming feel. Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: I live here with my boyfriend, Florent, and our Mini Holland Lop bunny, Dolly.

Name: Stephen and Bobby, their son Cole and beta fish Riley Location: Beacon Hill/Georgetown — Seattle, Washington The basics: 7 years owned | 1,200 square feet and 800 square feet Airbnb Stephen and Bobby’s home is designed to beat the Seattle winter blahs while making the most of the city’s gorgeous summer. A mix of texture and color help create a cozy, mid-century modern oasis in the Emerald City.

Name: Kate & Joff Reid Location: Southsea, England The basics: 2 years, Rented | 580 square feet Kate and Joff’s Southsea home is cute but not precious, curated but not staged, pink but not aggressively pink. Basically, they’ve mastered the art of balancing personality, fun and design all in one adorable space.

Name: James and two cats, Otis and Faisca Location: Ridgewood — Queens, New York The basics: 4 years renting | 650 square feet James’ moody glam apartment is a visual feast. There are so many little treasures tucked in next to bold pieces, all against dreamily dark walls.

Name: Sara Location: Singapore The basics: Rented for 2 years We got a glimpse of Sara and Nick three years ago when they were in Cambridge and now the globe-trotting couple has landed in Singapore. Two years in they are focused on creating a home that feels like them. Tell us a little about your home and the people who live there: We moved to Singapore from Cambridge (check out our first home tour on Apartment Therapy) and into faculty housing.

Name: Matthew & Joanna the Chihuahua Location: West Seattle — Seattle, Washington The basics: Rented for 1 year | 1,000 square feet Matthew’s cottage was run down and overrun with ivy when he first purchased it and he turned it into a boldly bright beaut of a home. An impressive mix of upcycling, thrifting and plant-parenthood, “gay gardens” is chock full of vibrant and interesting pieces.

Name: Madeline Location: Upper West Side — New York, New York Madeline and Michael have blended their respective styles to make a cozy and comfortable home in a charming brownstone. From Madeline: It’s a cozy little place on the fifth floor of a walk-up converted brownstone on what we think is the most beautiful street in New York.

Name: Anouska Location: Dulwich — London, United Kingdom Anouska, an interior designer, and her partner have taken the already good bones of a nineteenth century English terrace house and truly made them sing. The perfectly balanced use of bold colors, beautiful furniture and charming accents give the home a bright sophisticated look.

Name: Eileen and Walter the golden retriever Location: Upper East Side — New York, New York The basics: 5.5 years, rented We love the charming and approachable functionality of Eileen’s apartment. Fitting a busy life AND a golden retriever into a New York studio is no easy feat, and Eileen manages to do it with style. Tell Us a Little About Yourself: I’m a native New Yorker who had lived in the diaspora (Boston & DC) for 10 years before returning to NYC.

Name: Julie Location: Tulsa, Oklahoma In 2012, we bought a basically abandoned three story brick building through our family real estate company. Over the next three years, we (along with a team of professionals) renovated the building while doing everything we could to preserve its character. The end result is 24 apartments that combine the charm of 100+ year-old brick walls with the warmth of solid oak cabinets and hand-built custom finishes.

Name: Georgiana Location: Adams Morgan/Dupont Circle — Washington, D.C. I live on the 7th floor of a building built in 1923 in Adams Morgan/Dupont Circle neighborhood (I can never tell which it is), there are definitely some quirks to such an old building, the elevator for example is terrifying – a fair-weather metal box that is not built for anyone that has an aversion to elevators that may or may not work.

Name: Kelsey Location: Washington, D.C. Sara and I moved in together almost two years ago. I had lived in shared houses ever since college and was thrilled to create a home with Sara where we could welcome our friends and family and offer a little calm in the storm of D.C. Our home is filled with vintage pieces and IKEA finds that we have upgraded with modern details like knobs and pulls from Rejuvenation and Anthropologie.

Name: Jess Location: Duboce — San Francisco, California I moved into this one bedroom almost four years ago and shared it with my best friend. It’s only 500 square feet, so by the time that I took over the space fully, I was ready to make it my own. My style is very bright, bohemian and eclectic. I’m a story producer at Pinterest so I love having things around me that tie back to stories, like a place or trip.

Name: Cherie Location: Portland, Oregon Myself, my boyfriend Nick, and our three cats Charlie, Sue, and Gigi (yes 3 cats, I know we’re crazy), plus our beta fish Fajita live in our one-bedroom apartment in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. We’ve been here for over four years now and it truly feels like home. Our neighborhood is the best; we’re two blocks away from Laurelhurst park and can walk to all our favorite restaurants and bars.

Name: Tommaso Location: Union City, New Jersey Ok, so I live in my one bedroom apartment with my “son in a dog suit”, Harley, (he really calls the shots around here.) I’ve lived in Union City for about a year. It is the next city North from Jersey City. I recently finished the broadway show “Jersey Boys” and before that I was on tour for a few years, so once I bought this place, I was really ready to fill it up with all the ideas running around in my head.

Name: Eric and Lori Location: North High Shoals, Georgia Eric and Lori’s Georgia farmhouse is filled with so much color and texture but stops short of overloading you with whimsy. Each room has its own distinct personality, and we’d happily set up shop in any of them! From Eric: Our home was built around 1898 in North High Shoals, GA just a stone’s throw from the Apalachee River.

Name: Brittini Location: Elk City, Oklahoma Brittini’s house is so full of cool antiques and thrifted finds, you have to pay very close attention to figure out that her home is “newer” because it’s so filled with trendy personality. From Brittini: Our home is occupied by me, my husband, our wild 18-month-old daughter, and our four 4-legged compadres. We live in a small town in Western Oklahoma, in our 1,300 square foot brick home.

Name: Tamera Location: Falconhead, Bee Cave – Texas Tamera’s apartment is filled with lights and plants and a super dreamy door. It also serves as a great space for Tamera to build and foster relationships within her apartment community. From Tamera: We love our two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,137 square foot apartment right outside of Austin, Texas.

Name: Elizabeth Location: Orange County, California Elizabeth shares her stylish Orange County home with her boyfriend. A perfect blend of their styles, the space is designed to be a chill and and inviting spot, perfect for hosting. From Elizabeth: Welcome to our sunny Orange County apartment! We have just over 1,000 square feet and live in a pretty standard apartment complex. There are about 50 other units and we chose to live in close proximity to my boyfriend Jared’s workplace.

Name: Elyse Location: New York, New York Elyse and her husband have added a considerable amount of character to their 830 square foot rental. With a strong paint choice, smartly mixed styles and pops of green, their place may be short on the historic elements they loved in their former home but it’s long on charm.

Name: Bridget Location: Lakeview — Chicago, Illinois Once Upon a Time in the Land of Chicago, a young woman named Bridget followed a magical road (Craigslist) to a big, yet unloved castle (a one-bedroom). She took one look at the space that many had overlooked and knew that with a little love care, and deep-clean magic she and the apartment could live happily ever after. From Bridget: Welcome to my vintage 750 square foot apartment in the Lakeview neighborhood in Chicago.

Name: Erin Location: Riverdale — Toronto, Ontario Erin’s Toronto home is full of clean lines and up-cycled style. She’s created a space that is both family friendly, totally functional and full of covetable finds. Her motto? “Style your home with love”! From Erin: Our home is located in a neighborhood in Riverdale, Toronto. It is a three-story, standard-looking, 100-plus-year-old historic Toronto home.

Name: Nicole Location: Red Deer — Alberta, Canada Our home is an ongoing experiment, forever changing as I bring in new pieces and try new things. I love experimenting with fresh and innovative ideas. Many of my clients squirm at the idea, but in the end, if I’m not willing to try something in my own space, how can I convince a client to do it in theirs? Built in 1973, our four-bedroom, 1,374 square foot four-level split gives me lots of different rooms to play in.

Name: Liz Location: Stockbridge — Edinburgh, Scotland I’m a New Yorker, living in Edinburgh, married to a Scotsman with a chatty baby boy. I regularly daydream about art, design, interiors, Mid-century modern furniture, wallpaper, the color yellow, and all things brand while navigating being a new mama. Why Edinburgh? My lovely Scottish husband told me “It was every Scotsman’s duty to make someone fall in love with Scotland”. It worked.

Name: Nicole Location: Park Slope — Brooklyn, New York Nicole’s house hunt was not easy (when are house hunts ever easy?) but after putting in a couple of years on the search she found this beaut. Faced with an outdated exterior and not enough room in her budget for an overhaul, Nicole got creative and decided to go to the dark side. From Nicole: It took us two and a half years to find our home. We had so many aggressive buyers outbidding us every time.

Name: Noelle Location: Salt Lake City, Utah I live in a vintage one-bedroom, one-studio, living/dining room, with a porch in downtown Salt Lake City after relocating from Chicago two years ago. There are so many amazing little details that make this apartment timelessly beautiful. It faces east towards the Wasatch Mountains, and in the morning and throughout the day there is so much light I rarely turn on my lights. Which is a good thing because there is only one electrical outlet per room!

Name: Anna Location: Baltimore, Maryland Anna’s studio in Baltimore is a warm and cozy, multi-functional space. She’s created designated areas giving the room a nice flow and the space is blessed with plenty of natural light, making the studio look roomier than it is. From Anna: I live in a 450 square foot studio apartment in the historic Mt. Vernon Neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland.

Name: Tracy, Jason and Lucy the Chihuahua Location: Historic Village — Zionsville, Indiana Tracy and Jason have a bright, clean and modern aesthetic that makes their 1890s historic home sing. After moving around for a bit their new home has beautiful hardwood floors, enviable amounts of natural light all in a seriously quaint small town. After a year in their space the home looks curated yet warm and is still a work in progress.

Name: Virginia Location: Madrid, Spain The goals of the redesign of our duplex penthouse in the western area of Madrid were to achieve spacious rooms, and bring natural light to areas that did not have it, such as the hall. Another one of the goals was to connect the exterior with the interior through large windows in the kitchen and living room that overlook the terrace that the apartment has on the ground floor.

Name: Rachelle Location: Berkeley, California Welcome to my mid-century rainbow bohemian cottage in the Berkeley hills! I’ve lived in the Bay Area for over fifteen years, and do a lot of hiking. When the opportunity came about to move a block away from some of my favorite trails, I was thrilled! The cottage is about 525 square feet, and sits behind the main house.

Name: Elena Location: Sunset Hills — Lawrence, Kansas Elena’s “cookie cutter” home in Kansas looks anything but. Full of calming blues and grays the palate is serene and the furniture provides pops of color and the art ads some funky style. From Elena: My husband and I were on a house hunt about two years ago when we stumbled across this 1998 ranch.