Simple Chic

With a gorgeous outdoor space to lounge in, this rental apartment is much more than a studio, even though the rent is the price of a studio.

Name: Kachet Jackson-Henderson Location: Sacramento, California Size: 450 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting As a creative consultant, the writer at The Kachet Life, and the founder of The Blog Bloc, Kachet Jackson-Henderson needs a home where she can live, unwind, and work in. Though only 450 square feet, this Sacramento studio apartment is just the space.

This author's style is best described as "minimalist chic influenced by the beauty and diversity of the African diaspora."

Following the end of a romantic relationship, Farah decided to remain in the 400-square-foot space she had shared with her partner. But doing so required a re-design.

Name: Becky Elfes-Terjung and Cliff Lance Location: Piedmont Avenue — Oakland, California Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 6 years; rented When Becky took on a job as a display artist at Anthropologie, she would constantly bring home leftover scraps from work. This is where her love of plywood grew, as it provided her with a blank canvas that allowed her to be as creative as possible.

Name: Emily Kim Location: Pioneer Square — Seattle, Washington Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Ever since I saw Emily’s first Instagram post of her new Pioneer Square apartment back in January, I’ve been hounding her about doing a house tour: “Are you ready yet? I mean, no pressure!” Then quietly, “But, are you ready yet?

Name: Andreea Cristina, husband Bryan Gaul, and two cats and one dog Location: Los Angeles, California Size: 850 square feet Years Lived In: 6 months, renting As a beauty blogger with over a million Instagram followers, Andreea Cristina of Simply Andreea rarely stays in one place for very long. Having both sponsorships that take her around the world and a professional soccer player for a husband means a lot of traveling and not a lot of time spent at home.

Name: Winkie Visser and my husband Edgar Location: Eindhoven, the Netherlands Size: 1,184 square feet Years lived in: 15 years, owned Edgar’s grandpa had worked at Dutch technology company Philips for 43 years when he finally retired. It felt like a whimsical coincidence for him to be living in one of the so-called “Austrian (Philips) houses” some time later. These houses were bought by Philips back in the 1950s to accommodate their employees in an era of housing shortage.

Name: Jamie Nuccio, my cat, Ruby Location: West Loop — Chicago, Illinois Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned As soon as I walked into this space, I had a strong gut feeling that it was “the one” (it was only the second place that I toured when I started my condo search!).

Name: Adam LaGreca and Gabriela Gallegos Location: Clinton Hill — Brooklyn, NY Size: 650 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Adam was coming from a minimalist studio already in the neighborhood. Gabriela was coming from the East Village, where she could walk to her office in Astor Place. They both were tired of packing overnight bags, and after five years of dating, knew it may be time to combine forces.

Interior designer and stylist Elaine Burns has taken a small studio apartment and turned it into a cozy, functional home.

"I realized that the time and emotional energy devoted to physical things could be better spent elsewhere. This was the spark that led me to my tiny home lifestyle."

Name: Barrett Wilbert Weed Location: Hell’s Kitchen — NYC Size: 400 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Much of the gossip surrounding this year’s Tonys centers around the Mean Girls musical, inspired of course by the movie of the same name (a movie that was written by Tina Fey and has a devoted and quote-reciting cult following).

Name: Emily Zirimis and Jesus Antoshka Location: Bushwick — Brooklyn, New York Size: Honestly unsure! Years lived in: Almost 2 years, renting Emily and her boyfriend Jesus must have felt like they won the lottery when they landed their Bushwick apartment. Their place has a lot going for it: It’s in an increasingly hip area, features original architectural details, and boasts a dressing room for Emily and a pottery room for Jesus. Oh, and the rent is reasonable.

Name: Shilpa Rajahamsa and Aditya Srivathsan Location: St-Henri — Montreal Size: 750 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned Shilpa and Aditya both grew up in India and moved to North America in their early twenties. Their taste is a mix of both worlds and their home’s style could be described as eclectic and contemporary… with a touch of Indian. Creativity and an appreciation for craftsmanship run deep for this couple.

Name: Rachael Bennett and cute puppy, Kuma Location: Crown Heights — Brooklyn, NY Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, renting Architect Rachael Bennett doesn’t think you should be scared of designing without color. “I find many people think that ‘neutrals’ or ‘black and white’ is either going to be boring (beige on beige on beige, or worse, sterile and cold),” she writes.

Cindy is a jewelry designer and fiber artist and shares this bright North Hollywood home with her husband Matt.

Name: Maria Branco, Bruno Sabino, and their puppy Kilo Location: Lindale Park — Houston, Texas Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting Maria Branco is an interior designer, jewelry maker, and artist living in Houston, Texas with her husband Bruno. After moving to the U.S. from their native home of Lisbon, Portugal, they are renting an 800-square-foot garage apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood just miles north of downtown Houston.

Name: Maeve Stier (and dog Weaver) Location: Back Bay — Boston, Massachusetts Size: 515 square feet Years lived in: Rented 1 year When Maeve and her dog Weaver moved to Boston last July, the first apartment they looked at fit the bill just perfectly. It was in the ideal location, had tall ceilings with intricate molding, lots of natural light, wooden floors, and was dog-friendly! Maeve signed on the spot and became a resident of the hip Back Bay neighborhood.

Name: Erica A. Jacobs and cat Luci Location: Uptown — New Orleans, Louisiana Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Erica Jacobs runs a nature-based, holistic home design company called Between Red & Violet, where she offers services ranging from space planning to landscaping. She defines holistic home design as an “intuitive and perceptual process rooted in physiology, sociology, and psychology designed to enhance well-being.

Erin Hung, the founder behind the London-based stationery company BerinMade, remodeled this small Hong Kong apartment with her husband Ben.

Name: Jaclyn and Jeff King Location: Dallas, Texas Size: 264 square feet Jaclyn’s earliest memories of design and appreciation for all things eclectic began with her grandmother and memories of tagging along with her to antique shops and trade shows where she and her aunt worked as vendors under the name “Two Dumb Dames.” Even at 80, her grandmother’s sense of style reflected her personality—bold, beautiful, and an uncompromising flair for independence.

Name: Hilary Padget and Anthony Harrington Location: The Heights — Jersey City, New Jersey Size: 1050 square feet interior (plus 230 square foot garage) Years lived in: 2 years, owned This isn’t the first time Hilary and Anthony’s home has appeared on Apartment Therapy. Way back in 2008, they were the winners of our fourth Small Cool Contest, with this 460 square foot Brooklyn studio featuring a very stylish and smart lofted bed.

Name: Lee Tilghman Location: Koreatown, Los Angeles Years lived in: 8 months, renting When Lee Tilghman moved from New York City to Los Angeles a little over two years ago, she initially rented another apartment. But the building this Koreatown apartment is located in had great bones, Art Deco details, “amazing light and was central to everything I wanted to get to in LA,” says Lee. So she made the move to where she lives now!

Name: Ben and Viv Yapp, and their two little sons Covey and Arlo Location: Bristol, UK Size: 1,450 square feet Years lived in: Owned 1.5 years Having been in London for over 10 years, my husband and I finally decided to leave our little flat and moved to the countryside in Bristol.

Total minimalism can be hard to achieve for many of us who have a love of art, accessories, furniture and stuff. But often, many of us crave the peacefulness that homes described as “minimal” can offer. I think there’s a type of room design that still exudes calm while celebrating some stuff. I call it: “minimal plus.

Name: Justine Fowler, Angus Bennett, and baby OscarLocation: Downtown Toronto, CanadaSize: Approximately 1200 square feetYears lived in: 2.5 years; Owned She’s a fashion professional and he’s a great chef. Together they own one of Toronto’s most popular (and delicious) restaurants. Is it any wonder that their home is also delectable? The stylish and creative pair renovated a 120-year-old downtown home, and the result is simply beautiful.

Name: Rebecca Proctor, Andrew Wightman and baby WrenLocation: Bude, Cornwall, UKSize: 780 square feetYears lived in: 4 years; Owned Moving to the Cornish countryside from London four years ago, Andrew and Rebecca embraced a major design challenge. “We knew that we wanted to create a home that would feel cosy but not cluttered. Moving to the countryside was all about living a simple life and we wanted the house to reflect that.

Name: Julie Chamberlain and Jesper Kaalund Location: Haut Marais, Paris, France Size: 710 square feet (66 square meters) Years lived in: 2 years, rented At 37 weeks pregnant, Julie Chamberlain doesn’t do much dancing these days, but that doesn’t stop her from listening to her favorite tunes. One morning last month, independent Canadian music streamed from her laptop, providing a restful soundtrack just right for readying her beautiful one-bedroom apartment in Paris for a new baby.

Name: Nicolas, Fabienne, daughters Juliette (13) and Capucine (9 1/2), Burmese cats Won Ton and Dim Sum, and Old English Sheepdog puppy BoweeLocation: Clapham/Battersea, London, United KingdomSize: 2310 square feetYears lived in: 1 1/2 years; owned As French transplants to London, Nicholas and Fabienne describe their style as “a bit different” to that of the average British person.