Small Spaces

This apartment is one of three located in a house built in 1900, and many original charming historic details like exposed brick, a built-in bookshelf, and original doors were preserved.

The house in Serbia's countryside was built in the ’50s and needed a really massive renovation, and Sanja and Igor spent more than two years remodeling it.

Creative director Willow Rothbart's style in her small Los Angeles studio apartment's style is a mix of industrial, minimalist, and a touch of transitional.

This micro studio was renovated from an old brownstone, so it has a lot of classic charm like beautiful arched windows and an ornately carved mantel.

When Carley first moved into this small studio apartment, the "backyard" only had a picnic table and a chain link fence. After a trip to Lowe's and a few hundred bucks' worth of lumber, she built a fence and crafted the perfect outdoor living space.

The decoration of Van Anh Langelaan's apartment is tremendously budget-friendly, with vintage furniture, DIY-wall decor, and even an old dresser she refurbished and painted herself.

For the past 10 years, Abbe Wright's small rental apartment has been her sanctuary during a hurricane, breakup, a death in the family, and job changes. But it's also been where she's celebrated new jobs, gathered travel collectibles and family heirlooms, and found love.

Angelo and his boyfriend's strongest ability to decorate their small apartment is refurbishing old furniture to fit a more modern style (like their kitchen table, coffee table trunk, kitchen chairs) and they love creating art and furniture from scratch.

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."

Sarai Reed, April Lawrence, and their dog, Lambo Reed-Lawrence, share this small one-bedroom condo. Their style is equal parts mid-century modern-inspired, uncluttered, and full of plants, which translates very nicely into a style you could call Lush Minimalism.

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

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.

Paul — better known as @plantmepaul on Instagram — shares this small rental apartment with a roommate, beautiful brick walls, natural light, and tons of plants!

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

Jesse and Alastair love the bones of this apartment in a beautiful old Art Deco building and have filled it with an eclectic mix of antiques, vintage furniture, and modern art.

When longtime New York City resident and Francophile Meghan Donovan moved to her new apartment last August, she knew right off the bat that she wanted to create her own slice of Paris in Brooklyn.

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

Heather has spent the last 14 months redoing every inch of this small rental studio apartment on a budget.

Even though this Denver studio apartment is small, it feels like it has distinct rooms like a bedroom, dining, office, and living thanks to a good layout and the use of open and closed storage.

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

Karst started with a neutral blank canvas when he began renting this tiny studio, which he's filled with plants, thrifted finds, and cool murals.

It's like a "Gay Man’s Modern Victorian Apothecary."

Conan and Katherine bought this falling apart vintage camper for $600, and have spent the last year or so DIYing an adorable home-away-from-home, inside and out.

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

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.

Designer Jamila Scarlett and her 13-year-old twins have owned this 350-square-foot houseboat, a 1976 Coho Chris Craft with vintage mahogany, for five months.

And it's positively PACKED with clever budget decorating DIY ideas!

There's an entryway, living area, dining area, library/office area, and sleeping area!

The biggest challenge was mastering the layout of a studio apartment and figuring out my storage situation. Using underbed storage for cameras, photo supplies, and out-of-season clothing saved the day!

Architecture and landscape architecture graduate student Caleb Brackney bought a 36’ 1995 Thomas International school bus on Facebook Marketplace in February 2020 for $3K. The rest of his only 10k budget he spent on turning the bus to a tiny house one wheels.

Like installing pink peel and stick backsplash tiles, replacing fixtures and hardware such as handles, light switches, faucets, and more!

This little in-law studio is behind a house and it's perfect and right down the street from a cute little downtown area.

Former Small/Cool Contest winner Pamela Kaupinen's tiny apartment has had to turn into many different things during quarantine, including a home office and gym! See how she fit more functions in her small space with this updated look at her NYC rental apartment.

Painting was a budget-friendly way for Angie Eng to elevate her studio apartment, helping to keep the "rooms" aesthetically separate, but still fluid.

Decorating her home is an outlet for her creative energy and most of the brightly colored paintings scattered throughout the space are her own.