Tours

Name: Janet Varney, her boyfriend Brandon, and dogs Scott and Whitley. Location: Hollywood Hills — Los Angeles, California Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 14 years, owned Colorful with patterns and textures, actress Janet Varney‘s home is also airy and relaxing…surely a much-needed respite from her busy career. She was the voice of Korra in the animated television series “The Legend of Korra.

Name: Marianne Tolosa and my husband, Jamie, and our two cats, Pickles and Suki. Location: Falls Church, Virginia Size: 1,600 square feet Years lived in: 4 years owned, but we just created the co-working space 3 months ago When looking to buy our home one of our most important criteria was finding a house with a cozy entertaining space.

Name: Genevieve Danger Berrick Location: Echo Park — Los Angeles, California Size: 900(ish) square feet Years Lived In: 1 year, renting Family legend has it that when Genevieve was 3 years old she firmly informed her mother that she would no longer be wearing pink. And she stood by her word until she rediscovered the color and its place in her east side home. “I decided to really lean into my enjoyment of it.

Name: Michaela Grut and family Location: Lidingö — Stockholm, Sweden Size: 1,936 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned Michaela Grut comes from a creative family—there have been artists in several generations of her history. So it comes as no surprise that she’s found herself in a career that stretches her artistic muscles.

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: Max and Tamera Walters Location: Austin, Texas Size: 843 square feet Years lived in: 7 months, renting Tamera and her family live in South Austin with their daughter (with a second child on the way!). South Austin, an expanding part of the city, has become increasingly expensive, so Tamera and her family chose to live in a complex where they would have security, convenience to work, and be within their budget. The apartment is a two-bedroom, one-bathroom on the ground floor.

"I love all my chairs. I'm a chair person, and all my chairs have a story," interior designer JJ Acuna says.

Name: Christie Grotheim (and my husband, Niklas Andersson) Location: New York, New York Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned My husband and I found this fixer upper in Harlem, sold “as is,” which in this case, was pretty atrocious. But we saw past the filth and peeling paint and realized the potential in the place right away. A corner unit on the third floor, it was flooded with light, and as a four-bedroom (converted to three) we would each have our own office.

The creative practices and collective styles of artist Benn Colker and garden designer Aimee Kirby make for a whimsical and eclectic row home in Philadelphia.

Name: Lilly Giraldo Location: Seabright — Santa Cruz, California Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, renting I currently live in a two-bedroom apartment in the Seabright neighborhood of Santa Cruz. I moved to Santa Cruz fresh out of college and I remember thinking, “When I grow up I want to live in Seabright,” and 20 years later (and after kind of growing up), I found this lovely apartment.

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.

This modern-inspired California house draws inspiration from an effortlessly laid-back style.

Name: Celeste and Felix Location: Monte Grande — Buenos Aires, Argentina Size: 410 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Celeste and her boyfriend Felix’s story actually starts in chilly Canada, where he was living when they met. She tried moving there, but the cold weather and the distance from her friends and family made things hard for Celeste, so the couple decided to move to Buenos Aires to see how that worked for them.

Name: Bitsie Tulloch and David Giuntoli Location: Hollywood Hills — Los Angeles, California Size: 3,600 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned Actors Bitsie and David have spent the bulk of the past few years filming the television show Grimm and living most of the year in woodsy, sometimes-foggy Portland, Oregon. With Grimm finished, the pair are happy to have a new sunny Hollywood Hills home to spend time in.

Name: Maca Atencio, husband Esteban, and kids Nico and Oli Location: Montreal, Quebec Size: 1,120 square feet Years lived in: 11 months, owned Living in Montreal can be fun, artsy, and beautiful, and that’s completely on display in lifestyle blogger Maca Atencio’s home. She and her husband Esteban had waited a couple of years to buy the perfect house for their little family, and this one had every single detail they wanted!

Name: Thierry Chow and Peter Yuill Location: Hong Kong Size: 1,600 square feet Years Lived In: Rent for 2 good years Forget all the outdated notions of what you think feng shui is about—that isn’t what expert Thierry Chow practices. Under her company, TRE, this modern master blends ancient feng shui concepts in all aspects of design (including fashion) with the contemporary world.

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: Tina Bousu and family (including four kids and four dogs!) Location: North Colorado Size: 4,500 square feet Years lived in: 7 years, owned This house is essentially our dream home! We have a large family and had quickly outgrown our starter home and this neighborhood and home were so far out of anything we ever thought we could have. I was half seriously looking at homes in the area for sale and this one came up.

Name: Roel Marius Brouwer, Remy, and their dog Stewie Location: Laren (North Holland province), the Netherlands Size: 861 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting Roel might be a legal adviser by day, but his true passion is interiors. His mom sparked this love at a young age by regularly changing things up in his childhood home; through tiny adjustments their interior looked different each season.

Name: Andrew Cohen and family Location: Woodstock, New York Size: 2,100 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, owned This four-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a finished basement and two-car garage on 1.3 acres in New York belongs to Parts and Labor Design co-founder, Andrew Cohen. And it just might be the best mix of modern meet cabin vibes that you’ll ever see.

Name: Carly Fuller and her boyfriend Martin Location: Hell’s Kitchen — Manhattan, NY Size: 450 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, renting There wasn’t much of an opportunity for Carly Fuller to add her own style to this small Hell’s Kitchen rental when she moved in with a roommate, who had already been living there. But when the roommate moved out a year ago, Carly’s boyfriend Martin moved in, and the blank space was ready to be refreshed and filled.

Name: Jellina Detmar, her husband Jan, their children Déjan and Melin Location: Kollum, the Netherlands Size: 2,422 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned It’s hard to believe Jellina and her family moved to this old farmhouse a mere one and a half years ago. The former residents had created a drywall box within the house, concealing many of the home’s beautiful elements like the big wooden beams.

Name: Ashley Taylor and Tymer Tilton and their dog Moseby Location: Red Hook, Brooklyn Size: 1,000 square feet Years lived in: 1.5 years, renting Golden accents around this Red Hook loft shimmer in the warm sunlight beaming through a large south-facing window. Healthy green plants cheerfully spread their leaves from corners, tabletops, and even the ceiling. A deep, soothing teal grounds the space.

Name: Olivia Muenter, her boyfriend Jake, and their dog Winnie Location: Upper East Side, NYC Size: Not sure Years lived in: 1.

Name: Habiba Koroma Location: Central Harlem, NYC Size: 630 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, renting A ball pit is not necessarily something you expect in an NYC apartment, but in Habiba’s home, it’s an integral feature of her son’s play area. The ingenious, whimsical kid-friendly space that Habiba, an interior designer, has created for Miles also includes a library, a whiteboard, a hanging yarn installation, and a giant rasterized mural of him.

Name: Kai and Julie Location: Homebase is Berlin, Germany Size: 118 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, owned We found our home in Berlin by accident. We saw the bus standing on the street on our way to grab a coffee and bought it one day later without knowing anything about US school buses. In Germany you rarely find buses like that and the size is perfect for traveling Europe.

Nelson Chow bought this tiny apartment a year ago and made good use of a small space by building a "treehouse" bed loft.

Name: Gianni Ruggiero, his wife Valeria Dubin, and their two daughters Olivia and Mila Location: Barcelona — Spain Size: 2,153 square feet Years lived in: 8 years, renting This big open Barcelona loft has seen a lot over its lifetime. In the 1960s, it was a photography studio, welcoming lots of models and colorful characters into its airy interior. When that photographer retired, he moved out and let his son rent the place: Gianni, an architect who appreciates simplicity in things.

Meritxell Ribé and Josep Puigdomènech are the designers behind Barcelona-based firm The Room Studio.

Name: Marcella, Justin, and their dogs Buddy Holly and Pete Location: Fonthill — Ontario, Canada Size: 1,700 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, owned Just two years ago Marce of Hey Modest Marce decided to leave her hectic job in the Toronto financial district and uproot her life to live a slower pace. She and boyfriend Justin found a 1920s traditional craftsman home in Fonthill, a small town in the heart of Ontario’s wine country.

This couple from Charleston settled into a 550-square-foot NYC apartment with lots of light but little storage... until they implemented their smart ideas.

Name: Heather Alexander Location: Washington Heights, New York City Size: 300 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, renting After divorcing a “design-curmudgeon,” Heather says she really went for it when she moved into this place six years ago. Filled with so many colors, fun finds, and treasures she dubbed her home the “Jewel Box.

Name: Nancy, Ken, and their little canine, Monty Location: Berkeley, California Size: 670 square feet Years lived in: 22 years; Owned Nancy says her home is a haven—it’s colorful, cozy, bright, and full of memories. Though the bright green walls help, it’s her collection of meaningful pieces that truly makes her Berkeley condo a home.

Name: Jaclyn Madar Location: Griffintown — Montreal, QC Size: 1,019 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, owned Jaclyn Madar is an obstetrician and surgeon who just purchased her first real “grown-up” bachelorette apartment. A space with industrial, modern architecture, she decorated it with an eclectic vintage flair… while still having it look pulled together. She’s spunky, stylish and extremely smart, and that shows through beautifully in her home decor.

The building has a modern, minimal style with concrete floors, white walls, sleek cabinetry, and sliding glass bedroom doors.

Name: Krystal Mack Location: Washington Hill — Baltimore, Maryland Size: 250 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Krystal’s studio is peaceful, inviting, and full of inspiration. Cozy maximalism is the vibe. Everything holds meaning, and her belongings are arranged into what Krystal calls “moments”—be it a pair of pom-pom heels she wore on a special day in her career, or beer bottles she enjoyed with friends that now live on as bud vases.

Name: Ashley Miles and Sam Miles and their two daughters Location: West Village, New York Size: 1,300 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, renting Ashley’s 1800s carriage house in the West Village is as steeped in history as it is style; photographer Diane Arbus and her two daughters were once residents. Now, Ashley—the Executive Vice President of Sales & Brand Partnerships at Refinery29—and her husband Sam (college sweethearts from Ole Miss!

Name: Grace Flynn and her boyfriend, Tyler Tronson Location: Astoria, New York Size: 425 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, renting Grace’s studio is located in Astoria where longtime residents hang flower pots on their patios and wine bars host signs that kindly ask for smokers to stand by the tree, out of consideration for their neighbors.

After years of living life at a busy pace in San Diego, Liz and Andy were ready to slow down, both for themselves and for their two young daughters.

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.

Name: Lita Lee, Mike Martin and their four children Location: Edmonton, Alberta Size: 2,550 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned Lita Lee claims to be “just a girl who decided to go for it.” And the it she went for was taking a large spec home from a blank slate to a bold, bright home that’s the perfect fit for her family. And in the process, she discovered her passion and talent with interior design, launching Crave Interiors.

This basement apartment in the city feels more like a handcrafted cottage, neatly nestled in a hidden forest somewhere in the mountains.

Name: Breeana (Bree) Dunbar and son Ari Location: Brunswick East — Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Size: 540 square feet Years lived in: 2 months, renting I moved into this apartment after my son’s father and I separated earlier this year. I found the separation absolutely devastating; it feels like a death and in a way it is. It’s the death of your life as you know it, and the death of the future you imagined for your family.

Name: Troy Solomon and Ian Mofford Location: West Hollywood, California Size: 800 square feet Years Lived In: 3 years for Troy, 2 years for Ian, renting I first learned of Troy Solomon (aka ABearNamedTroy) from his Instagram, where his brazen feed strikes a colorful balance between fierce and playful, a strong aesthetic that is reflected in the apartment he shares with fiance Ian Mofford.

Name: Sunny Shokrae, Ryan Eugene Kelley and Leo Arya Kelley Location: Bedford-Stuyvesant — Brooklyn, NY Size: 1,183 square feet Years lived in: Less than 1 year, owned Sunny and her husband Ryan became homeowners just shy of a year ago. The longtime Williamsburg, Brooklyn, residents needed a change in anticipation of birth of their son Leo. And moving a few miles south to Bedford Stuyvesant offered the growing family more space and freedom in how they style their home.

"If nothing goes together, everything goes together."

Name: Jewel Marlowe and family Location: Jamestown, Rhode Island Size: 3,000 square feet Years Lived In: 10 months, renting “As a military family, we have learned that even short-term rentals can have high style. This 10-month rental home is a prime example,” shares Jewel Marlowe, blogger, interior stylist, and frequent customizer of rental homes.

Name: Vanessa Sicotte, Jonathan Plourde and three kids Location: Montreal West — Quebec, Canada Size: 2,800 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, owned Vanessa and Jonathan were able to see the vast potential beyond the yellow walls (in every room!) of their home when they purchased it in 2014. As an interior design writer, blogger and TV personality, Vanessa put her expertise to use in designing a home that reflects the personalities of her family both as a unit and individually.

Awaiting the arrival of a baby and unable to find another home they liked enough to move, they decided to stick with the home they already have, updating it for their new life.

Name: Alle Fister and Don Popkes Location: Playa Del Rey, California Size: 4,500 square feet Years lived in: 6 years, owned Alle Fister—owner of Bollare, a communications firm that works with well-known beauty and fashion brands—met Don Popkes 10 years ago. Six and a half years ago the couple got married and bought this house, their first home and a total fixer upper.

Name: Amanda Holland, Mike Brunel, daughters Millicent and Eva Location: Wellington, New Zealand Size: 230 square metres (approximately 2,476 square feet) Years Lived In: 11 years, owned Interior stylist and design/lifestyle store owner Amanda Holland (of Small Acorns) lives in Wellington with her husband and their two daughters Milly and Eva. The couple bought this home 11 years ago when it was really run down and had no one living in it for two years.

Name: Mona Tavakoli, Beau Ritten, and cats Minnow and Sushi Location: Central District — Seattle, Washington Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Make your way up the stairs to Mona and Beau’s converted top-floor apartment in the heart of the Emerald City, and you can feel the eclectic vibes seeping into the landing. The elongated cat statue staring at you on your way in could be playing a large part. Needless to say, their pad is very cool.

Name: Gaby Dalkin Location: Lower Queen Anne — Seattle, Washington Size: 2,000 square feet Years lived in: 6 months, owned “I love the Seattle house!” I had just wrapped up shooting food blogger Gaby Dalkin’s lower Queen Anne townhome when she let out that statement with a serene smile.

Name: Amy and Andy Location: Barcelona, Spain Size: 1,075 square feet Years lived in: 2 years, renting Amy and her partner Andy are originally from the UK, and they met in London right when Andy had just accepted a job offer in Barcelona working in IT. They tried doing the long distance thing for a while… until Amy grew tired of London and decided to join Andy on the sunny Catalan coast.

Name: Maggie Williams Location: St-Henri, Montreal Size: 1,500 square feet Years lived in: Rented 1 year Maggie‘s old converted Montreal loft is visually striking and incredibly spacious, but in the wrong hands, its industrial elements could dominate. Thankfully, Maggie’s always loved thrifting and finding beauty in other people’s discarded items. She hunts for unwanted furniture pieces, repairing and refinishing them.

Name: Aurélie Desmas and her husband Location: Brooklyn, New York Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, renting Originally from France, decorator and photographer Aurélie Desmas has lived in Paris, London, and now New York, where she’s currently the founder and lead decorator of Maison KoduZen. Though versed in plenty of styles, her focus is on what kind of energy you can create in a home through decor.

A 1,600-square-foot former house of worship was respectfully remodeled and transformed into a personal sanctuary on a budget.

Name: Joey Meyers, Mark Baehser, and Bridget (Cat) Location: Lincoln Park Neighborhood of Jersey City Size: 3,200 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned It comes as no surprise that the owners of this home, Joey Meyers and Mark Baehser of Ball & Claw Vintage fame, are part of Brooklyn’s chicest co-op, Dobbin St. While scouting for vintage finds for their stores in Bushwick and Williamsburg, the couple makes sure to keep the most precious items for their own home improvements.

Name: Abeer and Aetesam, with their two sons, Hamza and Azaan Location: Donvale — Melbourne, Victoria Size: 1,600 square feet Years Lived In: 1 year, renting Having moved from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and most recently Melbourne, this is a family on the go. Abeer, a photographer/blogger and her engineer husband, Aetesam, started renting this bungalow in the suburbs of Melbourne a year ago, and have lovingly turned it into a home for them and their two little boys since.

Name: Brittaney Elise Minton Location: Manhattan, New York Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: Almost 1 year, renting The celebrity interior designer and lifestyle expert who launched BE by Brittaney Elise Minton knows how to design a space that wows. She’s designed several of the new Bellami Beauty Bars and the Calabasas residence of Bellami Hair’s founder, Nikki Eslami (a house which was once owned by Kylie Jenner!

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."

This couple's style is: "Cozy log cabin falls in love with a vintage schoolhouse and has a baby that sells books and ephemera and cameras and taxidermy."

Name: Helen Bayley and husband Chris Bayley. Daughters Charlotte (9), Annabelle (7), and Imogen (6). Location: Queensland, Australia Years lived in: 11 years, owned Helen Bayley knows how to create happiness with color. In 2013 she launched Lovestar, a company that vibrantly re-imagines the old-fashioned ceramic wall vase out of modern materials like Lucite. Helen and her husband handcraft their products in their studio in Brisbane, and the vases have been a huge hit since day one.

Name: Lorraine Loots and Mark De Menezes and their two-year-old son, Felix Location: Observatory — Cape Town, South Africa Size: 2,153 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, owned Photographed next to small objects to show their scale—matchsticks, earbuds, jelly beans—Lorraine‘s teeny art pieces are detailed delights.

This warm, organic Tudor-style house will make you want to move to New Zealand immediately.

Name: Hernan Location: Recoleta — Buenos Aires, Argentina Size: 700 square feet Years lived in: Owned 6 years Six years ago, Hernan was fed up with where he was living. “It had many rooms but each of them was very small. I needed fewer rooms and more space,” he explains. He also yearned for more outdoor access. But after losing out on a nice flat with a big terrace in an exhaustive bidding war that lasted for months, he came across the home he lives in now.

Name: Emily Billings, Max Shay, and cat, Lorelei Location: Woodside, California Size: 1,200 square feet Years lived in: Seven months, renting I can’t help but read real estate and rental listings the way the rest of the world reads the daily news. I have a knack for finding homes my partner, Max, and I could only afford if we subsisted solely on rice and beans.

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: Kate Richards, her husband, and 13 feathered or furry animals Location: Los Angeles, California Size: 1,500 square feet Years Lived In: 10 years, owned Sure, Kate Richards of Drinking with Chickens may like to occasionally imbibe with poultry, but behind the scenes this self-taught cocktail blogger, color-embracing artist, self-proclaimed professional drinker, and insanely hilarious Instagrammer works hard to maintain her charming life.

Name: Brett L. Leemkuil Location: Sunnyside, NY Size: 530 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, renting “One would assume, by all appearances, that I’m a maximalist,” writes interior designer Brett Leemkuil. His 500-square-foot Queens rental apartment features a floor-to-ceiling red living room, a curtained-off leopard-print bed closet, and hand-painted emerald green malachite wall finishes in the entryway… among much more. Maximalist seems like a very accurate descriptor.