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Name: Author Mary Roach & Graphic Designer/Illustrator Ed RachlesLocation: Glenview — Oakland, CaliforniaSize: 1,800 square feet Years lived in: 7 — owned Mary Roach’s best-selling books, like Stiff and Packing for Mars, invite readers to unusual places such as morgues, labs, and outer space. In her books, Mary reveals the science (and humor) behind dead bodies, sex, and errr…other funky stuff.

Name: Naseem Alizadeh of The Bureau for Architecture and UrbanismLocation: Boston, MassachusettsSize: 600 square feetYears lived in: 2 Yet again, I experienced apartment envy when I arrived to take photos of Naseem’s Back Bay rental, a lovely home we first spotted in her Apartment Therapy House Call. It’s easy to imagine the two years Naseem has lived here morphing into ten. This is the kind of place that would be hard to leave.

Name: Jeff & Delia (marthastalwart.wordpress.com and marketstoreshoppe.com)Location: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New YorkSize: 1,400 square feetTime lived in: 4 months Los Angeles transplants Jeff and Delia would not settle for a standard New York-sized apartment, so they had to think outside of the box in order to find the spread they craved. Instead of your typical third story walk-up, the couple rented an industrial garage previously used as studio space and turned it into home.

Name: Allison, Steve, and their sons, Ethan and JeremyLocation: Bethesda, MarylandSize: 4 bedrooms and guest houseYears lived in: 2 Today’s House Tour is a bit of a detour from the beloved small, homespun spaces that we often showcase. When interior architect, Miriam Dillon, introduced us to Allison and Steve’s magnificent home, we knew that we couldn’t help but share it with our readers.

Name: Michael James Schneider, author and creator of BLCKSMTH Location: Irvington Neighborhood; Portland, Oregon Size: 950 square feet Years lived in: 3 months; Rented We met Mike back in August of 2012, when he was living in a stylish bachelor pad in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Fast forward a year and a half, and Mike has left sunny Los Angeles for the rainy Pacific Northwest, and now resides in Portland, Oregon.

Name: Meg Shackleton of Margaret Elizabeth Jewelry Location: Union Street; San Francisco, California Size: 750 square feet Years in business: 7 years When you step into the studio of Margaret Elizabeth Jewelry you are taken by the similarities in style between the jewelry line and the space where it is created. Metallics with pops of color and plenty of texture set the tone in this studio workspace and showroom.

Name: Katie, Scott, Sage, and Pause McDonald Location: Saunderstown, Rhode Island Size: 3,200 square feet Years lived in: 4 years, although Katie’s parents lived there for over 20 years before she and Scott purchased the property. When the McDonalds purchased the home of Katie’s parents four years ago, they were inspired by the spectacular view.

Name: Natasha Nyberg and Brad Sammut; children Lisette and Maxine; cats Matilda and Pickle; dogs Greta, Lotte, and Mr. Chips Location: Garfield Park; Grand Rapids, Michigan Size: 2,200 square feet Years lived in: 5 years; Owned Natasha and I met through Instagram. She began following my account and when I scrolled through her feed, I saw images of a very cool home: rich colors, objects with stories, and a refreshing indifference to trends.

Name: Christine and John and Gertie the dogProfessions: Christine is an art teacher and John, also an artist, is studying to be a nurse. They also run an Etsy shop, Poison IcebergLocation: Ann Arbor, MichiganSize: 960 square feet, ownedYears lived in: 2 1/2; owned While flipping through this year’s Small, Cool contest entries, I came across Christine’s Perfect Location.

Name: Sara & Jason and 3 furry children: Ash, Ronin, and KumaLocation: Kansas City, MissouriSize: 1,700 square feetYears lived in: 3 — owned When it comes to displaying collections no one quite takes the job as seriously as the residents of this house. What started as a passion and a hobby of collecting vinyl toys and artwork from artists around the world has turned into a way of life for these folks in The Heartland.

Name: Amy & David Butler Location: Granville, Ohio Size: 4,500 square feet – Post & Beam Modern Circa 1969 Years lived in: 8 Years What a wonderful treat! We’re thrilled to be able to share this peek inside the home and studio of textile designer, Amy Butler and her husband, David.

I’ve got to tell you: if you didn’t believe in reincarnation before, you will now. These five projects are so brilliant, it will leave you wondering if those things weren’t destined for their new use all along. It’s one thing to recycle, it’s quite another to reinvent. Peeking through Tom & Allison’s Amazing DIY House of Reclaimed & Unusual Objects is like an I-Spy game of recycling brilliance.

The power of painted-on pattern is well known. You can conceal damage on thrifted furniture pieces, you can update dated kitchen and bathroom cabinets—you can use paint patterns to upgrade just about anything you can put paint on. But not everyone has the DIY skills (or energy or time) to paint elaborate patterns. Thankfully, there’s a paint pattern trending—and it’s easy to do, can be done in any color and helps both beautify and conceal.

What costs nothing, takes seconds to complete and is a small detail that can have a surprisingly charming impact on your window? I spotted this tiny but clever detail on some drapes in this recent real-life home…it might be a way for you use a fashion accessory you may have been neglecting as well as jazz up your window coverings. It’s one of those “duh, of course!” ideas that you may have never considered before.

Katie and her boyfriend Patrick worked wonders on their Charlotte, North Carolina home that was once a foreclosure. They opened up the kitchen, replaced flooring and added their serene style to the space, creating a beautiful, calming home. Katie manages annual giving at a local private school and, on the side, operates Maiden Flower Crowns with her business partner and friend Allison Purmort. Today, she shares some favorite local businesses in the Charlotte neighborhood she lives in.

Textile designer, sourcing consultant and founder of Artisan Project, Nina M. Alami lives in a patterned, colorful riad in the Old Medina of Fes with her husband, Mohamed and their kids. The mother of four, she’s also an “artist producing textiles with a community of cooperatives, and a lineage of craftsman; simultaneously sourcing, consulting, and overseeing production in Fes, the Middle Atlas and the Rif regions of Morocco.

Occupied by a creative couple, this Downtown Los Angeles loft is a vibrant and textured home. Nina Hans is Creative Director of Weekday Studio, a design studio that helps brands visually express themselves. She lives in DTLA with her husband and Weekday Studio co-Founder Jon Hans. They’ve lived in Downtown Los Angeles for ten years, and today, Nina shares some of her favorite well-designed places to visit.

Sarah Ashley Schiear is the founder of Salt House Market, a curated e-commerce site for kitchen and home goods. Sarah began her career as a chef and caterer for high-end dinner parties after appearing on ABC’s The Taste. She founded Salt House with a goal of creating a modern brand to revolutionize the way we think about homemaking. She’s lived in Brooklyn for three years (and NYC four years). Today, she shares some of her favorite (and yummiest!) spots in Williamsburg.

Since moving to San Antonio’s Southtown neighborhood in 2015, Hannah Lynn has made it her mission to show what an incredibly colorful, rich place the Alamo City is. She writes: “My personal blog shares my 365 day staycation experience in San Antonio and all the places that make it a great place to love. That was a typo, but love is more accurate than live.

Marni Epstein-Mervis has been an Angeleno for 11 years now. She and her husband moved to LA’s Highland Park Neighborhood nine months ago after a number of years in neighboring Echo Park. Marni’s an architecture journalist and owner and Principal of STRUKTR Studios, “where we create content and communications for companies in architecture, design, and real estate.

Anyone else having a rough day? I hope you’re all feeling your feelings in whichever way helps you, being kind and supporting to the people around you who need it, and finding some solace and joy when you can. If a bit of sunshine in the form of adorable floofballs from our House Tours can add a bit of light to your day, well, that’s something. These cuties are here to give you some hope, love, and virtual cuddles. Like, what even just happened? We’ve all been there.

Project by: Anna Location: Moscow, Russia This apartment is located in the center of Moscow – only a five minute walk from the Red Square and Kremlin. It is located in a historic building and its surface is 65 square meters/700 square feet. My clients were a young couple – they travel a lot and wanted me to recreate a mixture of French and Scandinavian looks.

A million people have "visited".

Name: Alma Location: 515 Madison Avenue — Midtown Manhattan, NYC Size: Lounge/Waiting area: 800 square feet Private therapy rooms: 100-120 square feet typically Group therapy rooms: 200-250 square feet typically Interior spaces—the personal and public environments we spend much of our time in—have an impact on us. Emotionally, and sometimes even physically. You can improve and change decor elements in your home to affect the way you and others feel in your space.

Name: Kurt, Sparrow and Simon the catLocation: Hoboken, New JerseySize: 950 square feetYears lived in: 2½ Before I became a contributor for Apartment Therapy New York, I wrote in to Good Questions asking for advice on paint colors. I had a funny experience with the question and almost as soon as it was posted online, I started changing my mind about what I wanted to do with the rooms.

Name: Jen & Rob French, Hank & Dexter French (twin 2-year-old boys)Location: Providence, Rhode IslandSize: 2,200 square feet | 3 bedrooms Years lived in: 1½ They may have dark-colored walls and a few dead things displayed here and there, but Jen & Rob French’s 1920s bungalow is still bright and full of life — thanks to a carefully curated art collection, a whimsical sense of humor, and the happy squeals of their twin two-year-old boys, Hank and Dexter, echoing through the house.

Name: Vicki, Richard and Dino (Portuguese water dog)Profession: Owners of Museum of Robots, a modern housewares company and KÜNGDESIGN, a creative studio specializing in design for Web and Second Life. Location: San Rafael, CASize: 1600 sq. ft.

Name: Fancy Tiger Crafts Location: 59 Broadway, Denver, Colorado Size: 4,000 square feet Years worked in: 2 years Fancy Tiger Crafts is kind of like a knitwear wonderland. With wall to wall shelves of wool and felt yarns being stocked by lovely ladies in hand-crafted sweaters, it’s definitely a place a shopper can really escape to for a while. But it’s not just a great little shop: it’s a community classroom for sewers, knitters and crafters of all skill levels.

Name: Natalie Bowen Brookshire & Seth Brookshire Location: SOMA; San Francisco, California Size: 1,200 square feet Years in Business: Natalie 10 years, Seth 15 years, Studio has been open for one year The combined studios of Natalie Bowen Designs and Seth’s architecture firm Porro are just as you would expect from the creative duo.

We show peeks of stylish homes from all over the world on Apartment Therapy (with our great house tours), but as you know, a home extends beyond the walls you rent or own. Your home is also the walk to the neighborhood bar or boutique and the drive along tree-lined streets to pick up groceries or to a favorite restaurant. And of course, that wonderful coffee shop that provides your life blood every morning is part of home, too.

Life is hectic. It can be even more overwhelming if you live in a vibrant, bustling urban area. Interior designer Séverine Piller and her boyfriend Gianfranco share this Milan apartment, and she wanted to create a calming, minimal retreat.

Name: Thimblepress headquarters Location: Jackson, Mississippi Size: 2300 square feet Years lived in: Rented 1.5 years In business for over three years, Thimblepress is “an art studio, sewing studio, design studio, woodworking studio, and basically anything creative that Kristen [the founder] wants to try her hand at next.

Name: A Rockafellas Social Club Location: Toronto, Canada Size: 900 square feet Years lived in: Rented 3.5 years A Rockafellas Social Club is no ordinary barbershop. Modeled after the Prohibition era speakeasy of the 1920s and ’30s, this Toronto gem truly exists in underground secrecy. You can’t look up the location or become a client/club member without a personal invitation and pledge to maintain the code of clandestine honor. Sound like an odd business plan?

For getaway seekers eyeing remote accommodations of the more sophisticated variety, Virginia design studio GreenSpur has come through marvelously with the Lost Whiskey Cabin. This particular accommodation is a beautiful example of the cottage’s natural aesthetic meshing perfectly with a pared down, industrial style. The 160-square-foot, solar-powered domicile sits just an hour outside of Washington, D.C.

Check out Natalie Jacob, the woman behind cocktail blog Arsenic Lace, and see what she’s done with her New Jersey apartment. Full of vintage, IKEA, Target, West Elm and a host of other sources, she’s mixed it all together in a super fun, original way. The wallpaper and paint treatments are exceptional—together it shows how the everyday can be turned fabulous if you roll up your sleeves and apply a little style!

Plus, our top marketplace picks this week.

Philadelphia-based designer and illustrator Alisa Wismer has discovered the perfect living and working setup for where’s she’s at in her career. “I actually live at home (you’re thinking, ‘Typical millennial,’ right?), but it makes sense for where I’m at right now,” she says. “My parents have been super supportive in my decision to work for myself while I try to build my own business up.

The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea will kick off Friday, February 9 with the opening ceremonies — likely to be an explosion of flying colors, multi-cultural unity and fanfare. With thousands of Olympians converging, we started wondering about their temporary homes and of course, what they look like. We mined the available photos and athletes’ social feeds to get a behind-the-scenes look.

Are you a big fan of Apartment Therapy? Proud of your home? Want to show off your style?

Project by: Cynthia Ferguson Designs Location: Toronto, Ontario Cynthia was enlisted to help a family of four downsize from their family home into a condo that would better suit their life now. Working with her clients she was able to create a chic space that mixes new pieces with old favorites. From Cynthia: With their two daughters moving on to University, my client decided to take advantage of the crazy real estate market in Toronto and downsize from their family home.

Project by: Jane Richards Interiors Location: Norwich, United Kingdom Who among us hasn’t dreamt of an impossible stylish weekend getaway? “Oh me, I’m just jotting off to Norwich for the weekend, going to read on my gorgeous patio.” Anyway, this project by the team at Jane Richards Interiors is a true stunner. Full of sleek European design and a joyful use of color, the design plays up the natural light and architectural features found in the home.

Love Apartment Therapy House Tours? Want to join our team and share stylish spaces from your part of the world? Well, now is your time! We’re putting out a special call for Tour Contributors. If you’ve got strong photography skills, an excellent eye for style and are inspired by wonderfully designed homes and the people who live in them, read on. We’re looking for people to photograph and write House Tours of homes of all sizes and styles.

Project by: Tyler Karu of Landing Design Location: Portland, Maine Tyler was able to create a 70s-inspired space that hits all the design high notes of the decade without veering into parody or camp. With some smartly shopped pieces and warm colors, this home is as eye-catching as it is welcoming. From Tyler: When my clients brought me on board, immediately after purchasing the property, they informed me that their inspiration was “seventies conversation pit.” I was elated.

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The phrase has a contented history, but the expression boils down to this: lemons are harsh and sour – kind of like the dated rental kitchen you can’t stand to cook in – and lemonade is sweet – like these 3 real rooms that made the best of a bad situation.

It’s halfway through 2016 and I’ve already spotted stand-out design trends in beautiful homes. But I’m not just referring to common colors, patterns and materials. This year, I’m spotting elements that infuse playfulness into interiors. Add some playfulness into your rooms today with these fresh and fun decor trends. Neon isn’t a new idea for interiors, but the ways that I’ve been spotting them in interiors recently is fresh.

There’s one particular feature of Girolamo & Alex’s San Francisco house tour that demands your attention and piques your curiosity: The black bookcase that stretches all the way from the floor to the loft’s enviably tall ceiling. Look a little closer, and you’ll see that this grand bookcase is actually three $149 KALLAX shelving units stacked together (if they look familiar, the KALLAX is IKEA’s latest model to replace the popular EXPEDIT shelves).

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the tornado of craft supplies that has taken over a room (or perhaps your whole home), you might need to employ smarter storage tools to keep your supplies in check. This craft room features several clever ideas that could be used in your home—no matter if you have an entire room or just a small area.