The Latest

Name: Emily and Kevin Location: Reston, Virginia Size: 2,800 square feet Years Lived In: 1.5 years, owned This was the fifth house we put an offer on and we went into it thinking, “What’s the worst thing that can happen? We actually get the house?” Then we got it. We liked the lot, the yard, and… that’s about it. But we knew we wanted a house that we could gut and renovate, so this definitely fit the bill.

Name: Natasha Webb, her husband Anthony, and their two sons Location: Canterbury — Melbourne, Australia Size: 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 study Years lived in: 3 years, owned You cannot help but smile and be happy in the colorful 1980s-era house of Natasha Webb and family. While so many other people would have knocked down and redeveloped this home, Natasha and her husband Anthony have embraced all of the brown brick and other ’80s features.

Name: Abbey Eilermann and cat Dolly Parton Location: The Hill — St. Louis, Missouri Size: 2,000 square feet (includes the work studio) Years lived in: 3 years, renting It all starts with a hot pink name plate that stands out among the red and green awnings on The Hill, a traditional Italian American neighborhood in St. Louis.

Name: Julian Thomas Location: Bushwick — Brooklyn, New York Size: 700 square feet Years Lived In: Less than a year, renting “Who needs TV when you have Bushwick? This is live entertainment at its finest,” remarks 28-year-old self-proclaimed bachelor Julian Thomas as he looks out of a window of his Brooklyn loft in this video tour he posted on YouTube. His 1,000-square-foot home might be right next to a train—but that’s part of the city-life charm the space has.

Name: Laura Serventi, husband Filippo Del Vita, and their 5-year-old son Location: Bedford-Stuyvesant — Brooklyn, New York Size: 900 square feet Years Lived In: 10 years, renting Artist and photographer Laura Serventi grew up in Argentina, spent some time studying photography in Italy, and in 2007 moved to New York, where she’s been since.

Name: Casey Mason and Cole Mason, our new daughter Sunny, and our rescue pups Bodhi and Shea Location: Ventura, California Size: 1,466 square feet Years Lived In: 2 1/2 years, owned This is the first house that my husband and I purchased together, so for that reason alone, it is very special to us. When we were looking for our first home, we knew that we wanted a fixer upper. The uglier the better in our minds. As long as the bones are good, we knew that anything cosmetic could be fixed.

Name: Paige Hansen Location: Union Square — New York, NY Size: 500 square feet Years lived in: 3 years, owned “My apartment is more than just a place I live; it has become a source of happiness, comfort, and connectedness to this city, my friends, and myself.

Name: Aya Cash and Josh Alexander and Lucy Tammy Cash (the dog) Location: Hollywood Hills — Los Angeles, California Size: 1,000 square feet Years Lived In: 4 years, owned There was nothing easy about buying a house for actress Aya Cash—star of “You’re the Worst”—and her husband, Josh Alexander. “This was the sixth place we bid on in six months. I did not think we were going to get it.

Name: Jonathan, husband Ryan, Sadie (a 5-year-old Devon Rex), and Robbie (a 3-year-old American Cocker Spaniel) Location: Adams Morgan — Washington, D.C. Size: 925 square feet Years lived In: 3 years, renting I’ve lived in this apartment for three years along with my husband Ryan, and our two sweet pets, Robbie the American Cocker Spaniel, and Sadie our Devon Rex—both rescues, both crazy.

Name: Erika Carlock, and fiancé Joe Location: Los Angeles, California Size: 1,150 square feet Years Lived In: 5 years, renting Blogger and designer Erika Carlock has made a name for herself on Instagram with her love of bright and poppy pastels. The interior of her Los Angeles rental apartment, which she shares with her fiancé Joe, is filled with colorful accessories and dozens of plants to match her dreamy, jungle-y feed.

Name: Shiloh Enoki Location: Echo Park — Los Angeles, California Size: 800 square feet Years lived in: 1 year, renting Shiloh has lived in Los Angeles for nearly five years in several configurations: She lived in the spare room of a model’s Hollywood Hills house, she rented the bottom floor of a first-time homeowner’s Silver Lake home, and now she lives in this one-bedroom apartment by herself.

Name: Jina Javier, her husband Jeff, Lucy, and Leo Location: La Mesa, California Size: 1,285 square feet Years Lived In: 2 years, owned When Jina and Jeff were preparing to move into their La Mesa home in San Diego two years ago, Jina was reading Marie Kondo’s megahit “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” Jina and Jeff were downsizing, moving from a large (but characterless) 2,800 square foot house, into an older home with lots of charm but far less square footage.

Name: Lindsay Wallstrum (founder of Leaf + Lolo, a full-service interior and plant design firm), husband, 2 dogs, 100+ plants Location: Petaluma, California Size: 2,100 square feet Years lived in: 4.5 years, owned My husband and I bought our home four and a half years ago. We took our time finding the right space for us and our two dogs. After visiting many open houses, I finally wrote down exactly what I wanted in a home.

Interior designer Tal offered the landlord a deal: She'd redecorate the large apartment if they paid half of the renovation investment!

Name: Amanda and her boyfriend Location: Pacific Heights — San Francisco, California Size: 500 square feet Years lived in: 2.5 years, owned I’m Amanda, an aspiring graphic designer currently attending UC Berkeley Extension’s Professional Program in Graphic Design. I live in Pacific Heights with my boyfriend, John, who works in finance.

It’s our mission to help people feel their most at home—whatever home might look like. The beating heart of that work is visiting real homes every single day across the country (and the world) for moments of inspiration, teaching, and sometimes just pure awe. Every time I edit or read an Apartment Therapy house tour, I’m amazed by the creativity of our community, and how they manage to transform just about any space into one that feels uniquely home.

Name: Katie Colleran Location: West Dover, Vermont Size: 3,000 square feet Years lived in: 4 months, owned My husband Tom and I had been toying with the idea of making over a rental house for a while when we stumbled on this 1965 cabin at the foot of Mount Snow in West Dover, Vermont. The house had been sitting vacant for several years when we bought it, and it was full of all kinds of not-so-delightful little treats: two pairs of men’s boxers from the early aughts!

Name: Siouxsie Crow, husband, and two kids Location: Sussex, United Kingdom Size: 840 square feet Years lived in: 15 months, owned We bought our house in August 2017; it’s number 37 and I was 37 when we moved. It’s our first home, as previously we’ve rented. I live here with my husband Sholto, who is an art director and all-around creative. We have two children: a 5 year old, a 3 year old, and a third on the way.

I’ve covered kitchen/dining room as well as the entrance/living room, so now we’re going to stroll down the hall on the main floor and visit the two guest rooms down at the other end. There is also a bathroom in between. These rooms sit exactly in the same position as the old house, because I loved the layout. They are easy to get to, but private with their doors at the far end of the hall.