Brooklyn And Tours

Fashion consultant and merchandiser Jasmine Hart worked with interior designer and set decorator Kendra Cusic to decorate this Brooklyn rental apartment.

"The space had a modern aesthetic and we used the green kitchen as a jumping-off point for leaning into color and modern details," writes Mark Goldwell, the founding partner and executive creative director of Zero Studios.

Designer Kim White has transformed her cozy Brooklyn rental apartment with smart DIY projects, like using banquette seating to build a custom sectional sofa, using mirrors to make the space feel larger, and more.

New York Times bestselling author Sarah Knight’s husband, musician Judd Harris, used to say that she wants to live in an opium den and that he wants to live in a spaceship. “Eventually we settled on what we call ‘funky mid-century modern,’ which gives him a lot of clean lines and me the ability to accessorize with color and texture.”

Caity Birmingham, a production designer for movies and TV and a prop stylist for commercials and photoshoots, loves color and fits a TON of it into her 680-square-foot Brooklyn rental apartment.

Lisa’s rental home might only be 350 square feet, but the location is unbeatable and an “outdoor” space makes it feels much less smaller.

Brigette Muller, known as @hummusbirrd on IG and TikTok, may only rent her 560-square-foot NYC apartment, but she’s invested in her own happiness by designing and renovating it to fit her style.

Kate and her husband loved this small unit's natural light, original details (like molding and inlaid hardwood floors), and location, despite not having been updated in many years. "We knew we wanted to keep as much of the original charm as we could, while also updating it to bring in natural elements and modernize the space."

It was small, the kitchen was basically nonexistent, and the bathroom wasn't pretty, but Irene Shamas saw the potential in this studio unit. She worked with Luki Anderson of Studio Officina and EDR Construction to transform this small one-room apartment into a space that can be a living room, dining room, bedroom, office, and more.

"I filled my home with objects I made, and furniture I gave a second life to (i.e., with paint)," writes Kira. "I worked hard to create a curated environment with a lot of personality on a budget."

After losing her mom, grandfather, and aunt fairly close to one another, Ruthie used her apartment as a space where she could honor and remember them with photos and knickknacks that bring happy memories.

Dotun's Crown Heights apartment is filled with bright yellows and oranges that bring the space to life. Inspired by Early West African graphic design and pop art, Dotun believes in bringing in pieces from your travels to make a space your own.

Nina Haines, founder of the Sapphic book club Sapph-Lit, painted cabinets purple, installed marble contact paper to countertops, added a squiggle-shaped painted accent, and more in her Brooklyn rental. “There are colors and patterns and kitschy touches everywhere. My friend once commented that it looks like Lizzie McGuire threw up everywhere," she says.

Kayla works in HR at Apartment Therapy and has turned her home into her sanctuary. Working with a small space and budget, she used the color palette of her neighborhood to bring to life her gorgeous bohemian home.

At first, designer Linda Cava only meant to replace her 10-year-old bedframe. But then she swapped out a bedside table to fit the new bed's style, next decided to trade the old sofa for a larger sectional... and then a mix of paint updates, vintage furniture elements, and more made her small home feel completely refreshed.

Journalist Jessica Bennett and her partner Sam did a gut renovation on this Brooklyn loft, updating the kitchen, bathrooms, and building custom furniture for many of the rooms.

Brianna Holt, a freelance journalist, took this plain condo and transformed it with a Parisian Modern-inspired aesthetic, fully remodeling the kitchen, renovating the bathroom, installing built-in shelves, and adding new doors and crown molding throughout.

The first time Maggie and Jesse saw this apartment, they knew it was theirs. Noise levels made them back out of the first lease, but months later the home was available and the noise had been resolved — the rest is history.

Lauren brought her love for the '60s and '70s into her Brooklyn apartment through color, using orange as the main hue. The small studio features an orange mirror and couch and lots of cute retro decor elements to complete the look.

When it comes to the Brooklyn apartment of experiential designer Briana Guin, it’s clear that specific shades were chosen for her home from the beginning, down to the smallest details.

Visual artist and designer⁠ Meagan Jain and her partner, Nikolas, fell in love with the skylights and the south-facing windows of this Brooklyn rental apartment. They also loved the amount of space; there is enough room for her art studio and more.

Textile designer and freelance interior stylist Anna Brettschneider shares this 800-square-foot Park Slope rental apartment with her fiancé, Garrett Albury. Together they co-author the weekly newsletter, coolstuff.nyc.

Tay is a set designer, builder, and DJ, and describes herself as an “audacious welder of dreamscapes,” like the colorful apartment she rents in Brooklyn.

"My favorite color is pink, which is also very evident in not just my apartment but anything I design at work too. If I can work the color pink into a project or my home, I will absolutely do it," says Briana Guin, who shares this 635-square-foot, three-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn with two roommates.

The moment sisters Farah and Vanessa walked into this studio apartment, they knew it was the one and put in an offer the same day! "It was the perfect space with a little balcony."

Astead W. Herndon thinks you should always invest in a good couch. His is a gorgeous pink one... a bold color suggestion made by a Hinge date!

It was small, the kitchen was basically nonexistent, and the bathroom wasn't exactly pretty, but Irene Shamas saw the potential in this studio unit. She worked with Luki Anderson of Studio Officina and EDR Construction to transform this small one-room apartment into a functional and cozy home.

"It’s both chic and punk — a technicolor euphoria impossible not to feel at home at," describes writer, comedian, and award-winning screenwriter Greg Mania of this small rental apartment.

"There’s always something going on within the four walls of my apartment — whether it’s testing a new recipe for my blog, tinkering with the interior design of the apartment, an art or DIY project, hosting friends for a mandoo (Korean dumplings) party, or simply cranking away at my computer," writes Christine Han, a Korean-American recipe developer and food blogger who founded the blog, Dear Saturdays.

Aurora Yim has used smart layout and small-space ideas in her Brooklyn studio apartment, like using a rug to visually define the living room area, creating the coziest sleeping nook with storage shelves and a very cool plant stand, and wielding mirrors to bounce light around the space, making it feel larger and brighter.

Rini has made this teeny studio apartment into a beautiful, functional home she's rented for 17 years.

Grace Zhang chronicles her many home improvement efforts personalizing this "boring new construction” 650-square-foot apartment she shares with her boyfriend.

Amanda Holden, also known as "Dumpster.Doggy" on Instagram, is an entrepreneur, educator, and the founder of Invested Development. She aims to answer the question: “How do I teach dusty investing topics without making my students want to stick needles into their eyeballs?”

Behavioral scientist and science communicator Vanessa Hill shares a look inside her stylish Brooklyn rental AND reveals why she keeps old technology in her bedroom, what kind of mattress she sleeps on (under $500 from Amazon), and other smart secrets to getting better sleep.

This "contemporary eclectic" apartment blends clean lines with lots of vintage and mid-century modern pieces.

Content creator, blogger, style lover, YouTuber, and Instagram strategist Marikah shares this one-bedroom apartment with her husbae and their baby. The apartment has lots of clever organizing tip and renter-friendly decor ideas, including a very cute nursery nook in the bedroom.

"My style is modern vintage, eclectic, maximalist, seriously whimsical, adventurous, nostalgic, queer, unapologetically colorful and femme, bold, energetic, cozy, life affirming, unconventional, and wholeheartedly personal," explains Sarah Hartley.

These two artists created a versatile home space for art making and showing off their tour posters.

Shelley V. Worrell is the founder of caribBEING and led the initiative to designate the Little Caribbean neighborhood. She shares this beautiful Brownstone home in Brooklyn with her husband, Janluk Stanislas (a filmmaker and a co-founder of caribBEING).

Becca Crawford, who works at textiles and decor brand St. Frank, fell for the high ceilings and charming pre-war details of this Brooklyn Brownstone; it's the perfect canvas for her enviable collection of gorgeous textiles.

Brooklyn resident Lidey Heuck is a recipe developer, food writer, blogger, and the former assistant of Ina Garten — so it only makes sense that she designed the apartment she shares with her fiancé and their dog to reflect her love of cooking and entertaining. 

The wall-to-wall exposed brick is the star of this small home, and Fredd has filled the rest of the space with books, plants, and music.

With plans for a larger gut reno in the future, Katrina and her family to still wanted to make their old, shabby home look good for them NOW. Using smaller, high-impact but low-budget ideas helped transform the space from blah to “I really want to hang out here."

Musician Emma Frank and her husband work from home in this bright rental apartment in Park Slope. "It’s a really nice space to be creative in."

"I often say the vibe I’m going for is the home of a Time-Traveling Anthropologist," says artist Keighty Alexander, who has owned this two-bedroom apartment for four years.

Roxy Michaud brought in textures like wicker, dark wood, bamboo and greenery to her Brooklyn home, as well as used the color black to make the space feel more warm and cozy.

Maleeha has dreamt of living in New York City since she was a little girl, and renting this 400-square-foot studio is making her dreams come true!

Lily, a fashion designer and Holistic Health Practitioner, and Llew, an illustrator and folk tattoo artist, find inspiration from their collection of antiques and treasures found at flea markets.