Midcentury Modern

See how an architect and an interior designer were inspired by designers when decorating their Ditmas Park rental apartment.

A former reno lacked personality, but this family has added furniture, art, paint, color & more over the last two years.

The only thing that’s more stunning than the gorgeous mid-century modern details are the “killer” 180-degree hilltop views.

It’s a 1930s home full of thrifted finds and a lot of charm.

Writer Jessica Bellef’s house was built in the 1970s and is located in Royal National Park, which many consider to be the second oldest national park in the world.

See photos of designer and illustrator Alaina Johnson’s colorful rental apartment in Renton, Washington.

Charlotte Ree’s apartment may be small, but it comes with over 400 square feet of private rooftop in the middle of Sydney.

"I love organic textures because they feel warm and cozy, which is how I want to feel when I’m at home," renter Nadia Sedgley says.

After leaving New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic, all this homeowner wanted was natural light.

Justine Requa and Alex Moy’s Brooklyn apartment has a ton of windows, a gorgeous sunroom, lots of plants, and actually used to be a daycare.

Nine different wallpapers make this home pop!

The original brick wall is the star of the show.

Brittainy and Ryan have lived full-time in this boat for seven years, creating a boho, vintage-inspired cozy home.

This family of three’s Brooklyn apartment has been totally transformed with smart small-space solutions, including an incredibly cool lofted home office and nursery.

Designer Alvin Wayne lives in this 800-square-foot apartment he's transformed from a plain white box into a warm, personality-filled rental.

See inside this Florida house that’s been decorated with vibrant, tropical colors in nearly every room.

See inside this 600-square-foot Chicago rental of a Pakistani American woman who mixed both U.S. and Southeast Asian decor styles.

Lusanda and Victor Kula-Szilagyi have decorated their 800-square-foot London apartment using color to create warmth and comfort in every room.

This apartment is packed with historic details — including the original ice box.

Sanjana Ahid, her husband, and their cat babies have lived in this apartment for six years, and while nothing is too precious, everything was selected intentionally. It's a cozy, functional, lively, and soothing home.

See inside the stunning home of Katie and Cody, the duo behind popular IG account Highboy LA. They share oodles of interior inspiration with their vintage-filled 750-square-foot rental apartment.

Emmanuel and Katy have rented this loft in a building from the 1920s, and figuring out the layout was the biggest challenge because there are no walls in the main space.

See inside social media marketer Jessica Kane's maximalist, eclectic, mid-century modern Venice, California, bungalow she shares with her partner, Justin Lehmann, and their Siberian kitties, Mimi and Rosie.

Amazingly, this chic Portland rental house is both a home for couple Jenny and Chris AND a home-based preschool. But it's not full of garishly colored kids' toys; it's a stylish space for both adults and kids. Although, everything is glued down and affixed to walls — just in case.

This is the tenth apartment Kit has lived in, in ten years and with this three-bedroom, two-bathroom rental apartment they share with a dog (and sometimes a roommate) they have put down more permanent roots and really make a space their own.

Rebecca van Bergen is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Nest, and the home she shares with her family has rooms decorated to feel like "nests or havens using twig, branch, or tree wallpapers; flora and fauna details everywhere; and dark paints."

Kenneth Llave designed this apartment to function beautifully despite the small size, transforming an interior wall into a custom window wall, updating cabinets, and reworking a dark bathroom.

Tamera Walters has been renting this townhouse for two-and-a-half years and shares it with her husband, Max, and four kids (ages 7, 5, 3, and 1). She tells us about her home: With four kids under seven, our home is loud, fun, and full of systems. Every inch needs to be child-safe and friendly, but also feel like two adults live here!Every closet has been converted into rooms or play space. And we have even changed the primary bathroom into a small office.

Veda Banerjee combined touches of her Indian background with her love of Paris apartments with some lucky mid-century modern scores on Facebook Marketplace, all to create this colorful and cozy home.

Nadine Bacchus and partner, Juls, didn’t have a ton of money in the bank after buying this Victorian two-bedroom house, built in 1901. But, they saved money, then “completed a room, lived in chaos, saved a bit more, did another room. It was wild!”

"I consider myself to be a fun person, and I want to be surrounded by stuff that makes me happy," explains Federico Duarte, an art director, of this two-bedroom Valencia, Spain, apartment he shares with his partner, Pilar.

"My personal home style inspiration has a wide range, from traditional maximalist to English cottage home to Scandinavian clean lines to farmhouse to Rajasthani folk with its warm colors and block-prints, even a bit of New York loft-style with art-filled walls and plants," begins singer/songwriter Abhilasha Sinha.

"This process can be an emotional one, but also brings clarity and perspective through our attachment to certain objects, memories, and spaces," says photographer Lauren Kolyn.

"Our home is a place for us to visually express ourselves. I like to think of it as one big canvas on which to design, taking inspiration from our lives together and telling little stories in different corners of our home."

Lee Newman lives in a time capsule home built in 1974 that has been "maintained by the original architect and his family. It was one of his first builds, and has some quirks."

Rachael Harvey, Assistant Membership Director for a synagogue in Manhattan, moved to this 275-square-foot, $1,800-per-month Upper East Side studio apartment eight months ago.

Jessica's rental house was built in the 1930s; she says it has a lot of "quirks, but also a lot of historic charm. It has original built-in cabinetry, windows, and tiling and a big backyard for us to all enjoy."

Laura and Jason have designed the space to be like a "modern-day curiosity cabinet, and tried to evoke an overall style that blends mid-century, old British gentleman's club, and playful modernism to create a space that highlights all of our collections."

Artist John Neary worked with design firm Parini Design to restore this house, built in 1960 and designed by Michigan-based architect Paul Moffett. The structure was stabilized and the interior was fully modernized with a nod to its mid-century past.

Because this mid-century modern house hadn't been looked after, Samantha and her husband Dave had the opportunity to update areas for their own needs and "not feel bad about tearing down a recently renovated kitchen or bathroom. It was truly a blank canvas."

Julie and her fiancé fell in love with the original details of this house, like the original hardwood and arched doorways. And when it came to furnishing it, they got thrifty: "Our home is about 80% secondhand and 20% new items."

Carrissa Leary is the founder of the Instagram-based vintage furniture company, Hendrix and Willow. She shares this large rental house with her two kids, her two dogs, and a ton of stunning vintage furniture and decor pieces.

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.”

Taylor Jordan says the key with rentals is "to work with and around the things you can't change." In his San Francisco apartment he worked around the original yellow toilet and tub, and in the kitchen he "changed out the cabinet hardware and backsplash for an updated, modern look."

When Tyler and Sam moved to Colorado from New York, they fell in love with the gorgeous views of mountains everywhere. They took this inspiration into their own home with natural pieces and paintings of mountains for a beautiful, welcoming space.

Tiffany and her cat, Jinju, have turned their small New York studio into a gorgeous home by mixing styles and creating a layout that gives her space for all of life's necessities.

When Brandon started working with designer Amber on his North Carolina home, he didn't let any traditional decorating "rules" get in his way. They worked together to create a space that is clean and modern but lets his personality shine.

When Olivia moved into her Virginia studio apartment, it was her first time living on her own. Since moving in, she's hosted many Friendsgivings, dinner parties, and brunches, bringing her friends together in a small, cozy space.

Jason Odd and Kristina Sostarko are both visual artists and the founders of Inaluxe, and their art studio is based at their home, this 1950s four-level house in Australia's Grampians Region they purchased six years ago.

When Noor moved in with her partner, they had to learn to combine styles. By blending pops of color with classy neutrals, they created a beautiful blend of their interests, which thankfully includes rainbow-colored stairs!

As you enter the home, you'll find it's filled with vintage designs that meet modern pops of color inspired by "Moonrise Kingdom."

When it comes to creating your dream home, Dylan believes in doing it yourself. Through YouTube videos he learned how to update his California house, including uncovering and reimagining the statement fireplace, opening up the living room, remodeling the bathrooms, and more.

Fiona's Downtown Toronto apartment isn't afraid to break every rule. With a shower featured prominently in the kitchen and cool vintage furniture and accessories everywhere, this home highlights its unique quirks.

Simon is the founder and director of FLOOR_STORY and Emma is the founder and creative director of trifle*. So when it came to designing and filling up the Victorian house in Walthamstow Village they purchased 13 years ago, there was no chance these two incredibly creative people would end up with a boring home.

Vanessa started to learn about her own style by pulling from places she loves. She studied the design of restaurants and hotels she traveled to in order to better understand what she liked and disliked in design. From there, she was able to create a gorgeous home for herself and her husband.

Erin and Ben's flat sat vacant for two years and was run down and leaking in areas before they bought it. “However, when we saw it, both my husband and I knew it was what we had been looking for. It was a place where we could design from scratch what we wanted our home to be like..."

The best decorating advice artist Ben Cuevas ever received came from Amy Sedaris. "...[S]he says that she viewed her rental deposit as her design fee — which I think is just brilliant. If you’re renting, but plan to stay put for a while and want to really make your space your own, consider your deposit the fee you pay for being able to live in a space you truly love and can call your own."

Michal Kolaczkowski and Trevor Kuhn have been renting this 300-square-foot studio apartment on New York City's Upper West Side for about seven months.

Jahzeel and Joseph, who are both vintage furniture hunters and sellers, live with their two cats in a San Diego condo they renovated, replacing old appliances and bulky kitchen cabinets, adding fresh paint, and incorporating STUNNING vintage art and furniture pieces throughout. They also turned a closet into a top notch cat bathroom!

After her divorce, Erin got rid of most of her belongings for a fresh start. Her Philadelphia cottage gives her the space to huddle with friends during cold months and maximize what's most important to her.

Fabien Eleb is a mid-century furniture dealer who runs the store, à demain, and shares this Paris rental apartment with his family.

Claire Arnaud and Julien Pasteau live in a high-rise building in Paris’ 20th arrondissement in a meticulously designed and decorated apartment.