Midcentury Modern

Clay Crider and his husband, Julian Kline didn't plan on having a monochromatic living room, but they "fell in love with the paint color and then the two blue couches, and it all started to fall into place."

Architect Samantha Stein and her fiancé moved from a studio apartment to a slightly larger apartment in the middle of a pandemic (and while on a budget) but the result is quite dreamy despite the challenges.

Pia Thompson is the founder of Sweet Digs, where she teaches clients how to get their homes in order. The Brooklyn rental home she shares with her young daughter is spacious, tidy, and yes, incredibly organized.

Mariana's condo is new construction and initially lacked architectural charm, but she brought life into the space by mixing her own paint colors, sourcing things secondhand, using what she already had, DIYing what she didn’t, and investing in a few things that could really make a difference.

Both uncluttered AND colorful, Faith Roberson's small studio apartment has brilliant storage ideas in the kitchen, bathroom, cabinets, drawers, and even the shower. She also has an amazing DIY art piece in her kitchen that may inspire your own project.

Ceramic artist Cecilia Nigro's work is a beautiful blend of organic shapes, soft colors inspired by nature, and vibrant movement. Her home — which of course is filled with her ceramic wares like art, lamps, vessels and more — also reflects those elements. It's impossible to choose a favorite.

Professional photographer Eric Garcia has worked from home for five years and knows a thing or two about designing a home that you both have to live AND work in.

When COVID hit and ruined Mike Han's restaurant dream before it could open, he pivoted from sushi to art, transforming his small apartment into an art gallery.

Fashion stylist and editor Audree Kate Lopez used storage furniture to turn a small one-bedroom apartment into a home with a living room, separate office, bedroom, and walk-in closet.

Actors Jessica Parker Kennedy and Ronen Rubinstein loved the layout and high ceilings of their Los Angeles house when they bought it two and a half years ago. Only about 1000 square feet, the couple's biggest challenge was storage, so they hired designer Mandy Cheng to help.

Battling beige wall-to-wall carpeting and plain wall paint colors isn't easy when you're renting, but Dominique Fluker played around with intentional use of shapes and colors to create a fresh look that matches her and her partner's style.

KC Cibran's TINY 280-square-foot Manhattan studio apartment won the Tiny Bracket in 2020's Small/Cool competition, and really that's no surprise to anyone who's seen inside her "Tropical Boho and Cuban Abuela" style space.

Sue Eggen is an artist and creative director at Urban Jungle, shares this Philadelphia home with and writer and librarian Nathaniel Eddy.

Sound musician, artist, teacher and meditation leader Jackie Cantwell is an absolute expert in making small spaces stunning. And she has a meditation space in her rental she calls the "Rip Room."

Every room needed to be repainted, the flooring wasn’t great, the color of both fireplaces was not their style, and all of the cabinets had terrible finishes. But the best part about Megann's house glow up is how affordable it's been—no project cost more than a few hundred dollars!

This apartment's design was inspired by New Orleans. The main bedroom resembles the cozy style of Southern bed and breakfasts. And the kitchen is in the color of boiled crawfish.

Sophia Kaplan wrote the book on houseplants. No, really. She and Lauren Camilleri, her business partner at their Sydney-based indoor plant and pot delivery service Leaf Supply, are the authors behind "Plantopedia."

Interior decorator Sarah Montgomery moved into her West Bucktown 800-square-foot rental apartment and wanted to make it her own.

Budget was a challenge, but most difficult was organizing the space to create an open feel in a 10-foot-wide apartment!

Lincoln is Black and Queer, originally from a small town in Texas, and Amina is a Pakastani-American woman who grew up abroad in Saudi Arabia. Their small, intentional home is a direct representation of themselves.

Speaker, podcast host, entrepreneur, and Halloween fan Carrie Murray happens to be married to actor Sean Murray, Thackery Binx in "Hocus Pocus." Here's a peek at their home's subtle but spooky Halloween decorations!

Introducing Apartment Therapy's Dream House Week Audience Choice: Casa de Modelei!

Kick off a week-long series of dream home tours with photographer and graphic designer Sheri Kowalski's STUNNING A-frame cabin in the woods of Michigan.

It's pretty amazing how clean, modern, and lovely this small Manhattan apartment is, especially for two adults and two teenagers.

Hidden architectural details like beautiful brick walls were uncovered when Janna began pulling up floors, breaking down walls and ceilings, and renovating this space.

Designer Victoria Cho spent all her free time outside of work on this house design and space layout. "There were endless nights of researching, reviewing bids, and placing orders for finishes, hardware, etc."

Even though the ceilings are on the low side, this renovated bedroom and bathroom has color and feels cozy.

This couple's rental needed to serve not just as a home, but as a wellness center, office, favorite restaurant, and refuge. They did it by making sure every single item in the apartment is multifunctional.

From the dining nook to a dog bed to ceramics, to even a functioning turntable that doubles as a zen garden.

This interior designer traded her small studio apartment for a slightly bigger (but just as beautiful) junior one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

And a ton of other colors in between!

"Living in a van is allowing us to have the world as our classroom and we are so excited that we get to experience a better appreciation for the world around us while pursuing our education, and of course traveling in style."

"You can never have too many plants. The greatest reward of setting up your home aesthetically is to improve your mental well-being. Plants are just artwork!"

Joyce Lee's home features an earthy color palette and an array of cozy textures.

She's inspired by mid-century modern design, the 1970s, and jewel and earth tone colors, too.

And they designed it on a limited budget! The result is a sophisticated yet affordable and very livable apartment.

The kitchen also features a $5 DIY "backsplash" idea that totally transformed the space.

Tall ceilings, original architectural details, and an incredibly bold & colorful palette... this recently renovated home is stunning!

This wedding planner and her husband, a photographer, live in this open-plan Seattle loft home that they laid out brilliantly.

"When we moved in, every single wall was painted canary yellow. We spent a few long days painting, which totally transformed the feel of the house and is ALWAYS worth the work!"

Rana Argenio is the founder of direct-to-consumer linens brand 10 Grove and lives in this industrial Tribeca apartment with her husband.

There are smart storage ideas... as well as one of the cutest jewelry storage ideas maybe ever.

What a kitchen island!

Name: Freddy Grant, with Burt, my husband, Grungle, our Jack Russell, and Totoro, our giant Maine Coon.Location: Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne, Australia Size: 1600 square feetYears lived in: 2.5 years, owned This house has been my latest outlet for my creativity; hunting for things and putting them together with your lifetime of mementos to make a space you love, full of memories and meaning.

This 1930s New Mexico house had a good layout, lots of light, great hardwood floors, and original cabinetry, but it needed updating and lots of love!

Thomas Denning and his partner live in this small Melbourne apartment absolutely brimming with lush green plant life.

Bought sight-unseen, before the renovation this house was a mix of mid-century and mid-1980s design—with endless knotty pine and old, smelly carpet throughout!

Create & Cultivate founder Jaclyn Johnson renovated this gorgeous 1920s Los Angeles house.

Name: Katrina & Draz, their son, Eddie, and Yoshi the dog Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Size: 120 square metres (1,292 square feet) Years lived in: 5 years; Owned Katrina and Draz are absolute fans the 1950s, rock-n-roll and vintage Americana, so it’s no surprise that their home reflects all of these things.

And it features some sleek, clever built-in ideas for the kitchen and bathroom you'll be inspired by.

Despite the beige walls, pink bathroom, and yellow kitchen, Jenna and her husband saw potential in this 1930s home.

Two of the four walls throughout the entire house are all glass.

Graphic designer Jonathan Black's small Chicago studio is a lesson in how to make the most out of a teeny space.

This is a home that was thoughtfully designed to help support life, career AND health.

Name: Natacha Nay and Joshua Location: Berkeley, California Size: 600 square feet Years lived in: 10 months; Rented Natacha and Joshua live on one of Berkeley’s busiest and most historic streets. Though their neighborhood is generally hectic, their home reflects a minimal way of living that contrasts with the busy street scene.

Anyone who frequents large estate sales on the hunt for antique goodies *might* have thought about buying the house too... but this couple actually did it.

Jon O'Shaughnessy is inspired by the things that make him happy—travel, the outdoors, and forests.

For Julie and Daniel Metzinger, this 1954 house in Louisville, Kentucky is more than just the first home they really got to own. This house has also served as a vehicle of transformation after a painful transition in the family's life: In 2014 their youngest child, a daughter named Edythe, passed away at age 13 after a long illness.

It's a functional and beautiful living space with lots of windows and a central atrium that lets the outdoors in!

Though her bathroom is quite small, this renter still wanted to give it a fun pop of color and pattern, using an Apartment Therapy favorite shower curtain.

Editor and lifestyle blogger Carrie Waller hit the home jackpot when she stumbled upon this small town gem.

This home has a bright, window-filled room the homeowners call their "conservatory" with a small sitting area that feels like the coziest reading nook ever.

There's a tiki bar in the basement!

Interior designer Isabel Muller of Harte Designs has made it her mission this year to fall in love with her own home.

Features include: a bubble-gum-pink washer and dryer, kaleidoscopic bathrooms, and era-appropriate furniture.

If you've ever wanted to know how to mix a bunch of different patterns without clashing, this playful Palm Springs house will inspire.

Just across the river from Portland, Rebekah and Larry found a warm and woodsy mid-century modern gem they now call home.

Clever, retro-industrial style mixes with the picturesque Gothic style of this late 19th century row house that was converted into apartments.

These classic mid-century houses were meant to be homes with a garden in every room.