This small studio is full of Chelsea's favorite things: feminism, queer lady history, books, plants, the kitties, and the color orange.

Name: Marc-Andre & Alexandre Location: Griffintown, Montreal, Canada Size: 710 square feet Years lived in: 6 months; Owned Have you ever dreamed of designing and building your own home? If you are not an architect nor a designer (or if you don’t plan on hiring one), you may rarely encounter the opportunity that Marc-André and Alex just had. They bought their condo from plans, so they were able to sit down with the interior designer of the builder’s company (three times!

The staircase leading up to this third-story flat is painted a bright, happy yellow, the first of many elements that bring a warmth and vitality to this Montréal home.

Filled with muted light, calming colors and entrancing vignettes, this California home is like being transported to a farmhouse in the south of France.

Samara's dad gutted this building in the '70s, and now she calls it home. She's filled it with MCM servingware from her Gran's entertaining heyday and DIY sewing projects.

Name: Simran Winkelstern Location: West Hollywood; Los Angeles, California Size: 750 square feet- 1 bedroom + 1 bath Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rent Simran’s home is a one bedroom in a gorgeous triplex right in West Hollywood, filled with welcoming charm. She’s placed plenty of importance on comfort and livability, but her design talent and personal style are what bring this space to life. Simran believes that, when designing a home, you need to consider both practicality and style.

Expansive windows boast beautiful views of the trees outdoors.

Designer Emily Green, also the co-owner of a gift and homewares shop called Pinky’s, shares this three-bedroom weatherboard house in Melbourne with her family.

Each room has a ton of colors, shapes, materials, patterns, and forms.

Name: Simran Winkelstern Location: West Hollywood; Los Angeles, California Size: 750 square feet- 1 bedroom + 1 bath Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rent Simran’s home is a one bedroom in a gorgeous triplex right in West Hollywood, filled with welcoming charm. She’s placed plenty of importance on comfort and livability, but her design talent and personal style are what bring this space to life. Simran believes that, when designing a home, you need to consider both practicality and style.

The listing ad described the house as "needs a lot of TLC," but Erin and Ryan saw the property's potential.

Name: Lara (me), my husband Stuart, and Coco the Cocker Spaniel. Location: Northamptonshire, UK Size: 1000 square feet Years lived in: 5 years, owned I love the history of the place; it’s an old cottage on the end of a row of cottages built in the early 1800s. It used to be an ale house, like a mini pub/bar there used to be a lot of. You can still see the hooks in the stone walls where people would tie up their horses.

Name: Alex Bronstad & Zack Suhadolnik Location: Cole Valley; San Francisco, California Size: 620 square feet Years lived in: 4.5 years; Rented Alex and Zack sit tucked against bright bay windows while I take photos of their place. They’re planning a summer road trip, a sort of wilderness sabbatical, and sketching floor plans of the camper they’ll call home.

Name: Georgie Wilson and familyLocation: Rye — Victoria, AustraliaYears lived in: 10 years, owned Having initially bought this house as a weekend retreat, artist and graphic designer Georgie Wilson and her husband Chris, managing director of Fathom Creative, decided to move permanently down the coast from Melbourne two years later.

Photographer Nikki Ross and her fiancé, photographer and director Matt Barnes, have completely renovated this old church, turning it into an incredibly unique home with a slide, trampoline, fun furniture, art, and more.

Cute cats, gorgeous floors, boatloads of light and the dreamiest sunroom you've ever seen.

Name: Nick Fanelle & Spiro Georgi Location: Andersonville; Chicago, Illinois Size: 1,100 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; Rented There’s no reason you can’t enjoy both the vibrancy of city life and the peacefulness of a rural retreat. Now, if you were to find an urban townhouse on a farm, it might strike you as a bit odd, but bringing the rustic, worn-in feel of the country into a Chicago apartment turned out to be just the thing for Nick Fanelle and Spiro Georgi.

Name: Bill Johnson and Leah Forester Johnson, wife, mother, and blogger Location: Venice – Los Angeles, California Size: 3,300 square feet (main house), 1,000 square feet (man cave) Years lived in: 8 years (approximately 2 years since the remodel) If you’ve ever believed in fate, keep reading: this story is for you. I am not just showing you a beautiful house on the boardwalk in Venice — this home has a special story behind it.

Name: Steve and Heather Sacks, kids Cameron and Jasmine, and dogs Rockit and Haley Location: Potrero Hill; San Francisco, California Size: 2,400 square feet Years lived in: 5 1/2 years; Owned Walking into Steve and Heather’s home makes you feel like you have escaped to a relaxing, tropical retreat in the middle of a city best known for its cold and foggy summers.

The houses of well-traveled old ladies inspired this house filled with color, pattern, and meat dolls. It's cluttered in a good way, you know?

From pastel to saturated, from neon to nature-inspired, color is one of the most engaging and important decor elements you can use to design a home. It’s not hyperbolic to describe color as powerful. Even adding a pale hint of blush pink can be a huge transformation. “Pops of color” is an overused phrase, but for good reason: Sprinkling just a few splashes of your favorite hue can completely revitalize a space.

Name: Charlotte Starling, her husband Boris, their children Florence and Linus and rescue greyhounds, Velvet and Dash. Location: Dorset, United Kingdom Size: 4,000 square feet Years lived in: 5 years Driving into the pretty Dorset village of Frampton, I feel as if I have unwittingly gate crashed the set of a Richard Curtis movie.

You may know Rachel Castle from her colorful instagram feed, her gorgeous bed linen range, or her witty artwork.

Chela is the founder of Takeawei ceramics, and her Australian home is colorful, warm, and eclectic.

Name: Katie Hackworth, principal designer and owner of H2 Design + Build, her husband Paul, their two daughters & three rescue mutts Location: Bellevue, Washington (a stone’s throw away from Seattle) Size: Approximately 1600 square feet Years lived in: 8 months; Rented Early last summer, Katie and her family decided to sell their modern farmhouse, which they built from 2010 to 2011. When the house sold, the new owners purchased about 75% of the furnishings.

Name: Jim and Laura Nelson Location: College Hill, Providence, Rhode Island Size: 3,400 square feet Years lived in: 4 1/2 years; owned There had been no talk of moving in the Nelson family when a house in Providence caught Laura’s eye in the newspaper one Saturday in 2009. Pictures of the sun-drenched kitchen and unusually large backyard jumped off the page. And the charming College Hill colonial, built in 1772, was a mere two blocks from Laura’s childhood home.

Name: Stephen “Scuba” Clark Location: Phoenix, Arizona Size: 1,700 square feet Years lived in: 5 years; Owned Stephen ‘Scuba’ Clark bought his house five years ago, and in that five years, not a month has gone by that he hasn’t managed to add significant and beautiful upgrades to his home. All of the projects are custom, designed by Scuba, and typically built by his roommate, Jeremy. Scuba’s passion for life and travel is obvious in every corner of his home.

There are iroko timber countertops, zellige tiles, and hanging racks of plants and dried botanicals… and that’s just in one room!

Name: Allen Loeb and Nate Clark Location: West Hollywood — Los Angeles, California Size: 1,450 square feet Years lived in: 4 years; Owned When my friend Jason Martin told me about Allen and Nate’s gorgeous West Hollywood home, I jumped at the opportunity to photograph it. This home is one that is stylish but warmly minimal. Each room has a personal touch that expresses their personalities but still feels both refined and functional.

From a glamorous custom bookcase to a sunset-inspired shower, these pictures stopped AT editors in their tracks.

Name: Renee Mouritz and Adrian Testa and their dog, Sammy Location: Yallingup, Western Australia Size: 128 square meters (1,378 square feet) Years lived in: 10 years; Owned Renee, a passionate Australian conservationist, and Adrian, a chiropractor from New York, built themselves a home near the coast of Western Australia to serve as a retreat from the busy-ness of the rest of the world.

When she bought this flat seven years ago, it had bachelor pad vibes. "All the kitchen cabinet doors were in black shiny plastic."

Name: Beth of Small Cool 2010 fameLocation: Sausalito, CaliforniaSize: 365 square feetYears lived in: 3 years There is no doubt that everyone remembers Beth’s Teeny Tiny Peek-a-boo from this year’s Small Cool Contest. As winner of the Teeny Tiny division, we were all impressed by how much Beth was able to do in such a small footprint. Still, five images were not enough and left us all wanting to see more.

When Joana first saw this space, pigeons were sleeping in the living room and walls wore wallpaper from the last century. It looked like the house in the film "The Others."

To combat a lack of natural light, Sol incorporated colorful elements to “bring more light and joy” into her home.

Trish is an artist and interior designer, Rentz is a musician, and their home is colorful, fun, quirky and interesting, just like them.

The attic roof was leaking, windows were cracked, wood had rotted, and the sky-blue Formica kitchen from the 1950s was still in use.

A 1963 A-frame home redesigned by Desanka, it's filled with her discerning creative touches. Her earthy style effortlessly complements the natural wood construction and brightness.

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.

Phebe and Michael share this rental in Victoria, Australia. They both bring their own unique styles to the house, not shying away from maximalist items that create a fun, whimsical spirit.

Name: Christina, Rohan, our 2-year-old daughter Elara, and our gorgeous pup, Aluki Location: West London, UK Size: 1800 square feet (internal) Years lived in: 7 months, owned Christina, her partner Rohan, and their daughter, Elara, have a pretty unique house… even in the world of houseboats. Rather than a small boat that’s been transformed into a floating home, they converted a Dutch barge!

Name: Christina and Thejas; Cats: Oliver and Teddie Location: DUMBO; Brooklyn, New York Size: 1,080 square feet Years lived in: 7 months; Rented When Christina and Thejas were looking for a new apartment last summer, they searched for a place that had luxury amenities, but still had character and charm. What they found was a modern apartment in an old factory building in DUMBO. And with Christina’s flair for accessorizing and adding color, they brought the space to life.

Name: Minh and Ted Location: Miracle Mile — Los Angeles, California Size: 1,700 square feet Years lived in: 8 years When Minh and Ted received an unexpected offer on their West Hollywood place, within days they were on the hunt for a new place to call home. Their realtor found them a distressed house that required a lot of work – you never really know the scope of what you are getting into until you are deep in renovation.

Name: Whitney Walker, who runs her online shop Farrington Lane and does design and marketing for Bay Hill Design, and her husband Location: Deep Eddy Neighborhood, Austin, Texas Size: 735 square feet Years lived in: Rented 1 year Whitney and her husband’s apartment — one half of a tucked away duplex in an Austin neighborhood near downtown — is pretty small.

See inside this 730-square-foot, one-bedroom rental apartment shared by a couple who have filled it with plants, treasures from their travels, and enough space for them to both work on their careers.

Name: Ben and Viv Yapp and their one year old son, Covey Location: Sydenham; London, United Kingdom Size: 890 square feet Years lived in: 2 years; owned Set in an old dairy mews in South London is the eclectic and creative home of the Yapp family. You may remember the cool colored House Call of Viv Yapp from the summer— the wall colors were so striking in the photos that I had to go and see them in person.

It's eclectic, funny, and weird, yet somehow still mature and worldly.

Name: Irene Grishin Selzer and Peter Selzer Location: Victoria, Australia Size: 1200 square feet Years lived in: 8 years; Owned Irene, Peter and their two young children live in a bay-side suburb near Melbourne in an amazing Art Deco house, which they have restored and renovated into a spacious family home. Irene and Peter are the duo behind Iggy and Lou Lou—creating beautiful ceramic jewelry and homewares from their home studio.