House Tour

More of this, please.

"The stylist in me wants everything to be beautiful, but the mom in me wants everything to be functional and practical, too."

Misella and Angga run Lumalamp, a handmade origami lampshade business, out of their home, this 700-square-foot apartment they renovated themselves and share with their three young kids.

Name: Elizabeth Rees, co-founder of Chasing Paper, husband Brian Leadley, Uma (19-month-old daughter), Marlow (5-month-old daughter), and Lucy (15-year-old Goldendoodle)Location: Walker’s Point — Milwaukee, Wisconsin Size: 1900 square feetType of home: House Years lived in: 3 years, owned Elizabeth Rees is the co-founder of Chasing Paper, a popular removable (and traditional) wallpaper you should absolutely know about if you rent and love pattern (or own and love pattern!).

Kristin Pardy knows a thing or two about squeezing a large family into a small space. She shares her 800-square-foot home with her husband Preston (a resource enforcement officer for their provincial government), 13-year-old son Coby, 7-year-old daughter Isla, and 3-month-old son Jack. The family also includes three huskies, Bear, Blue, and Beau. Kristin, along with being an emergency medical responder for a local ambulance company, is also a blogger and YouTuber.

Tyler Moore blogs under the name “Tidy Dad,” and tidy is just what you have to be when you’re sharing a small NYC third floor walk-up, railroad-style rental apartment with a family. In Tyler’s case that’s wife Emily, 5-year-old Mabel, 3-year-old Matilda, and 7-month-old Margaret, and they’ve had to do some adjusting to their home’s layout a few times in the seven years they’ve been renting.

Big Mountain Skier-turned-startup founder Kina Pickett shares a 200-square-foot 1971 Airstream International with his wife Nellie, their 6-year-old son Ashur, 4-year-old daughter Story, and their dog Scout. This family of four (plus dog!) purchased an Airstream just before the pandemic broke in February, and have been traveling, remote working, and homeschooling since.

Don’t dismiss the value of a child’s input. Their wildly imaginative and sometimes brilliantly simplistic ideas are key to the design plan.

Name: Stefanie Archer, Chris Archer, Gabriel (12), James (8), Darcy (6)Location: Amsterdam, The NetherlandsSize: 1,872 square feet When Stefanie and Chris Archer started to think about shopping for a new house, they asked their kids if they wanted their own rooms, and they all emphatically said no. An unsurprising reaction given the fact the kids share a verifiable playground in their Amsterdam home.

Name: Tomás, Martina, Nina, and Florián Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Size: 1,800 square feet Tomás is an architect and Martina is a decorator, so of course the home they share in Buenos Aires with their two children, Nina, 7, and Florián, 4, is stunning. But it didn’t always look this way: When the couple first found this apartment, it had been neglected for years and it needed a full remodel, which gave the creative couple the opportunity to make it their own.

Name: Ellen Maire, Patrick, and JoniLocation: Melbourne, AustraliaEllen, Patrick, and their daughter Joni, age 2 1/2, live in a post-war brick house in Melbourne, Australia. Their charming home is flush with original details such as cornices, ceiling plasterwork, and lovely wooden window frames. It’s an architectural style that suits the couple’s nature and vintage aesthetic perfectly.

Names: Bridget, Bill, and Mabel Watson Payne Location: Nob Hill/Tenderloin — San Francisco, California Size: 650 square feetHow do you fit more books into an apartment with 20 bookshelves is not a question most families find themselves asking, but it’s constantly on the minds of Bridget and Bill Watson Payne, who are parents to one daughter, Mabel. “One look around will tell you that we love books, color, and art,” Bridget says.

Most parents would balk at the prospect of moving into a former garage with their child, but designer Cherub Stewart of Florida Water Interiors, saw the potential in a lofty converted garage in the Newark, New Jersey area. With her background in interior design, Cherub could look past the concrete interior and parking lot outside to see the space’s good bones.