'Another foolproof way to make a petite room look larger is to emphasize its height and draw the eye upward. Choose curtains ...

This Chicago apartment living room got a makeover with paint and secondhand finds. Credit: Alex Hinand Credit: Alex Hinand “I moved in with nothing but a coffee table to my name,” the renter says.

The living room has a neutral but warm color palette. Jackie describes her landlord in her current place as old-school, “so I couldn’t go as wild as in my last two apartments,” she says.