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Artist Alea Lovely has decorated her two-bedroom Kansas City rental with deep woods, brown paint, mauves and contrasting neutrals. In an Apartment Therapy home tour, she describes using the apartment’s architecture, natural materials and secondhand furnishings to create a calm space without making it feel dark or busy.
Artist Alea Lovely has furnished her 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom Kansas City rental with deep woods, brown paint and contrasting neutrals, according to a home tour published by Apartment Therapy. The report shows how she used the apartment’s older architectural details, reflective surfaces and natural materials to build a warm, personal home without relying on a pale palette throughout.
Lovely moved into the apartment in the Hyde Park neighborhood seven months ago with her child. She told Apartment Therapy she wanted to make a “safe and healing space” for them. The roughly 102-year-old building is surrounded by trees, and Lovely said the apartment was in good condition when they arrived, though much of its original woodwork had been painted over. She described the interior as a “white box.”
Rather than treating brown as the only color in the rooms, Lovely paired it with mauves, black, chrome and beige. She painted the dining room, which she converted into a home office, in Behr’s “Death by Chocolate.” In the living room, her stated palette combines neutrals and deep woods with those cooler and lighter accents. The tour also documents vintage and secondhand pieces alongside items from retailers, including a large mirror, chrome candle sconces and a bubble lamp.
Lovely said she wanted to make use of the home’s architecture while adding renter-friendly elements. Her own large painting takes a central place in the living room. She described it as connected to her hopes for a new stage of life with her child. The apartment tour notes that she has more plans for the rental, but does not specify which changes she intends to make.
How Brown Works With Light and Contrast
The tour offers a specific example of how a renter can use dark color without covering every surface in it. Lovely’s approach relies on contrast: brown and deep wood appear alongside beige, chrome, mirrors and other brighter or reflective details. The effect is not a measured design outcome; it is the arrangement and palette described in the tour.
Her choices also show how a rental can be made personal without a full renovation. Lovely incorporated secondhand furnishings, her own artwork and selected paint, while keeping the home’s existing layout and architecture in view. For renters looking for a warmer alternative to all-white rooms, the story illustrates one individual’s use of color, materials and existing features, rather than presenting a universal formula.
Lovely’s account puts comfort alongside appearance. She told Apartment Therapy she has sensory issues and wanted to avoid a space that felt busy or bothersome. She also said natural materials such as wood, marble and linen help her feel calm. Those are her personal experiences, not a claim that the same choices will have the same effect for everyone.
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A Rental Made for a New Chapter
Lovely is an artist, writer and astrologer, according to Apartment Therapy. She said the apartment’s layout is one of its best features because it flows well, especially for a rental. She contrasted it with a railroad-style apartment in Brooklyn where she had previously lived, which she said she disliked.
The home’s rooms serve different purposes: the former dining room now functions as an office, while the two-bedroom layout accommodates Lovely and her child. The tour describes the apartment as a work in progress. Its current mix includes vintage finds, marketplace purchases and retail items, with Lovely’s painting and adaptations to decorative pieces helping make the space her own.
““I wanted to make a safe and healing space” for herself and her child.”
— Alea Lovely, in Apartment Therapy’s home tour
What the Tour Does Not Specify
The source is a home tour, not a formal design study. It does not provide measurements of room brightness, paint coverage, natural-light levels or the cost of the project, so it cannot establish which elements had the greatest effect on how light or dark the rooms appear. Lovely’s reported sense of calm is personal and should not be treated as a general finding.
The tour identifies the office paint color and lists many furnishings, but does not give a full renovation timeline or a complete account of what changes required landlord approval. It also does not detail the apartment’s lease terms. Lovely said she still has plans for the space, but the report does not say what those plans are or when she expects to carry them out.
Lovely Plans More Apartment Changes
Lovely and her child had lived in the apartment for seven months when Apartment Therapy published its tour. She said they had settled in well, while also noting that she has more ideas for the home. No specific next project, schedule or further update is given in the source material.
For now, the reported development is the publication of the tour and Lovely’s description of the design choices she has made so far. Any additional changes, and how the finished rooms may differ from the version shown, remain to be seen.
Key Questions
Who lives in the Kansas City apartment?
Artist Alea Lovely lives there with her child. She moved into the two-bedroom rental seven months before the Apartment Therapy tour.
How did Lovely use brown without making the apartment feel dark?
The tour describes a palette of deep woods and brown balanced with beige, mauve, black and chrome. Lovely also used mirrors and varied materials, though the report does not measure the effect on room brightness.
Which paint color did she use in the home office?
Lovely converted the dining room into an office and painted it “Death by Chocolate” by Behr, according to the tour.
What remains unfinished?
Lovely said she has more plans for the apartment, but the tour does not identify the projects or when she might complete them.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
