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Artist Alea Lovely has decorated her two-bedroom Kansas City rental with deep browns, wood, metal and neutral colors. In an Apartment Therapy home tour, she said the palette, natural materials and renter-friendly choices help the 1,000-square-foot apartment feel calm and welcoming rather than dark.
Artist Alea Lovely has furnished and decorated a two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot rental in Kansas City, Missouri, with deep brown paint, dark wood, metals and pale neutrals, in a design she says feels calm rather than dark. Apartment Therapy featured the home in a tour published about seven hours before the supplied report, describing how Lovely adapted the apartment’s older architecture with paint and renter-friendly decor.
Lovely moved into the apartment with her child seven months before the tour. The home is in a roughly 102-year-old building in the Hyde Park neighborhood, which she described as leafy. Although the apartment was in good condition, Lovely said much of its original woodwork had been painted over and the rooms initially felt like a “white box.”
She brought stronger color into the home in selected areas, including the dining room, which now serves as an office and is painted “Death by Chocolate” by Behr. In the living room, she described a controlled palette of neutrals and deep woods alongside mauves, chrome, black and beige. The tour also documents secondhand furnishings, mirrors, rugs, lamps and other decor, as well as art made by Lovely herself.
Rather than relying on brown alone, Lovely said she mixed wood with metal and used natural-looking materials such as linen, marble and florals. She also said she considered her sensory needs when choosing furnishings and colors, aiming to avoid a room that felt visually busy. The article notes that she has more plans for the rental, and that she and her daughter are still relatively new to the home.
How the Brown Palette Stays Balanced
The tour offers a concrete example of how a renter can use dark color selectively instead of covering every surface in a deep shade. Lovely paired the painted office with a broader mix of light neutrals, reflective surfaces, varied materials and existing architectural details. Those choices are her own design approach, not a guarantee that the same palette will work the same way in every home.
For renters, the project also highlights options beyond permanent renovation. Lovely said she used paint and renter-friendly elements to build on the apartment’s character, while many of the listed furnishings were secondhand or sourced from retailers. The result reflects a personal effort to make a home that suits both an adult and child, as well as Lovely’s artistic preferences and sensory needs.
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A Rental Reworked Room by Room
The Apartment Therapy report presents the home as a developing project, not a finished renovation. Lovely described the apartment’s layout as one of its strengths, particularly its flow. She contrasted it with a railroad-style apartment she had previously lived in in Brooklyn, which she said she disliked.
The tour identifies several practical design choices: the dining room was repurposed as a workspace, and the home includes a mix of vintage, secondhand and store-bought furniture. Lovely’s original living-room artwork is especially personal. She said she made it as a “manifestation of sorts,” representing the supportive life she wanted to create for herself and her child after a difficult relationship.
Her choices also reflect a preference for natural forms and materials. Lovely said wood, marble, linen and florals help her feel calm. The article reports her description of guests feeling sleepy after spending time in the home as a joke, rather than as a measured finding about the design.
“I love mixing woods with metals to give a vintage Parisian-meets-contemporary update.”
— Alea Lovely, describing her design approach in Apartment Therapy
What the Tour Does Not Establish
The article is a single resident’s account and a home tour, not an independent assessment of how the color scheme affects brightness or comfort. It does not provide measured light levels, a floor plan, the apartment’s window orientation or details about lighting at different times of day. The claim that the space does not feel dark is therefore a description of the design and its presentation, rather than a quantified comparison.
The source also does not give the rental agreement’s rules for painting, the cost of the decorating project or a full account of which changes can be reversed. Lovely said she has additional plans for the apartment, so the home may continue to change.
Further Changes Remain Planned
Lovely said she and her daughter have settled in well, but she still has more ideas for the rental. The source does not name a schedule or specific next project, so no further renovation or decorating milestone has been announced. The next development is whether she carries out those plans and how the home evolves as they spend more time there.
Key Questions
Where is Alea Lovely’s apartment?
It is a two-bedroom rental in Kansas City, Missouri, in the Hyde Park neighborhood. The apartment is about 1,000 square feet and is in a roughly 102-year-old building, according to Apartment Therapy.
Which brown paint did she use?
Lovely painted the dining room, which she uses as an office, in “Death by Chocolate” by Behr. The report does not say that every room is painted brown.
How did she keep the home from feeling too dark?
Lovely described combining deep woods with neutrals, beige, mauve, chrome and black, alongside mirrors and varied materials. The article does not include measurements of brightness or a controlled comparison.
Did she make permanent renovations?
The tour describes paint and renter-friendly elements, as well as furnishings and decor. It does not provide the lease terms or confirm which changes require landlord approval, so renters should check their own agreements before painting or altering a home.
Is the apartment finished?
No. Lovely said she and her daughter have settled in, but she still has more plans for the rental. The report does not specify what she will change next or when.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
