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Artist Alea Lovely has decorated her two-bedroom Kansas City rental with deep browns, wood, mauves, chrome and neutral tones. In an Apartment Therapy home tour, she describes using the apartment’s architecture, natural materials and renter-friendly elements to create a calm, welcoming home for herself and her child.
Artist Alea Lovely has made rich brown tones part of a warm, light-conscious design in her two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot Kansas City rental, according to a home tour published by Apartment Therapy. The account shows how Lovely combined deep wood and brown paint with neutrals, mauves, chrome, mirrors and natural materials as she created a home for herself and her child.
Lovely moved into the apartment in the Hyde Park neighborhood seven months before the tour. She described the roughly 102-year-old prewar building’s neighborhood as leafy and said the apartment was in good condition, though much of its original wood had been painted over. She called the interior a “white box” when they arrived.
Rather than treating brown as the only defining color, Lovely built a palette around neutrals, deep woods, mauves, chrome, black and beige. She said she likes mixing wood with metal for what she calls a vintage Parisian-meets-contemporary look. Apartment Therapy’s report identifies several secondhand and vintage furnishings, alongside pieces from retailers and renter-friendly changes.
The former dining room is now a home office, painted “Death by Chocolate” by Behr, according to the tour. Lovely also emphasized the apartment’s existing architecture and layout, while using paint and other elements to personalize the rental. The report does not provide measurements of the rooms or detailed lighting data.
How Brown Works With Lighter Materials
The tour offers a specific example of how a renter can use a dark color without making it the only visual note in a room. Lovely’s approach pairs deep brown and wood with lighter neutrals and beige, while chrome and mirrors add reflective surfaces. These are design choices described in the home tour, not evidence that the palette will produce the same effect in every apartment.
For renters, the project also highlights ways to personalize a home while working around a property’s existing features. Lovely said she wanted a space that felt welcoming, calm and elegant, and that she used renter-friendly elements rather than relying solely on permanent changes. The home’s layout and original architecture were part of the design, not just its paint and furniture.
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A Rental Shaped Around Home
Lovely is an artist, creative, writer and astrologer, according to Apartment Therapy. She moved into the apartment with her child after wanting to make what she called a “safe and healing space.” The personal purpose she described informs the home tour, but it remains her account of the move and its meaning.
She said the apartment’s flow is one of her favorite features, particularly compared with a railroad-style apartment where she previously lived in Brooklyn. Lovely also said sensory needs influenced her choices: she wanted to avoid surroundings that felt too busy or bothersome. She described an affinity for natural materials such as wood, marble, linen and florals, which she said help her feel calm.
In the living room, a large painting made by Lovely takes center stage. She described it as a kind of “manifestation” connected to hopes for a more supportive new chapter for herself and her child. The tour also lists furniture and decorative objects sourced from secondhand sellers, local retailers and online shops.
““I love mixing woods with metals to give a vintage Parisian-meets-contemporary update.””
— Alea Lovely, in Apartment Therapy’s home tour
What the Tour Does Not Measure
The report is a home tour and personal account, not a lighting study or a detailed record of renovation work. It does not specify how much natural light the rooms receive, provide before-and-after measurements, or establish which individual choices make the brown palette feel balanced to viewers. The effect may depend on each room’s light, layout, furnishings and finishes.
Lovely said she and her child had been in the rental for seven months and that she still had plans for the space. The article does not give a timeline or detailed description of those future changes. It also does not state which modifications received landlord approval or provide lease terms.
Lovely Plans More Changes
Lovely told Apartment Therapy that she and her child have settled in well, but that she still has more plans for the rental. The tour does not identify a next project or say when any further changes might happen. For now, the published account documents the home’s current mix of brown paint, wood, neutral colors, art and secondhand furnishings.
Key Questions
Where is Alea Lovely’s apartment?
It is a two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot rental in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, according to Apartment Therapy.
What brown paint did she use?
The tour says Lovely painted the former dining room, now a home office, in “Death by Chocolate” by Behr.
How did she keep the dark colors from dominating?
Lovely’s reported palette also includes neutrals, beige, mauves, chrome and black. The tour describes her use of wood, mirrors and other materials, but does not measure the room’s lighting or establish which choices are responsible for its overall effect.
How long has Lovely lived there?
She moved into the apartment seven months before Apartment Therapy’s home tour was published.
Is the apartment fully finished?
No. Lovely said she and her child had settled in, but that she still had more plans for the rental. The report does not give details or a schedule for those changes.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
