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Artist Alea Lovely has decorated her two-bedroom Kansas City rental with deep browns, dark wood and contrasting neutrals, while using mirrors, varied materials and the apartment’s architecture to keep the rooms from feeling too dark. Apartment Therapy’s house tour says Lovely moved in with her child seven months ago and is still planning changes.
Artist Alea Lovely has decorated her two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot rental in Kansas City, Missouri, with deep wood tones, brown paint and contrasting neutrals without making the home feel dark, according to a house tour published by Apartment Therapy. The report describes how Lovely used the apartment’s existing architecture and a mix of secondhand and renter-friendly furnishings to shape a home for herself and her child.
Lovely moved into the apartment seven months ago, the report says. She wanted to make what she described as a safe and healing space for herself and her child. The building is about 102 years old and is in Kansas City’s Hyde Park neighborhood, which Lovely describes as leafy and filled with trees. She said the apartment was in good condition but that much of its original woodwork had been painted over, leaving it feeling like a “white box.”
The design combines deep woods, mauves, chrome, black and beige, with different finishes and furnishings across the rooms. Lovely says she likes mixing wood with metal for what she calls a “vintage Parisian-meets-contemporary update.” In the office, which was formerly the dining room, she used Behr’s “Death by Chocolate” paint. The tour shows other brown and wood tones alongside mirrors, lamps, artwork and lighter surfaces.
Much of the listed furniture and decor came from secondhand sources, Facebook Marketplace and retailers, rather than from structural changes to the rental. The apartment tour identifies an original painting by Lovely as a focal point in the living room. She described it as a “manifestation” of the support and care she wanted for this new stage of life. She also said the layout works well for a rental, and that she has more plans for the home even though she and her daughter have settled in.
How Dark Browns Stay Balanced
The tour offers a specific example of how renters can use a dark color palette without relying on dark paint in every room or making permanent alterations. Lovely’s approach, as described by Apartment Therapy, combines brown and dark wood with beige, chrome, mirrors and varied materials. The contrast and reflective surfaces give the darker elements company rather than letting them dominate the visual scheme.
Her choices also show how a rental’s existing layout and architectural details can guide decorating decisions. Lovely said she wanted the space to feel welcoming, calm and elegant, and noted that her sensory needs influenced how busy or visually stimulating each room should feel. Those details make the tour relevant to renters looking for ways to make a home feel personal while working within an existing floor plan and avoiding extensive renovations.
The account is a single home tour, not a controlled design study or evidence that the same choices will work in every apartment. Light levels, room proportions, existing finishes and personal preferences vary. The report provides Lovely’s own description of what worked for her household, rather than measurements or a technical assessment of how the colors affect brightness.
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A Historic Rental in Hyde Park
The apartment is in a building Apartment Therapy describes as about 102 years old, in Hyde Park, a Kansas City neighborhood Lovely says has many trees. The home’s original wood features had been painted over before she moved in. She said the apartment felt like a “white box,” and described her goal as enhancing the building’s architecture with a combination of paint and renter-friendly elements.
The tour lists a range of sources for the apartment’s furnishings, including Facebook Marketplace and secondhand finds, along with items from HomeGoods, Target, Amazon and other retailers. Lovely also repurposed or adjusted some decor herself: the report says she changed the orientation of a jeweled mirror and added tassels to make it fit. The apartment includes a home office in the former dining room and dedicated bedrooms for Lovely and her daughter.
Lovely said she favors natural materials and forms, including wood, marble, linen and florals, because they help her feel calm. She also said guests have remarked that they feel sleepy after spending time there, adding that observation jokingly. The tour presents that as her personal experience, not as a measured effect of the design.
“I love mixing woods with metals to give a vintage Parisian-meets-contemporary update.”
— Alea Lovely, quoted in Apartment Therapy
What the Tour Does Not Establish
The report does not provide room-by-room measurements of natural light, paint coverage details or before-and-after brightness readings. It therefore does not establish that any particular brown paint or combination of finishes will keep other homes from feeling dark. The description is based on Lovely’s apartment and her account of living in it.
It is also unclear which changes, beyond the office paint and the listed furnishings, were made with the landlord’s approval or what restrictions apply to the lease. Lovely said she has more plans for the apartment, but the tour does not specify what those projects are or when she expects to complete them. The report notes that the family has lived there for seven months, so the home’s arrangement may continue to change.
Lovely Plans More Apartment Changes
Lovely told Apartment Therapy that she and her daughter have settled into the rental, while also saying she still has more ideas for the space. The report does not give a timetable or specific details for those plans. Any future changes will depend on what she chooses to do and, for alterations to a rental, the permissions and limits that apply to the apartment.
For now, the published tour records the apartment as it stands seven months after the move: a home shaped by deep browns, natural materials and secondhand furnishings, with its layout and existing architecture forming part of the design.
Key Questions
Who decorated the Kansas City apartment?
Artist Alea Lovely decorated the apartment for herself and her child, according to Apartment Therapy’s house tour.
How large is the rental?
The apartment has two bedrooms and about 1,000 square feet, the report says. It is in Kansas City, Missouri.
What brown paint did Lovely use?
The former dining room, which Lovely uses as a home office, was painted “Death by Chocolate” by Behr, according to the tour.
What did Lovely pair with the dark colors?
She described a palette of deep woods, mauves, chrome, black and beige, and said she likes combining wood and metal. The tour also lists mirrors and a range of materials and furnishings across the rooms.
Has Lovely finished decorating the apartment?
No. Lovely said she and her daughter have settled in, but that she still has more plans for the rental. The report does not specify what those changes will be or when they may happen.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
