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Apartment Therapy has published a tour of artist Trevor Ball’s 1,200-square-foot, one-bedroom rental in a building constructed between 1908 and 1911. Ball has lived there for 8½ years, filling the apartment with his own typography, art on the walls, retro accessories and a giant lips-shaped sofa; he says his landlord knows about and likes the wall art.
Apartment Therapy has published a tour of artist Trevor Ball’s 1,200-square-foot rental, where a giant lips-shaped sofa sits among his own typographic art, accessories and artwork written on the walls. Ball says he has rented the one-bedroom apartment for 8½ years and that his landlord knows about the wall art and likes it, making the home an example of a long-term rental shaped around its tenant’s creative work.
The apartment is in a building constructed between 1908 and 1911, according to Apartment Therapy’s house tour. Ball says the space had a more restrained appearance when he moved in, with what he described as “brown, white, and black features” and a “business type” feel. Over the years, he has added his own art and selected colors and accessories to give it a more personal character.
Ball describes the result as a playful, eclectic mid-century and retro-modern space. The tour highlights his typographic artwork, oversized lettering, vintage-style street signs, mirrors, toys and unusual accessories, alongside the lips sofa. He also uses white walls and clean furniture shapes to balance the graphic, colorful elements and maintain what he calls a contemporary look.
In comments quoted by Apartment Therapy, Ball said his interest in the look draws on the colors and atmosphere of the 1980s and 1990s. He characterizes the apartment less as a conventionally decorated home than as a curated creative studio or artist’s loft. The source presents the home through a house tour and Ball’s descriptions; it does not provide independent measurements of individual furnishings or details about how the wall art was installed.
A Long-Term Rental Becomes a Studio
The tour offers a specific example of how a renter can make a home reflect personal work and taste over time. Ball’s 8½-year stay gives him a longer period to shape the apartment than a short-term tenancy would, while the reported approval of his landlord helps explain why the wall art remains in place. His comments also distinguish this home from a temporary styling project: he says he expects to stay and is not planning to repaint when he leaves.
For readers interested in renting or home design, the details show how art, furniture and accessories can change the feel of an older apartment without the story presenting a renovation. The source does not specify which changes are removable or whether any were made with the landlord’s permission beyond the landlord’s awareness and stated liking of the art. The tour is therefore a portrait of one renter’s circumstances, not general guidance about what tenants can alter in their own homes.
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Eight Years of Personalizing the Apartment
Apartment Therapy’s report centers on the apartment as it looks now and Ball’s account of how its style developed. He says the original interior felt businesslike, and that he has since brought in a more expressive mix of personal artwork, graphic typography and retro-inspired objects. His stated aim is to combine an 1980s graphic-design influence with contemporary elements rather than reproduce a period interior outright.
Ball also says he grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, which informs his choices of color and atmosphere. The building’s reported construction dates place it in the early 20th century, but the source does not describe historic features, renovations, the apartment’s city or the building’s ownership history. Its focus is Ball’s design and the fact that he has remained in the rental for more than eight years.
““Growing up in the ’80s/’90s, I have reflected on those styles of colors and atmosphere into my space.””
— Trevor Ball, quoted by Apartment Therapy
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Permission and Future Plans
The report says Ball’s landlord knows about the wall art and likes it, but it does not explain whether the landlord gave formal written permission, whether the artwork is painted, drawn or otherwise applied, or what condition the walls must be in at the end of the tenancy. Ball jokes that the landlord can keep his damage deposit and repaint after he leaves; the account does not establish what the lease says about the deposit or restoration.
Ball’s statement that he is “never leaving” is presented as a joke, not a confirmed plan or contractual commitment. The source also does not identify the apartment’s location, the rent, the landlord, or whether the lips sofa and other featured pieces are owned by Ball or where they were acquired.
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The Apartment Tour Is Now Published
The immediate development is Apartment Therapy’s publication of the house tour. The source material does not announce a renovation, move, lease change or other upcoming event, and it gives no date for Ball’s next plans for the apartment. Any future repainting or move-out work remains hypothetical based on his comments.
Readers can use the published tour for a closer look at the apartment’s design, but the report does not provide practical instructions for reproducing its wall art or making changes in a rental. Ball’s account establishes that his landlord is aware of and likes the artwork in this particular home; it does not establish that similar changes are approved in other rentals.
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Key Questions
Who lives in the apartment?
The apartment belongs to the story of artist Trevor Ball, who says he has rented the one-bedroom home for 8½ years.What is distinctive about the rental?
The tour features a giant lips-shaped sofa, Ball’s typographic art and writing on the walls, plus vintage-style street signs, mirrors, toys and other graphic accessories.Does Ball’s landlord know about the wall art?
Yes. Ball told Apartment Therapy that the landlord knows about the art and likes it. The report does not say whether that approval is formal or written.How old is the building?
Apartment Therapy says the building was constructed between 1908 and 1911. The source does not give its location.Is Ball planning to move or repaint?
No move or repainting plan is reported. Ball joked, “I am never leaving this place,” but the article does not establish a future move-out date or what would happen to the walls.Source: rss
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