Nate Berkus's Manhattan Home

In just two months, Nate transformed his sparse living area into a space that oozes with personal style.

Watch Nate's apartment renovation…from start to finish.

First, Nate decided to paint everything white—the floors, the walls and the ceiling—to make the apartment appear larger. "I wanted the boundaries of this entire space just to go away," he says.

Then, he furnished the living room with a 1960s Danish sofa and a '60s Milo Baughman armchair. "If you actually keep things very organized and clutter-free, you can have more furniture than you think you can in a small space," he says.

Nate says people living in small homes shouldn't shy away from big artwork. A large piece—like Nate's bird painting by Michael Hainey—actually makes the home feel more spacious, he says. The art on the back wall is by Ross Bleckner (left) and James Brown.

He also mixed new and vintage purchases from his favorite resources. Practically every other object on display is a gift from a friend, something made by a friend or a souvenir from a trip he took with a friend.