WHO: Stewart Jones, Rebecca Hunt and cats Olive and Little Bones.

WHAT: Store-top apartment.

WHERE: Little Italy.

COST: Originally $750, now $925, plus utilities.

FAVOURITE THING: “Patioville,” a transformed tar roof, now a large wooden deck that was built off the back of their apartment and is frequented by neighbours and friends in the summertime.

LEAST FAVOURITE THING: The abnormally high utility bill.

THE STORY: Hunt first found the apartment in 1999 with a roommate, nearly settling for a place nearby after a frustrating three weeks with no luck. “I was literally in tears, walking back to tell the landlord I'd take the other place and came across this apartment, which was cheaper, way bigger and a lot nicer.”

A few years (and roommates) later, her husband Jones, a companion since Grade 7, moved in.

“Our style can be described as retro-modern-eclectic, which mainly means hand-me-downs,” says Hunt about the decor of the colourfully decorated flat. “I used to be an upholsterer, but I gravitated toward textiles so we have a lot of vintage fabrics like our floral couch pillows from the 1950s.”

Jones – a painter who will be showcasing his art in the upcoming Toronto Art Expo running March 15-18 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre – has swapped pieces to create a small collection of friends' works scattered throughout the apartment.

“We got nine paintings for our wedding from artistic friends,” says Jones. “Our goal is to have only originals hanging in our house.”

Although neither of them are professional musicians, the couple have acquired seven guitars, some of which hang on their wall along with a vintage banjo. “I keep saying I'm going to sell a few of them, but my dad keeps telling me to hold on to them,” says Jones.

The apartment also contains unique characteristics not created by the couple. With incongruous angles in each room due to the angled building, large windows on both ends of the space, a vaulted green entrance way and an antique-looking claw foot tub in the tiny bathroom, Hunt and Jones agree it will be hard to find a place as special as this one.

Hunt and Jones are planning to buy a house in the summer and say their friends have been inquiring about taking the place when they move out. “There is already a waiting list,” says Hunt.