When the idea for this blog post first came across my desk (thanks to blog reader Kathy for sending…), I thought the subject was going to be something along the lines of, “How do you define a bedroom?”

As you’ll read shortly, that is part of the theme today.

Many years ago, we began the discussion of what a “bedroom” actually is.  What characteristics need to be present in order to accurately call it a bedroom?

Once upon a time, the rule of thumb was that a bedroom needed to contain four elements:

1) A window.
2) A closet.
3) A door.
4) A minimum measurement of length and width.

The measurements were obviously a moving target as condos were made smaller and smaller, but the theory was that if a standard jail cell was 6 x 8 feet, then a bedroom needs to be larger.

I’m not kidding!  This was commonly referenced in the real estate community.

But in the late-2000’s when “soft lofts” became all the rage, we started to see those “inset” bedrooms that were in the middle of the condo, and thus did not have a window.

Many real estate agents argued that this couldn’t be called a “bedroom” and had to be described on MLS as a “plus one,” which was also known as a “den.”

But other agents simply argued, “There’s a closet.  There are two sliding doors that encloses the space.  And there’s a bed.  It’s a bedroom.”

Here’s a classic example:

Bedroom?

Y/N?

Can you see where the argument began?

There’s a bed in there, sure.  And a closet.  And two sliding doors.  But there’s no window.

In any event, this was around the time that the debate began about what actually constitutes a “bedroom.”

Dare I say that organized real estate threw out the concept of standards many years ago, but I digress.

That brings me to the example I want to discuss in today’s blog.

I saw something recently that, in my opinion, underscores exactly how and why we got into the current predicament in the downtown condo market that we find ourselves in.

What predicament?  Well, there are many!  Sales are down, prices are down, listings are up, etc.

But I mean the predicament about the quality of condos.

We read countless articles in 2025 about micro condos and how nobody wants them, as well as why developers built them in the first place.  But what’s missing from that conversation is the discussion about just how bad the average floor plan has become.

I’ve always maintained that a “square plan” is king.  There’s no wasted space.  Just a square or rectangle divided into kitchen, living, dining, bedroom, and bathroom.

Like this, for example:

But over time, condominium developers started to build condos that looked good from the outside and featured a flashy design, but left the floor plans inside the unit completely bastardized as a result.

I wrote about this back in 2025: “Design Versus Functionality: The Problem With New Condo Floor Plans”

Here’s an example:

That’s pitiful.

So by comparison, this floor plan doesn’t seem so bad:

Right?

It’s open concept, spacious, light, and bright!

But here’s another angle:

Ah, okay!

So the living, dining, and kitchen are one big room.

But that’s normal in 2025, right?

Here’s the floor plan:

Yeah, it’s not my fave.

Far from it, in fact.  Awkward angles, irregular spaces, and difficult to furnish.

But do you know what could make this floor plan worse?

Do you know what could make it so bad that it’s nearly impossible to sell?

What if we got really greedy and had the following thought process…

“If I turn my one-bedroom condo into a two-bedroom condo, I think I could improve the value.”

This is how, when, and where Toronto condos completely lost the plot.

And there’s more than one owner of this floor plan that decided to turn it into a 2-bedroom!

Worse, is that the unit appears for sale on MLS with a hand-drawn floor plan showing the second “bedroom.”

Check this out.  It’s the worst thing I’ve seen in a long time:

The word “Bedroom” is superimposed over “LIVING ROOM” beneath it.

The bed is drawn by hand.

Then what’s that in the kitchen?  Is that a couch?

Folks, let’s think this through for a moment.  Because there’s more here.

Somebody hand-drew the bed and the couch, which means they did this on a piece of paper.  But then they wrote “Bedroom” in type font, meaning they did this on their computer.

WHY?

HOW?

Do they not have Paint on their computer?

If they wanted to hand-draw a bed and a couch, couldn’t they use some white-out on the words “LIVING ROOM” before they typed “Bedroom?”

This is insane.

But perhaps more crazy is the new living room, dining room, and kitchen as a result:

No, seriously, folks.  That is what’s left when you turn your living space into a second bedroom.  That is the kitchen and ALL the living space in the entire condo.

How does one live there?

Oh, it’s simple!

You just put a chair, table, pot, pillow, and throw, as shown in this staged photo from another unit that put up the same wall:

Welcome home!

“Luxury awaits!”

But the best part has yet to come.

They staged a dining table in the condo and took a photo as follows:

That’s cool, right?

Just a standard dining table.  So what’s all the fuss about?

Well, think about the floor plan here for a moment.

This photo is an illusion!

There’s ony one way to get past this and to the front door:

Excuse the arrow, which I made in Paint, unlike whoever made the floor plan above.

But think about where they put this table!

It’s here on their ridiculous floor plan:

Like I said: you literally cannot get by the table to enter/exit the condo!

This is perhaps one of the worst floor plans I have ever seen, and that says a lot, especially if you read the blog post I wrote in 2025, linked above.

So the question remains:

“Why would anybody bastardize their floor plan like this?”

Because they didn’t know any better.

Because they wanted to turn a one-bedroom into a two-bedroom.

Because they were greedy.

Because they figured they’d rent the condo to two foreign students who considered it palatial compared to what they had back home.

But when it comes time to sell the condo, is there an end-user in the city who wants that floor plan?

Not a chance.

I’m of the opinion that this floor plan makes the condo completely unsellable in this market.

Try to change my mind, if you dare…