I’m not joking. I repeat: this is not a joke.
Somebody sent me this last night, and I immediately thought, “David, get this on your blog as soon as possible!!”
Have a look at this video:
(There’s an annoying 15-second advertisment first; we can’t help that…)
Seriously?
This guy had a whopping 96 square-feet, and he downsized?
The average jail-cell is 4 x 6 feet, or 24 square feet. Some are larger, up to 8 x 10, or 80 square feet.
That means that the guy in this video is living in a condo in Manhattan that is smaller than a jail cell!
A colleague of mine brought in a brochure from a pre-construction condominium project last week that featured 290 square foot bachelor condos. I almost lost my mind. Two hundred ninety square feet? That’s insane! Who the hell could live in that?
Well, that’s almost four times the size of the apartment in this video, so I guess if the developers wanted to refer to that 290 square foot unit as “Massive” or “Spacious” or anything that you or I would laugh at, we know that when compared to some apartments out there, they wouldn’t be out of line…
Ralph Cramdown
at 7:50 am
Well he’s not really ‘living’ there, just sleeping there and storing a bit of stuff, hopefully. You live in the cafes, the bars, the restaurants, the museums, at your office… I sometimes wish I could live comfortably and stylishly in a small space, but I’m a ‘stuff’ person.
As long as we’re on the topic David, what’s your take on the current infatuation with small bachelor units aimed at investors? What kind of numbers are they shooting for in terms of cap rate? What’s the usual exit plan? I find it a little worrisome that investors are crowding into units that don’t appeal so much to end-user buyers. Is there end-user demand for these things, or will the investors be stuck renting them for long periods whether that was their plan or not?
Scott
at 10:18 am
While not as small, this is a a cool example of what can be done in a small space:
http://freshome.com/2010/04/28/incredible-gary-changs-24-rooms-in-a-30-sq-meters-apartment/
Sylvain W.
at 11:05 am
There was a woman a few years ago that lived in 90 square feet (http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/04/05/woman-lives-in-90-square-foot-new-york-apartment/) but this really takes the cake! I love his couch/bed (great design).
Here is a link to other cool, small but well designed NYC apartments…
http://inhabitat.com/nyc/5-super-efficient-tiny-new-york-apartments/
lui
at 11:28 am
very common to live in a small space in Europe and asia…here is great example of less than 260sqft……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWaO5TJS00
George
at 12:04 pm
I used to live in a 300 square foot apartment. I keep a photo of it in my current home as a reminder to appreciate what I have now.
300 square feet gets you a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, which is all one person really needs. The problem is that you can’t really have anyone over to your home without a bit of embarrassment at seating them on your bed/futon.
That 76 foot space is a bit of a cheat. He doesn’t have any plumbing. The shared bathroom is not included in the 76 feet. Furthermore, that would be the biggest annoyance of his home…that he can’t use a sink whenever he wants to. Oh, and how safe can a microwave inside of a tight closet be?
Devore
at 2:54 pm
I measured the place I live in, and with the balcony, it is around 500sqft. The bedroom is very spacious actually, or at least better shape than my 700sqft condo I used to live in before this. It is definitely more open, and feels larger and brighter. I realized I could do without the bedroom, if I needed to, because I have slept on the couch more than a few times, so it’s doable. But at that point your living room/couch is your bedroom, and it’s not very comfortable having anyone over, that separation seems to be really key.
Without a bathroom or kitchen, there would be some restrictions on how such a unit could be treated in Canada.
Sylvain W.
at 4:35 pm
Slightly larger than 78sqft at 240sqft but it looks gorgeous:
http://gizmodo.com/5991105/an-amazing-240+square-foot-apartment-works-like-a-magical-jewelry-box
AndrewB
at 11:00 pm
Reminds me of the movie Wanderlust. “It’s not a bachelor, it’s a micro-loft”.