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Friday, August 5, 2011

At just 78 sq ft, is this the smallest flat in the US ?....


Is this the smallest apartment in America? $800 a month 'shoebox studio' in Manhattan is just 78 square foot

Last updated at 9:01 PM on 5th August 2011
If you find your apartment a bit claustrophobic at times, spare a thought for this young New Yorker.
Architect Luke Clark Tyler designs grand houses for clients from his tiny 78 square foot shoebox apartment.
There is no space for a kitchen, or bathroom, and he had to build a bed from scratch because it is too narrow to fit full-sized ones inside.
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Tiny: Mr Tyler works from home, even though the apartment is so small
Tiny: Mr Tyler works from home, even though the apartment is so small
The smallest? Mr Tyler's place is perhaps the tiniest apartment in America
The smallest? Mr Tyler's place is perhaps the tiniest apartment in America
Handy: Mr Tyler likes having such a small place - so he can rest his feet on the walls
Handy: Mr Tyler likes having such a small place - so he can rest his feet on the walls
The bed doubles as a sofa - and as a storage unit for clothes and odds and ends.
With no kitchen, a microwave is hidden away with his shoes and a fridge is built into the desk at which he spends most of the day working.
    He keeps toiletries in his closet and shares a bathroom with three other apartments.
    Set in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, the location couldn't be better, which might explain why Mr Tyler spends so much on so little space.
    Proud: Mr Tyler shows off his closet/ toiletry cabinet/shoe rack/kitchen cuopboard
    Proud: Mr Tyler shows off his closet/ toiletry cabinet/shoe rack/kitchen cuopboard
    Crammed: The microwave sits next to the sneakers, beneath a printer, which is next to the cutlery and below his clothes
    Crammed: The microwave sits next to the sneakers, beneath a printer, which is next to the cutlery and below his clothes
    His rent is $800 a month, which is cheap for the area but extortionate considering the cost per square footage ratio.
    The average rental price per square foot in a studio is $72 but Mr Tyler is paying almost twice as much at $123.07.
    Mr Tyler, who downsized from a 96 square foot apartment, remains upbeat, seeing the apartment as conveniently snug, rather than constricting.
    Clever: The self-made sofa doubles as a bed to save space
    Clever: The self-made sofa doubles as a bed to save space
    Ingenious: The sofa, which doubles as a bed, triples as a storage unit!
    Ingenious: The sofa, which doubles as a bed, triples as a storage unit!
    Inconvenient: If Mr Tyler want running water, he has to use the bathroom he shares
    Inconvenient: If Mr Tyler want running water, he has to use the bathroom he shares
    Location: The apartment is set in the heart of Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan
    Location: The apartment is set in the heart of Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan
    'I just use it as an excuse not to buy an Ottoman because... I can just prop my feet right up on the wall,' he said.
    Mr Tyler, 27, keeps books, cutlery, plates, cleaning products, spices, a microwave, sneakers, clothes and his toothbrush in one small cupboard.
    Despite the limited supply of space, he still has a 'man drawer'.
    'Having lived in both the largest shelter in the South East as well as the largest slum in East Africa, I don’t think living small is a challenge,' he said.
    'So we can call it anything; a room, a hallway, a live-in-closet, but to me it’s just home.'

    Watch the video


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022915/Is-smallest-apartment-America--800-month-shoebox-studio-Manhattan-just-78-sq-ft.html#ixzz1UDKxjnOn

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