It was 90 degree inside my apartment . And I use the condition “ flat ” loosely . It was , at upright , an elevated loo I had been live in for five months . effort dripped down every crevice as I lay on my beanbag chair that had been turned into a summertime nap station . Two fans were pointed on my body , and the terrace door was wide open . “ I can make this work , ” I whispered to myself . I turned to sate a glass of piddle . There was n’t a need to stand up . The sink was only a foot aside , and I had just settle into Netflix with no pall . From where I lay roasting , I could see my bathroom , kitchen , bedroom , W.C. , and home business office . Welcome to my micro - studio .
My Seattle life space was about 100sqft . It featured a small carpet field with a folding tabular array for my berth , a ladder that go up to my lofted twinned seam , a midget sump & cabinet combo for food for thought preparation , a sliding room access leading to a balcony that is big than my inside living quad , and a bathroom better suit for hobbit . There ’s a shared kitchen three floors down . This is the hip trend in urban living , consort to people who say such thing . And the hodgepodge of transient millennials , university students , and center - aged divorcees in my building seemed to concur .
I turned to fill a field glass of water system . There was n’t a need to place upright up . The sink was only a foot away .
Jason Hoffman/Thrillist
I ended up here – like many others – after resolve on a whim to move from Houston to Seattle for my dream job in social media . Of course , like most former 20 - somethings , my savings account was a innocent wasteland . The micro - studio I line up offer a low down payment , a month - by - month lease , and came amply equipped . Since I had moved here with everything I owned in two suitcases , we were unadulterated for each other .
Micro - studios , or single - occupancy dwellings that normally rove from 100 to 400sqft , started sprouting up around the city in 2012 , and have increase in phone number and popularity every year since . They offer an choice to expensive one - bedroom apartments , or hold to deal a live outer space with a roommate . Many of them , like mine , come to the full furnished and bid flexible short term letting . Despite the noticeable lack of amenities – like central chilling and a full kitchen – it ’s half the price of a one - bedroom apartment in the city .
But living in a micro - studio apartment is no easy feat . In fact , enquire people who have know in a miniature apartment for any amount of sentence , and most will tell you theyhate it . One reason is that last in such tiny infinite may really causepsychological wellness problems . Yet that is n’t bar people from signing leases . It raises the question , at what point does gadget trump well - being ? From my own experience , I can attest that live on in a micro - studio apartment makes you feel like Harry Potter under the stairs at the Dursley ’s . Only no one is coming to save you . You ’re stick there – you , your persuasion , your mini fridge , and IKEA silverware .
Jason Hoffman/Thrillist
I ’ve lived tiny . I ’ve eaten grain from my one bowl . I ’ve reach my nous on a lofted bottom ladder too many fourth dimension to weigh , and I ’ve tried to make romantic relationships “ work ” when a turn spoke is limited to a neck opening pivot man . I understand how difficult it can be , but I ’m here to tell you it ’s possible . Here ’s how I made the best out of a lilliputian situation .
1. Everything is multi-use
My work mesa was also my kitchen table , crafting table , home theater , and game room . A beanbag is a couch , reading nook , and occasional bottom . Your bathing tub towel is now also your kitchen towel . OK , maybe that ’s a bit too far . But you understand where I ’m go with this .
2. Loft everything you can
Without enough horizontal space to do a proper push - up , your worldly possessions will need to be store vertically . loft a seam generate a ton of supererogatory floor room and creates a coolheaded space underneath for lounging about . I used hang industrial plant to contribute color to my unit while conserving desk blank , and floating shelf for books and other gewgaw .
3. Invest in a few expensive items
You ’ve already made the frightful decision to last in space small than your puerility bedroom , so why not be it up a little ? With the money you ’ve carry through from cutting your rent in half , adorn in a few expensive items that will make your life more comfortable .
Does your micro - studio not have air conditioning ? Get aportable melodic line conditioner . work from nursing home ? Purchase a quality desk with a standing option to economise space . And if you ’re go away to kip in a rabbit hole , get a undecomposed mattress so you could at least aspiration of wide of the mark - open infinite .
4. Make a micro-studio a home
It ’s the small things that can really help you escape the solitude contained within your four miniscule wall . sure enough , I did n’t have a bathroom sink or a door on my W.C. – but I bedamn sure had a vase of reinvigorated bloom and several pieces of framed fine art on my rampart .
5. If all else fails, escape outside
You ’ve found multiple utilisation for your living space , lofted your possessions , invested in some creature comforts , and made your micro - studio a bit more homey … but you still feel like you ’re living in a pokey cell . Your upright bet is to provide and venture outside .
And if you ’re going to sleep in a rabbit hole , get a sound mattress so you could at least aspiration of all-encompassing unfastened spaces .
That ’s the obscure beauty of living in a micro - studio apartment . They are often meter so inhospitable that spending a few hours in the park or catching that concert you ’ve been indifferent about attend to become enticing again . For the lazy among us , the micro - studio apartment may , in fact , be a social lifeguard .
As for me , I ’ve moved on from my microscopic home ground . I live with my best friend in a two - sleeping room , two - bathroom apartment with a full kitchen and support room . We have material article of furniture – tuffet even ! But sometimes I do miss support tiny . And when that emotion hit , all I ’ve got to do is curl up on my old beanbag and riffle on a couple installment ofParks and Recreation . If only the water faucet was n’t so far away .
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