Revisiting the Tiny Living Space Situation

As someone who lives in a small studio apartment, I’m always interested in reading about people who live in tiny spaces. Here’s the example the Times led with to show how a young woman living in the West Village makes her 170-square-foot apartment work for her:

A clotheshorse who doesn’t cook, she stores sweaters, not soy sauce, in her kitchen cabinets. She covers her stove burners with a cutting board — not for serving cheese and crackers, but as a counter area to dump sunglasses and her purse du jour. More important, she lives in her favorite neighborhood, near transportation, and for a rent that is almost bearable: $1,745 a month (Manhattan one-bedroom rents have inched over $3,300). As for entertaining guests? Like many others with no space to spare, she usually meets friends at bars and restaurants.

Among the things that this young woman lives without in her apartment: food. Clearly, this apartment is poorly designed for her lifestyle. I guess this living situation is fine for some people, and if I had to, I could be a minimalist, but I absolutely need food in my apartment. One of my must-haves when looking for an apartment was a full-size refrigerator. You’d be surprised at how many landlords are renting out spaces with a MicroFridge or no refrigerator.

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