8 Rooms in 420 square feet

[LongTomH]

Great article from Gizmodo on the new apartment designed by Graham Hill, founder of Treehugger.com. Hill has designed a tiny apartment, very appropriate for New York or most crowded urban areas, that has a small physical and environmental footprint.

When you walk in, you encounter what is, at first glance, a small studio apartment. Within that cube are actually 8 functional spaces. The living room and office become the bedroom with a tug of a bookshelf. Open one of the closets and you'll find 10 stackable chairs that go around a telescopic dining table for large dinner parties. An entire guest room with bunk-beds and a closet is revealed behind a wall that slides out on tracks. And of course, a well-equipped kitchen and bathroom await.

There's a gallery of various rooms and features, as well as a video where Hill himself takes you on a tour of his tiny, but very liveable pad.

Could this be the future as more and more of us become urban? If so, it looks very comfortable.

[Coolest Ranger]

1. as a fan of HGTV square footage is at a premium in New York

[enlightenment]

2. Lost me with the hot plate in the kitchen.

I don't mind small spaces - but that is not a functional kitchen, imo.

[marybourg]

6. He said here were 3 burners like that. I like it.

I could live there. I lived in a much smaller RV and loved it. There the pay-back was the ability to travel all around the country. Here the pay-back is the ability to live in SoHo.

[petronius]

3. These ideas are really awesome, and I'm comfortable with small spaces, but

I always want to see a photo series from an unannounced drop-in visit after a year or so of living. They look great after the home-stylist has worked some magic, but what is it really like?

[Control-Z]

4. My art supplies

and computers alone would cramp that space. It might work for a single male with no hobbies or creative needs. (Women have a lot more necessary junk like make-up, hair supplies, wardrobe, shoes, than men, generally speaking.)

Seriously. I think I'd have to give up pretty much everything I love, including my kids, to live in one of those.

It is cute, though.

[LongTomH]

7. Yeah, this was designed for a single person.

Families would need more space; but, they still could use many of the ideas from this apartment.

As for hobbies, and art stuff, please note the use of floor-ceiling-closets and fold-down desks.

Computers? They're packing more power in less space all the time.

[kestrel91316]

5. Very clever. Too sterile, and no place for all my antiques. Not for me, sorry.

[SheilaT]

8. All of the storage stuff was quite interesting.

I would have a lot of trouble living in so small a space because I love to cook so I'd really need a bigger kitchen, and I have lots of books and yarns.

[Iterate]

9. Plenty of space

At 420 sq. ft., I recall seeing places that were about that size with two rooms and a separate kitchen. In fact, his place "seems" small for the footage, and I suspect he sacrificed space for flexibility and the chance to seat 12 for dinner.

The thing I've found with spaces this size is that you can live well, but just need to choose the two or three things that really matter and trim the rest. Owning less means that what you do have can be more durable and of higher quality. Culture and shared spaces matters more. Light and ventilation starts to matter more than footage. A simple balcony makes the view your front room.

Boatbuilder hobbyists may need to rent some shop space or join up with other makers, but it can work. And you don't need a car.