Google+ House Revivals: The Tiny Apartment Trend

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The Tiny Apartment Trend

Micro-housing is becoming a huge (or should I say "tiny") trend in real estate today.  It answers a need for affordable housing, especially in urban cities, where more and more people need to fit into a small area.


While there is controversy about creating large numbers of tiny abodes in some areas, and tiny housing should be thoughtfully designed, today I'm just sharing cool tiny apartments from cities around the country. Micro-housing is usually considered anything under about 400 square feet and it is not unusual to see micro-housing that is as small as 150 square feet!

Some micro-housing apartments include communal kitchens, laundry facilities, and lounge areas, while other micro-housing is completely self-contained.

photo Sarah Zames via

Micro-housing can look very traditional, as does this Brooklyn Heights 425 square foot apartment.

photo Sarah Zames

Smaller scale furnishings, wall mounted shelving, and lots of natural light, helps this tiny space live large.

photo Sarah Zames

photo Ben Jacobsen via

In Providence, Rhode Island, a historic indoor shopping mall is being re-purposed, and will include 48 micro-lofts, ranging in size from 225 to 450 square feet.

photo Stefan Enriquez via

On the other side of the country, Seattle has embraced the micro-housing trend to meet the needs of young single professionals who want to live, work and play downtown. Others have homes outside the city, and just use their tiny apartment as a pied-a-terre during the work week.


Of course, micro-living is not really new to Seattle.


Seattle has a long history of living in tiny houseboats and barges!  The house barge shown here is only 280 square feet and still manages to pack in a salon, dining nook, kitchen, and sleeping loft!

 photo citi habitats via

This New York City apartment is only 200 square feet! Extra storage is hidden behind a collection of vintage medicine cabinets and in clever built in cabinetry.

photo citi habitats via

In Boston, Factory 63 is a converted meat packing plant and includes several "Innovation Units" -- all under 450 square feet.


Many micro apartment developments include secure storage lockers, and common areas -- some may even include limited parking spaces.  Rooftop gardens, exercise rooms, and common rooms can make micro housing more attractive, too.

Tell me what you think!  Would you consider paring down your worldly possessions and moving into a micro apartment?  To read a more in depth article about scaling down our home sizes, click here.

This post is joining the Blogging A to Z Challenge. A is for Apartment!