We're always simultaneously heartened and chagrined when we read about New York families making clever use of their small spaces. Heartened that it can be done, yet chagrined knowing that we're probably not making the most of what we ourselves have. The Finger-Kennedy family (Michael, Joanne, Jonah, 9 and Esther, 1) whose apartment was recently featured in Dwell is definitely making the most of their 640 sq. feet in the East Village with multi-functional furniture, hidden storage and skylights.
When the family met with the architects who helped them transform and rejigger the apartment young Jonah voiced his opinion that the apartment should feel like a pirate ship. And indeed the architects incorporated ideas from boat design which demands clever solutions for small spaces. See Jonah's bed above? It's also a desk that the whole family can use. There are hidden 8" compartments in the floor to eke out every last bit of storage space. The family's dining table folds down from the wall, but can accommodate a dinner party if need be.
Read more about the Finger-Kennedy family's apartment remodel and see a slideshow of photos at Dwell.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
i think i'd rather live in a different neighborhood than have to grow up in that tiny room where my family would also be using the desk under my bed. if they could afford architects, why not just get a bigger place that doesn't need to be tricked out like that?
view oofs's profile
I agree; how not fun would it be to have that as your only private space as a teenager? I'm in favor of families sharing small spaces, but I think everyone needs private space, no matter how small, that's actually private.
view wrenx's profile
Yeah, I would not be amused if I was a preteen/teen and had to share the tiny little bedroom I had--particularly the actual *bed*--with the entire family. And, um, where's the baby going to sleep when she gets older?
I admire them for pulling this off, and some of the creative solutions they came up with, but I personally wouldn't want to live like that. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
view hyzen's profile
If the desk were his own private space, that room would be fine for a teenager. My dorm rooms in college were no bigger than that (the price of going to college in Manhattan.) And lots of Manhattan kids live in a so-called maid's room.
view Lisa (Montreal)'s profile
New Yorkers, I know because I was one for most of my life, are sociopathically in love with the city. No matter what is heaped on them; restrictions, regulations, traffic, congestion, corruption and more, they stay in their city blind to the wonders of the rest of the state, country, and world. Some get out and see the light. Car insurance in NYC cost more per month than a compact car payment elsewhere. Home mortgages just a 100 miles away are less than the maintenance fee on shoeboxes in NYC. There is no talking to them.
view carbonadam's profile
Looks like a sleeping compartment on a train. Hope he never has to get up in the middle of the night for a glass of water!
happy here in the country!
view Daily Decorator's profile
i'm a new yorker. you don't have to leave the city to get more room than that for whatever they paid for that space in the east village.
view oofs's profile
After having been a NY'er for 4 years, wow. I have to agree with the other comments. The family has the money to hire an architect or firm and pay for custom furniture and built-ins, yet allow their child to live in a closet-sized room. I think there is something wrong with the quality of life logic. I have family that grew up in a room this size, but we were poor immigrants.
view Thomas's profile
There were two families in that issue of dwell living in very small spaces, and both of them admitted they would need more room eventually...
view julie_k.'s profile