Gail Schulman, a 32-year-old content creator, now lives in a 191-square-foot studio in Brooklyn, where her couch doubles as her bed. Since moving in February, Schulman has organized the compact space to include distinct areas for living, dining, and entertaining. She opted for a sofa bed that folds out and uses two cushioned chairs, a small table, and a rug to define the living area. A bistro table with a pendant light marks the dining space, while a cabinet and a built-in ledge in the kitchen serve as counters for entertaining.
Schulman also benefits from an 8-by-2.5-foot foyer, a private space for stashing shoes and other items. For comparison, a standard hotel room in the U.S. typically ranges from 300 to 330 square feet. Schulman's apartment rents for $2,151 per month, excluding utilities. Despite the small size, the space is furnished with personal items and, due to intentional sizing and layout, avoids a cluttered feel. Schulman stores larger items in a dedicated closet within the apartment.
She chose the smaller apartment to manage expenses after leaving a corporate job to pursue content creation, a field with a variable income. The apartment is equipped with full-sized kitchen appliances, including a refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave, and dishwasher, as well as a large bathroom, which Schulman notes is the best she's had in her 10 years in New York City.
Inside the kitchen, Schulman has organized her cabinets with a focus on items she uses. To conceal trash and recycling bins, she utilizes a nook hidden by a sliding fabric curtain, with the top surface functioning as a bar. To combat potential cabin fever, Schulman works from coffee shops or the Brooklyn Public Library and makes an effort to leave the apartment multiple times daily for activities like volunteering or running.
Meanwhile, Exia Stephens, a 23-year-old real estate agent, lives in an even smaller 156-square-foot single-room occupancy (SRO) unit on the Upper West Side. Stephens shares a bathroom on her floor with residents of five other SRO units and uses a communal kitchen located 13 floors below. She washes her dishes in the bathroom sink due to the kitchen's distance. The building's amenities are minimal, with a laundry room lacking machines and a defunct payphone in the lobby. The only functioning elevator is a freight lift.
Stephens, who moved in with her cat, Superman, is grateful to have her own space after previous experiences with roommates. The unit came with a bed frame, mattress, mini-refrigerator, and microwave. She prepares simple meals, primarily oatmeal, sandwiches, and microwavable rice and beans, supplementing her diet with food from her restaurant job. Her rent is $1,050 per month, including utilities, significantly less than her previous, smaller apartment in Yorkville.
Stephens, originally from Maryland, lived in the UK before moving to New York. She found her current apartment after subletting rooms for a period. She expressed satisfaction with the floor space, noting it is larger than rooms she occupied in the UK where she paid more to live with roommates. Stephens stated she does not plan to move from her current apartment until she gets married, a prospect she joked about as she is not currently dating anyone.