Compared to many other cities, New York City apartments are pretty small. Most of the studios that I show are in the 300-500 square foot range, which is not so bad, but sometimes, our apartments are even smaller. This week, I showed an apartment that is a total of 220 square feet, with only 110 square feet of actual living/dining space. Most people are pretty shocked when they walk into a space that small, so I have only a minute or two to get their imaginations going about how they could make it work before I lose them. To be ready for that two-minute pitch, I am constantly doing research on tiny house and small apartment living, looking for creative storage and work/live space solutions. Today, I thought I’d show you a few of the more lovely and inspiring spaces from which I take my suggestions.

Of course, in a rental, you’re not free to change the space by adding structures like lofts, but as long as what you put in is free-standing (and doesn’t create a fire hazard), these ideas can still be useful in small apartments. They also come in very handy with roommate situations and dorm living, where you need to make the most of your small private space. Some of these solutions can even be useful for those of us who still need to carve out a work-from-home area but don’t have a dedicated home office space. Multi-purpose is the way to go!

You’ll probably notice that a number of the videos below are about IKEA products. Here’s why:

• I love IKEA’s designs and have had very good experiences with their products.
• They tend to be more on the affordable side, something that’s likely high on the list of priorities for someone who has to consider living in a tiny studio.
• It puts people more at ease when I am able to direct them to specific products. Apartment hunting and moving are stressful enough. This lets them know they don’t have to hunt around to find the solutions I’m talking about.

I hope you enjoy these cool, creative solutions. And if you’re someone in need of space-saving ideas, I recommend you subscribe to the NEVER TOO SMALL YouTube channel.