54 photos of New York City microapartments show how tiny living can be glamorous — or disappointing

When the average apartment rent is $3,600 a month, many New York City residents aren't willing to give up a good deal when they find it. That leaves less room for apartment seekers, who are often forced to live in

Even then, there's a problem: Microapartments are technically illegal under the city's 1987 zoning laws, which require dwellings to have an area of at least 400 square feet.

Those who require a small space must find an apartment built before 1987, or turn to one of the newer developments that have secured a special waiver from the city.

Despite their minimal square footage, these newer apartments offer innovative design features like hidden drawers and closets, along with luxury amenities like butler services and rentable ice-cream makers.

But for the thousands of residents who live in older microapartments, the lifestyle can be somewhat dismal. Take a look.

If space isn't an issue, microapartments can lend a more glamorous lifestyle at a lower price.

This loft on the Upper West Side features multi-level platforms with a small bathroom hidden beneath the stairs.

The loft is at the top of a six-story brownstone, with access to a rooftop garden.

The stairwell features built-in drawers and shelves, providing extra storage.

Despite its 25 feet of vertical space, the loft is tiny, at only 425 square feet.

This $1.29 million apartment in midtown Manhattan is starved for storage, but it includes several crafty design elements, like a hidden pantry.

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The apartment was completely gutted and renovated to maximize space.

A pullout cutting board has a hole to dispose of scraps in the trash can below.

The bedroom has two shoe racks, which slide out from the bed frame.

Other amenities are integrated in the unit's design. The kitchen counter, for example, has grooves for plates and cups to dry, so water flows right into the sink.

In Manhattan's West Village, a 242-square-foot studio is on the market for nearly $480,000.

The front of the wee is the... @ weecottage

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The studio's owner renovated the unit after purchasing it in 2011, and the apartment now includes a bed that folds into a storage space in the wall.

Breakfast & chill set up #e... @ weecottage

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Carmel Place, in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, was the first New York building to exclusively offer microapartments.

The 55 apartment units range from 260 to 360 square feet. When they opened, the monthly rent was $2,650 to $3,150.

The apartments feature retractable beds that turn into sofas.

Though the units are tiny, residents have access to housekeeping, grocery delivery, dry-cleaning pickup, and a gym in the building.

The building is made of modular units that were prefabricated in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The pieces were then brought to Manhattan and assembled in Kips Bay.

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The Carmel Place design won a competition sponsored by New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development in 2013.

Toured micro studios at Car... @ viva_la_vivian

Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, and Mathew Wambua, the former department commissioner, announced the design proposal in 2013, and the building was completed in 2016.

Ollie, a service that curates furniture in some microapartments, decked out 17 studios in Carmel Place.

Ollie included furniture, WiFi, a TV, cable, and a subscription to the butler service Hello Alfred.

An apartment with Ollie's amenities generally costs about $2,800 a month.

Some units feature white desks that slide out into larger tables, as well as coffee tables that can be raised.

An exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York several years ago was inspired by a contest for designing microapartments that can serve as affordable housing.

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About 77,000 New Yorkers are homeless, and advocates say the city does not have enough quality homeless shelters.

In Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood, another project from HPD features some of the tiniest legal units for rent in the city.

Connect to #nature, #cultur... @ caesurabk

Caesura, a 12-story building, features 34 microapartments of no more than 384 square feet.

Now leasing! Comfort, moder... @ caesurabk

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The building also includes a "lending library" for tenants to borrow ladders, sewing machines, guitars, and ice-cream makers.

Check out our furnished stu... @ caesurabk

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Furnished units start at $2,588 a month for 314 square feet. Unfurnished apartments, which are at least 100 square feet larger, start at $2,360.

It#emo#s all about the deta... @ caesurabk

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This 350-square-foot SoHo apartment, owned by the architect and entrepreneur Graham Hill, lists for $750,000.

The apartment is so small that about 7 1/2 could fit inside the average US home.

The unit's folding desk is designed to support a person's full weight.

The concept behind the design is described as "less but better."

All the furniture is designed to serve multiple purposes. Sliding "couch cubes" offer portable seating and can double as a queen bed.

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Hill's first microapartment, a 420-square-foot SoHo property, had an asking price of $2,369 per square foot.

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The property has won awards and been featured in a TED talk.

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It can be converted into two rooms — one for the owner, and one for guests.

It even has a moving wall with its own digital projection screen.

There's also a place to store chairs when they're not being used.

But its residents would have to be comfortable with their bathroom serving as a phone room or meditation area.

Hill paid $287,000 for the apartment and spent an additional $78,000 on the renovations.

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The unit is built to accommodate one of Hill's inventions: an expandable bike that can collapse to 6 inches wide from 21 inches.

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Not all microapartments are as fancy as Hill's designs. In fact, many are relatively bleak.

#nycsmallspaces #smallspace... @ nycsmallspaces

Here's what $600 a month can get you for a 300-square-foot apartment in Chinatown.

This Chelsea apartment has no room for an office, so the bed doubles as a workspace.

When your bed is your offic... @ kraecampbell

Three years ago, Grayson Altenberg moved from a shared space in Brooklyn to a 100-square-foot apartment on the Upper West Side.

The apartment cost him $1,100 a month for a main room and a bathroom.

The space has no windows, stove, or kitchen sink.

But it's right by Central Park, which Altenberg described as his living room.

One of the tiniest apartments in the US is a 78-square-foot space in Hell's Kitchen.

Its convertible couch was built by its owner, a New York contract architect.

Felice Cohen, a personal organizer, has written an e-book about living in 90 square feet, roughly the size of a Honda Accord.

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While Cohen was living on the Upper West Side in 2010, the average rent for an apartment was $3,600 a month. She paid just $700.

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"The studio changed my life," Cohen told the New York Post in 2016. "It made me realize that I didn't want to waste money on stuff — I had no place to put it."

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54 photos of New York City microapartments show how tiny living can be glamorous — or disappointing

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