Small Apartment Tour - Life in a Beautiful 470 ft² Perfectly Sized Space

Summary

The video offers a tour of a 470 square feet condo in Toronto, where the resident, accustomed to Hong Kong's dense living, finds the space ample. They highlight the condo's efficient use of space, including a narrow shoe cabinet, a kitchen island with ample storage, and a living area that feels cozy despite its size. The resident, who works from home, has creatively arranged their bedroom to include a desk and piano, maximizing storage with built-in closets. They also discuss the benefits of living centrally and the challenges of storage in a small space, considering a potential upgrade to a one-bedroom plus den for a separate workspace.

Takeaways

• 🏠 The condo is 470 square feet and located in Toronto, where the resident has been living for two years.
• 🌐 Coming from Hong Kong, the resident is accustomed to dense living spaces and doesn't feel the need for a larger place.
• 🚪 The condo features a hallway and an entrance way, providing privacy and preventing a clear view of the interior.
• 👠 A narrow shoe cabinet is used to maximize space in the narrow entryway without causing clutter.
• 👕 The closet has double doors and is well-lit, with a stacked laundry unit including a washer and dryer, saving space and convenience.
• 🍳 The kitchen includes a floating island with a sink, storage, and a unique stove top placement that the resident has grown to enjoy.
• 📚 The living room is made cozy with a feature wall, bookshelves, and a velvet couch, despite its small size.
• 🖼 The resident has utilized walls for storage and display, including art pieces and a mounted TV to keep wires hidden.
• 🛏️ The bedroom, at about 110 square feet, is arranged to include a desk and piano, optimizing the use of space for a work-from-home setup.
• 🚿 The ensuite bathroom, though small, offers good storage solutions and a shower nook for convenience.
• 🚲 Living centrally in a smaller space is advantageous for the resident who bikes and walks everywhere, valuing the ease of city access.
• 📦 Storage is a key challenge, but the resident mitigates this with a storage unit in the building for seasonal and infrequently used items.
• 🏡 The resident is a freelancer and has set up a workspace in the bedroom, with plans to possibly upgrade to a den for a separate work area in the future.

Q & A

How long has the speaker been living in their Toronto condo?

The speaker has been living in their Toronto condo for about two years.

What is the size of the condo the speaker lives in?

The condo is approximately 470 square feet.

How does the speaker's upbringing in Hong Kong influence their perspective on living space?

The speaker grew up in Hong Kong, where spaces are super dense, so they are accustomed to living in smaller spaces like a condo-sized unit.

Why does the speaker appreciate the hallway in their condo?

The speaker likes the hallway because it doesn't give away everything they have inside, providing a sense of privacy.

What is the configuration of the laundry area in the condo?

The laundry area includes a stacked washer and dryer, which is convenient for the speaker as it saves them from having to go to a laundromat.

What is unique about the kitchen island in the speaker's condo?

The kitchen island has a floating stove top, which the speaker found surprising but has grown to enjoy, especially with the presence of a TV for entertainment while cooking.

How does the speaker address storage challenges in their condo?

The speaker addresses storage challenges by utilizing high cabinets, under-counter spaces, and creative wall storage solutions.

What is the speaker's opinion about the seating arrangement under the kitchen counter?

The speaker finds the seating arrangement under the kitchen counter comfortable and not a common feature, which they appreciate.

What feature does the speaker have in their bedroom that aids in work-life balance?

The speaker has a door to their bedroom, which helps separate their work area in the bedroom from the living space.

What is the speaker's profession, and how does their condo setup accommodate it?

The speaker is a freelancer who does design and occasionally lifestyle content. They have a desk in their bedroom that serves as a workspace, allowing them to separate work and leisure.

What future plans does the speaker have regarding their living space?

The speaker does not have immediate plans to upgrade to a larger space but mentions the possibility of getting a one-bedroom plus den if they continue to work from home long-term for a proper workspace separate from their bedroom.

Outlines

00:00

🏠 Efficient Living in a 470 Sq. Ft. Toronto Condo

The speaker, who grew up in Hong Kong, is accustomed to living in small spaces and has been residing in a 470 square feet condo in Toronto for two years. They appreciate the hallway entrance for privacy and have strategically used a narrow shoe cabinet to avoid clutter. The closet is well-lit and houses a stacked laundry unit, which is convenient for the small space. The kitchen features a floating island with ample storage, a high pantry, and a unique stove top placement that initially felt foreign but has become enjoyable with the addition of a TV for entertainment. Despite the abundance of storage, reaching the top shelves is a challenge for the 5'4 speaker, who uses a ladder or enlists help. The kitchen counter space is ample, and there's a comfortable seating area underneath the counter. The living area, though small, is cozy with a feature wall for book display and a velvet couch for comfort. The TV is mounted to keep wires hidden, and a media console holds a turntable and speakers, reflecting the speaker's love for music.

05:00

🛋️ Maximizing Space in a Small Urban Home

The living room is adjacent to the kitchen and features a coffee table with storage, which is essential for a small space. The bedroom, at approximately 110 square feet, is spacious due to the strategic arrangement of a double-sized bed, a desk instead of nightstands, and efficient use of wall space for storage. The speaker, who works from home, has a separate desk area in the bedroom, which helps separate work and leisure. Two closets provide clothing storage, although the speaker notes that the center of the closets is less accessible due to the door mechanism. The ensuite bathroom, despite its small size, offers good storage solutions, including a built-in mirror cabinet and a shower nook for hair products. The speaker values the central location of the condo for easy access to transportation and mentions the challenges of living in a small space, such as storage limitations, but also the benefits of having a separate workspace within the home. There are no immediate plans to upgrade to a larger space, but the speaker considers the possibility of a den for a dedicated workspace in the future.

Keywords

💡Condo

A condominium, often abbreviated as 'condo,' is a type of residential property where individual units are owned, but common areas and facilities are jointly owned by all unit owners. In the video, the speaker lives in a condo in Toronto, which is about 470 square feet, highlighting the concept of living in a compact, individually owned space within a larger community property.

💡Square Footage

Square footage refers to the amount of interior space in a property, measured in square feet. It is a common way to describe the size of a home or apartment. The video's speaker mentions that their condo is about 470 square feet, indicating a relatively small living space which is a central theme of the video as they discuss living comfortably in a compact area.

💡Storage Space

Storage space is the area designated for keeping items when not in use. It is a critical consideration in small living spaces. The video discusses various storage solutions, such as high cabinets in the kitchen and a shoe cabinet in the entryway, which are essential for keeping the small condo organized and clutter-free.

💡Laundry

Laundry refers to the washing, drying, and ironing of clothes and linens. The video mentions the convenience of having a washer and dryer in the condo, which eliminates the need to visit a laundromat and is a space-saving feature for small living.

💡Kitchen Island

A kitchen island is a freestanding unit in the kitchen that provides additional counter space, storage, and sometimes seating. The video describes a 'floating island' with a sink and storage, which maximizes the use of space in the small kitchen and serves as a functional and aesthetic feature.

💡Living Room

The living room is a common area in a home where residents relax and entertain guests. The video's speaker has managed to make their living room feel cozy despite its small size, emphasizing the importance of thoughtful design in creating a comfortable living environment in a compact space.

💡Feature Wall

A feature wall is a wall in a room that is decorated differently from the others, often to create a focal point. The video mentions a bright feature wall with bookshelves, which not only serves as a decorative element but also provides functional storage for books, showcasing the dual purpose of design elements in small spaces.

💡Balcony

A balcony is an outdoor platform attached to a building, typically used for access to fresh air and views. The video discusses the impact of the balcony door on furniture placement, specifically mentioning how it affects the size of the media console that can be used, which is a practical consideration in small space living.

💡Ensuite Bathroom

An ensuite bathroom is a bathroom that is connected directly to and designed for use by the occupants of a particular bedroom. The video's speaker expresses satisfaction with having an ensuite bathroom, which is a luxury in small living spaces and provides added convenience and privacy.

💡Workspace

A workspace is an area designated for work or study. The video discusses the speaker's need for a workspace in their home, which is a common requirement for those working from home. The speaker has arranged a desk in their bedroom to serve as a workspace, illustrating the need to integrate professional and personal spaces in a small living environment.

💡Central Location

A central location refers to a place that is conveniently situated with easy access to various amenities and transportation. The video's speaker emphasizes the advantages of living centrally in a city, which facilitates easy commuting and access to services, despite living in a smaller space.

Highlights

Living in a 470 square feet condo in Toronto for two years.

Adaptability to small spaces due to upbringing in Hong Kong.

Preference for a hallway as an entrance feature.

Use of a narrow shoe cabinet to avoid clutter in a narrow space.

Inclusion of a washer and dryer within the small condo for convenience.

Kitchen features a floating island with sink and storage.

Storage space extends high up for ample pantry storage.

Challenge of reaching top storage due to height for someone who is 5'4.

Kitchen counter space is ample for various activities.

Stove top's floating design initially felt foreign but grew on the resident.

Living room made cozy with a feature wall and book storage.

Velvet couch chosen for comfort over leather.

TV mounted on the wall for a cleaner look and more surface space.

Media console and coffee table chosen for their space-saving designs.

Bedroom at 110 square feet feels spacious due to smart arrangement.

Desk with storage used in the bedroom for work-from-home setup.

Two closets in the bedroom for clothing storage, but with a challenge of accessing the center.

Ensuite bathroom with good storage solutions and a shower nook.

Central location of the condo benefits non-drivers with easy access to transportation.

Challenges of storage in a small space, mitigated by a storage unit in the building.

Work-life balance in a small space, with a separate bedroom for work.

No current plans to upgrade to a larger space, but considering a den for a separate workspace.

Transcripts

foreign

I live in Toronto and the condo that I

live in is about

470 square feet

I've been living here for about two

years

for me I would say space wasn't too big

of an issue I didn't grow up here I

actually grew up in Hong Kong and the

spaces there are like this it's super

dense so I'm used to living in like a

condo sized unit I've never really

thought of you know upgrading to a place

with a larger square footage

I love having a hallway at like an

entrance way into the place because it

doesn't I guess give away everything

that I have inside yet

um and it's nice that I was able to find

a really narrow shoe cabinet because I

didn't want anything to clutter up this

already kind of narrow space so making

sure that the space is used wisely it

was was really important so this is my

closet and I have like the two double

doors going on since there's winter here

in Toronto I have a lot of winter

jackets and boots and shoes and stuff

what's nice is that there's the light in

here so it's easier to see and on the

other side I have this stacked laundry I

have both the washer and the dryer super

convenient since it is a small space

it's it's nice that I have this so I

don't have to go to the laundromat

so after you come through from the

entryway the first space that you'll see

is the kitchen I have a bit of a kitchen

island like a floating island here and I

have like the sink and storage behind me

um the storage is something that I

really liked because of the way the

cabinet doors open up

um I love that it goes so high up so

there's actually a lot of storage space

to use so a lot of my pantry items I can

keep on one side while as the other side

I can keep my plates and cups so my

fridge is up top and my freezers at the

bottom

uh we also have the dishwasher some more

storage space I would say the counter

space is pretty uh ample like there's

enough room to do a lot of things I

think one of the biggest surprising

things that I saw when I came in was

actually the stove top because it being

floating and at the edge of the island

always felt very foreign but I've gotten

so used to it now especially because I

have a TV to watch while I'm cooking it

makes this so much more entertaining

than if I were to cook here and face a

wall so this was a surprise that I

didn't think I'd like a lot but I've

grown to really really enjoy that

um so that's something I have an oven

here as well as the microwave so all the

appliances you would expect to have in a

kitchen are here one thing that I do

have a bit of a complaint about probably

is just although I have a lot of storage

space up top I'm 5'4 so me having to

reach all the things at the top are a

little bit difficult I'll either get my

boyfriend to do it for me so I save the

time or of course I have my ladder out

front in the storage in my closet

there's space underneath the counter

where a person can sit across from each

other without there being any issues and

it's kind of comfortable yeah I don't

think this is very common I guess but

it's it's definitely a feature I really

like

uh and then coming off of the kitchen of

course there's the living area uh

despite it not being the largest living

room I think I I managed to make it feel

very homey and cozy I wanted to have a

feature wall that was very bright and I

had a lot of books during my move and I

knew that I wanted to one be able to

display them but second you know making

it functional in its storage so using my

walls was going to be one way to do that

probably not my best choice to do

exposed shelves because of the whole

dusting thing

you know if as long as people don't look

too closely it's never that big of a

problem I have some art pieces up some

are prints that I got during my travels

and some are like pieces of work from

artists I was very excited to get this

couch because I've never had a velvet

couch in my life I knew I wanted

something very cozy and comfy and

leather wasn't going to do it for me so

I've managed to find this really nice

deep blue couch from article so I was

very very excited to get this

something that I really wanted to do was

get my TV mounted on the wall because I

just love the fact that there's no wires

showing huge plus and it this way I get

to put things on the media console so in

this case I have my turntable I have

some speakers and I have

um some of my vinyls so having this was

essential for me because I just have

music playing throughout my place all

the time I found a media console table

that fit well with the space and wasn't

very large because I found that that was

something that was a little bit harder

to find since my access to the balcony

door would get in the way if I had a

long one

what's nice about this coffee table is

that there's some storage beneath so I'm

able to store like I said a lot of the

books that I had with a space so small I

think it's always really beneficial to

find creative ways to be able to put

more stuff away so this worked out

really nicely

and to the left of the living room would

be my bedroom this is probably about

110 square feet it's pretty spacious I

think by the look of it at a glance but

I do think a big part of that would be

the way I arranged my bed in the into

space and the size of my bed is a double

size I think it's really common normally

to put your bed in the middle and then

have two nightstands but since I work

from home I'd rather have a desk I'd

want to be able to put in my piano and

in terms of storage I made sure to find

a desk that had some storage built on

top of it that way I'm not wasting any

space whatsoever and then in terms of

clothing storage I have two closets on

either side of the entrance to my

bathroom I have the one by my desk here

and the one right behind the door

so at a glance it was really great that

from the floor plans that there were two

closets in here but because of how they

have to open one by one anything in the

middle is just in the abyss now I've

never touched anything that is right in

the center of my closet so everything

that I use constantly I have to put on

the sides

I wanted an ensuite bathroom so I'm

really glad I was able to find that and

it's actually an extra thing is the door

actually connects back to the kitchen

the space itself in the bathroom isn't

the largest but there's still enough

room for me to move around uh they

thought of some really good Storage off

of the side which is nice it's kind of

things that I use every day there's also

a built-in mirror cabinet where I'm able

to keep a lot of extra stuff and I

needed more storage because who doesn't

need more storage so once again I

utilized the walls and tried to put most

of my hair products on it and of course

there's some storage below the sink as

well I have a shower I don't have a

bathtub although that was something that

was a consideration for me but one thing

that I really liked was the little

shower Nook that I'm able to hold all of

my hair products so it's nice that it's

built in

thank you

I think living Central but in a smaller

space is advantageous because then you

have flexibility to go anywhere pretty

easily especially as a person who

doesn't drive I bike everywhere I walk

everywhere I take the subway so being

Central in a city is great for that

I would say that challenges are

definitely present with living in a

space like this storage is always going

to be the number one issue I'm lucky

here that I have a storage unit in the

building so I have a lot of my more

seasonal items there or larger items

that I don't use often to store there

and in terms of my work life since I

work from home it was important that I

needed to have a space for me to feel

like I can separate work and living and

a big help too is that I have a door to

my bedroom so I kind of use my desk in

my bedroom as a workspace and everything

else would be more leisure

I am a freelancer

design a lot of it is

covers occasionally I have lifestyle

content on it

I don't think I have any real plans of

you know upgrading the space to get like

a two bedroom of any sort but if I

really work from home for the long term

then perhaps maybe like a one bed plus

Den like just a den to have a proper

workspace that's even separate from my

bedroom but you know it with with prices

and things like that like I that's not

in my mind right now foreign

[Music]

subscribe to exploring Alternatives and

check out our playlists for more small

space tours like this you can also

follow Janet on her YouTube channel

thanks for watching