Two parents, three kids, a cat and a bearded dragon share this 650-square-foot Manhattan apartment — meaning it must be awfully cramped. Yet, thanks to a series of smart design choices and DIY hacks, the space seems far from claustrophobic.
Author Jenny Davis and her husband, Corey, have been renting their Upper East Side home for 15 years, instead of upsizing after Jenny had their first child, Asher, and then twins Aaliyah and Alef. choose to reorganize. Told Apartment Therapy. So good that they’re reimagining their beloved unit to meet their changing needs — including adding a pet cat, Leo, and a bearded dragon, Rexy, to their brood — that Arranges to see the habitat and Feel completely comfortable.
Now pregnant with six-year-old Asher, the couple considered upsizing, but were encouraged to make it work by other residents of the building. “
“[Two] People raising children in one bedroom in our building said the pressure is unreal,” Janney told the publication. Instead of searching for an apartment, she and Corey turned a former home office into Asher’s room — and turned their living and dining rooms into a giant playroom.
Then, after the twins, a closet was reborn as a home office and a play kitchen was added to the original kitchen, thus extending the playroom.
Today, the alcove is a large movement zone with a “rock wall, monkey bars, and a net loft leading to a ledge,” the original bedroom is shared by all three children, and Jenny and Corey have a Murphy bed in the foyer. share in of a bedroom.
Along the way, the couple also added a door so that the living room had access to the bathroom, which was originally only accessible from the bedroom.
The layout may be unique but the unit – and building – finest details still shine through.
“I grew up in a basement apartment, so this apartment I visited over 15 years ago … and every day since then … has had natural sunlight,” Jenny said. “I also really appreciate that it’s in a pre-war building with really solid construction and some quirky details. Our lobby used to be marble, we have an old mail chute in front of us that can drop letters down into the lobby (no longer in use — but it still works), and our building is only just a small space with many tenants and staff. It is six floors high. Been here longer than us.
