There will soon be – or perhaps already are, depending on where you get your numbers – seven billion people living in the world. And all of these people need someplace to live, which isn’t too big of a deal when you’re in the middle of a huge expanse, but if you’re trying to cram yourself into a city (where the jobs and other resources tend to be) you’ll find it’s getting harder and harder to find affordable housing. In Perth, for example, the median price of a house is $800,000, and the average rent is over $580 per week. Those are prices most people can’t afford, especially when they’re young and just starting out.
Hence: The Micro Apartment
Definitions vary, but a ‘micro’ apartment or other living space is generally considered to be a one-room space that’s under about 37 square metres in size. Sometimes they have more than one room, but the basic fact doesn’t change: They’re small (micro, even!). More importantly, they’re increasingly popular among city planners because they get more people into the same space and provide lower-cost housing. Does your future – or your kids’ future – in the city include a tiny apartment? Maybe. And you’ll need to know what to expect.
More Affordable
Because of their small size and sometimes less-than-desirable features, micro dwelling housing tends to be much more affordable. In a city like Perth where the median price is $800,000, micro apartments can be found well under $300,000.
But the affordability of these tiny homes goes beyond list price:
- They cost less to heat and cool because they are so small.
- They cost less to furnish in general, although sometimes specially-sized furniture or appliances come with a premium.
- They discourage hoarding and storing things just to keep them on hand.
At the moment, most micro apartments are in existing, thriving neighbourhoods because they’re largely accidents of renovation and changing times (many were once nurses’ quarters or small hotel rooms before). While this may change, for the moment they allow living in excellent neighbourhoods at a discount.
A Simpler Life
Aside from being more affordable, the typical micro dwelling also forces you to re-evaluate what you think is important in life. Too often in larger homes we furnish rooms simply because they are there, and store things in garages and store rooms and wardrobes just because we have the space.
Micro apartments don’t have room for unnecessary things. And yet people all over the world are discovering that few people need more than a few dozen metres of space to lead very happy lives. This is being aided by a burgeoning industry for smaller-scale furnishings and clever ‘hacks’ for kitchen design and adding storage to small spaces without taking away floorspace.
The last challenge: Designing the space. Luckily, you have the awesome power of canvas, glass, and metal prints on demand – just click here to try out all kinds of images on the walls of your tiny place.
