With the rising cost of housing in the United States, some people are finding creative ways to cut down on their monthly rent — and even more creative apartment layouts. As anyone who has searched for an apartment in a major city like New York or Chicago knows, there are certain downsides to living in cramped quarters. Many apartments don’t have a bathroom of their own — they instead share a few bathrooms between the entire floor.
A small St. Louis apartment has found a creative solution to this, but the lines between rooms are blurred. The kitchen has a toilet. And a bathtub. Or said another way, the bathroom has an oven. That’s right, the bathroom and kitchen have been combined into a single room, which makes it easy to flip the bacon while you take your morning shower.
All jokes aside, the question that remains is a simple one: Why would someone want to live in an apartment that makes such a creative use of space? The answer boils down to money. According to Numbeo.com, the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in St. Louis is $910.59 per month. The small apartment in question goes for just $525 per month.
For those that are not familiar with standard rental costs, $525 is almost so low that it can’t be believed. However, Harold Karabell of S.F. Shannon Real Estate Market has confirmed the rental is not only real, but claimed. The new tenant loves the apartment in spite of — or perhaps because of — its quirks.
There are apparently other reasons to love the apartment. The space has new windows and unfinished hardwood floors, and old-time appeal. The apartment is located in a 111-year-old building that once held 12 full-sized luxury apartments. To accommodate the need for housing during the Great Depression, the building was remodeled into 50 significantly smaller units, and the studio apartment is the smallest of them all.
The Internet, predictably, loves the idea of this apartment. The image was first posted to Reddit, where the thread exploded to more than 2,600 comments, with reactions that ranged from shock to pleasant surprise. It may have also led to the apartment being rented as quickly as it was.
