As seen in this listing photo, the oversize north-facing window floods this Gramercy one-bedroom with light.
Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photo: Compass
For under a million dollars, one can find all sorts of housing configurations: park- and subway-adjacent studios, one-bedrooms hidden in carriage houses or former shoe factories, and even the occasional true two-bedroom. We’re combing the market for particularly spacious, nicely renovated, or otherwise worth-a-look apartments at various six-digit price points.
This week, our picks include a brownstone floor-through with original Italianate flourishes in Prospect Heights and a garden apartment in the far West Village with a private patio.
As seen in this listing photo, the former second bedroom makes for a spacious dining alcove in this converted one-bedroom in Gramercy.
Photo: Compass
The seller (or maybe another previous owner) is a real mensch for knocking down walls and transforming what was once a fairly conventional two-bedroom into a wide-open one-bed at Park Towers. Honey-blond parquet floors cover the nearly 300-square-foot common area, which has north-facing skyline views plus a bit of light from the west-facing dining alcove where the second bedroom once was. The L-shaped kitchen has a nice flow with dual entrances, and the brick-red mid-century countertops kind of work. There’s another west-facing oversize window and a pair of pretty deep closets in the large bedroom with enough leftover space for a reading nook. As for the one-and-a-half baths, they’re white and cream and perfectly unobjectionable. The amenities aren’t nothing — $2,376 — but they at least cover the 24-hour doorman and live-in super, in-building shared laundry, an exercise room, cold storage, a bike room, and garage parking. The location is pretty great, too: You’re a few blocks away from Union Square, and it’s right down the street from the beloved diner Joe Jr.
As seen in this listing photo, this two-bedroom in Prospect Heights has delightful original Italianate details throughout.
Photo: Corcoran
This floor-through apartment is one flight up from the parlor level and is impressive for both its original Italianate details and the solid layout. Well-maintained moldings line the nine-foot-plus ceilings, and the southwest-facing living area centers on an arched fireplace that’s quite a stunner with a nursery-size bedroom just off the side. The kitchen and bath desperately need an update (and there are washer and vented-dryer hookups for when that day comes). On the north side is the garden-facing primary bedroom, which can easily fit a king-size bed and a desk, although you might turn the nook that’s currently being used as a dressing room into a proper office. The maintenance fees are a low $1,095 — perhaps because the four-unit co-op is self-managed and has no amenities to speak of — but you are steps away from the Seventh Avenue subway stop and a new class of restaurants along Vanderbilt Avenue vying for institutional status.
As seen in this listing photo, the exposed brick wall gives this Upper West Side one-bedroom plenty of warmth.
Photo: Brown Harris Stevens
Here we’ve got another prewar charmer, this time less than a block from Riverside Park and much more of a turnkey situation. The shoebox kitchen’s green-and-brass cabinetry is bold but elegant, the new appliances stainless steel, and the quartz countertops spacious enough for you to prepare a pot roast. Crown molding and a decorative fireplace tucked into the exposed-brick wall round out the living room, and there’s more exposed brick in the bedroom, which looks like it can manage a pair of nightstands and a king-size bed but not much more. This is another case where the $1,791 monthlies cover little besides your taxes, which, honestly, is not so bad a deal.
As seen in this listing photo, you’ll probably want to stock up on lamps if you move into this garden-level one-bedroom in the far West Village.
Photo: Douglas Elliman
As in many garden apartments, natural lighting isn’t this home’s strong suit. (The current owner went hard on their lamp collection; perhaps you will do the same.) But the nine-foot ceilings help keep the space from feeling too tomblike, and the layout’s pretty good. You enter through the spacious-enough living area, which looks out on the private patio and its storybook vines, and the hallway leads past a renovated kitchen lined with gray cabinetry and some loud quartz countertops. (Things are slightly tamer in the bathroom: green tilework, gold hardware.) The bedroom is in the back and quite spacious with a proper walk-in closet. The maintenance fees are $1,242 and cover two live-in supers, bike storage, shared laundry, and a common garden space. Hudson River Park is less than a block away, so you know where you’ll be running from now on.
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