{"id":745697,"date":"2026-07-06T02:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T02:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/745697\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T02:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T02:58:20","slug":"ive-thought-about-this-family-of-5s-1-bedroom-apartment-weekly-for-3-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/745697\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve Thought About This Family of 5\u2019s 1-Bedroom Apartment Weekly for 3 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

We independently<\/a> select these products\u2014if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.<\/p>\n

There are small apartments<\/a>, and then there are those that make you do a double-take \u2014 especially the Manhattan home<\/a> that Jenny Davis<\/a> rents. At first glance, Jenny\u2019s setup doesn\u2019t seem like it should work at all: only 650 square feet, one bedroom, and, oh, the fact that the space is shared between five people<\/a>. But somehow, it does.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For starters, Jenny and her husband, Cory, sacrificed the only bedroom so their three children could share it. Although \u201csacrificed\u201d might be too strong of a word. The way they\u2019ve configured their layout offers privacy and ease for all family members, and it just makes sense. Three main elements made living in this small home possible.<\/p>\n

A Disguised Murphy Bed Became a Primary Nook<\/p>\n

A long-time staple of small-space living is a Murphy bed<\/a>. However, what makes Jenny and Cory\u2019s Murphy bed special is that it\u2019s actually situated in their entryway and, when closed, looks like a traditional cabinet. However, when it\u2019s open, there\u2019s a whale-patterned drapery hung above the bed, which makes it even cozier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Bookcase Door Gave the Parents Access to the Shared Bathroom<\/p>\n

The three children are in the primary bedroom, which is outfitted with a gorgeous bunk bed situation. Initially that could have posed a challenge, because the apartment\u2019s only bathroom is accessed through the children\u2019s bedroom.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So they installed a secret bookcase door<\/a> in the living room that leads to the bathroom. This way, they can access the bathroom while their kids are asleep, plus the four built-in shelves offer clever book storage. It\u2019s such a fun detail that also serves a practical purpose.<\/p>\n

Working in \u201cZones\u201d Made This Small Apartment Feel Much Larger<\/p>\n

When designing the home, Jenny decided to view each space not as a traditional room but as a \u201czone,\u201d which helped her include more areas in one room, making it feel larger. \u201cA zone is any space \u2014 a room, a nook, or even a wall \u2014 that can be visually separated to serve a function,\u201d she explained at the time of the House Tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, while focusing on the flow of each space, Jenny designed multipurpose rooms. For example, the kids\u2019 bedroom is also their desk and crafting area, while the entryway (which, as you know, is the primary bedroom) has an office (in the closet) and functions as a \u201cLEGO-building station.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since seeing Jenny and Cory\u2019s apartment for the first time three years ago, I haven\u2019t stopped thinking about how they seriously maximized every square inch of their home. It\u2019s a great reminder that just because you have a small apartment (I\u2019m speaking from my current experience) doesn\u2019t mean it can\u2019t fit all of your furniture, family, and dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We independently select these products\u2014if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88,73361],"class_list":["post-745697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-small-spaces"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}