This 250-Square-Foot NYC Studio Is Exactly What Apartment Therapy Is All About | House Tours

After living in Tokyo for a few years, Nonprofit Fundraising Consultant Melissa Chang moved back to New York City and has been living in this 250 square foot studio apartment for about a year. Melissa describes her style as cozy, vintage, nostalgic, Asian and American.

"I got lucky and found my studio on StreetEasy right at the start of 2021 — still at the time when everyone was leaving the city because of COVID and rents were down for a very brief spell," she writes. "I love that my studio has a wall of windows, so even though this place is under 250 square feet, it feels bright and airy."

CHAPTERS
0:00 - Intro & Style Inspo
1:11 - Living Room Space
1:36 - Japanese Influence
2:12 - Dual-function furniture
2:48 - Sleeping Nook & Family Elements
3:52 - Advice for Home

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[kathrynparker]

Taking one's shoes off before entering a home is a fantastic, important, hygienic habit. Many, many cultures all over the world do this.

[carnival]

This is the tiniest apartment space I’ve seen but somehow she made it look roomy and spacious. It’s so adorable 🥰

[denverdubois]

Pause the video when she shows the full apartment map with little dollhouse furniture cutouts. You'll see what the maker of this video glossed over--that this small place has a reasonably sized kitchen and bathroom and TWO closets, plus upper storage above the larger closet! These factors would make this flat totally livable for me. The mirrored wall is the doors to a very large/long closet, and there's a smaller "coat" type closet by the bathroom.

[suzaynnschick]

I love home decor and design videos by nonprofessionals who simply have good taste.

[truthseeker]

I really enjoyed this space. It's so peaceful and efficient with its use of space. In particular, I loved how Melissa mapped out her home by creating a dollhouse on paper. I should have thought about doing that before buying all of my big furniture. Also, I love all the different objects that show off her Asian heritage. Great job, Melissa!

[TheMichelex]

Love her home. It looks like it’s very cozy and calming.

[yasaminwhy]

This has got to be one of the nicest flats I've seen on YouTube. Beautiful space!

[gee_emm]

I love it when there’s a floor plan. It makes things click. She put it all together so well!

[lisita]

Oh I love her. She made her home nice, cozy and inviting. That table the way it opened up was amazing. Thank you for sharing your home. ❤️

[virgOmega]

Melissa has such lovely energy (and of course, as a result, so does her home.) I liked the dog bed as floor cushion tip; that's funny, yet fantastic!

[christophermyers]

My "3 room" studio is slightly smaller at 235 sq. ft., and love it! I have 3 windows facing north and east, so I get plenty of morning sunlight! 🌞

The best part is my combo entry, library and vanity area (its behind the door). It feels like an entry, and creates a separation between the main area and the bathroom.

I have just enough stuff/clutter to make it cozy, and really don't feel the
"smallness" of it.

Have been living in my apt. for 11 years
(10 of them with my cat! 😻).

[pitita]

As someone who is about to move into a very tiny studio for the first time in my life, this really comforted me. I’ve been so sad and so apprehensive about how I could make such a small space work, but this video reassured me that I’ll be okay. Thank you so much ♥️

[GradKat]

Beautiful! I love her philosophy for creating a home, rather than just a place to live. Charming, cosy and stylish apartment.

[maddscientist]

if you get a radiator cover, you could use the top for a ledge/endtable for the sofa
the mirrored folding doors help tremendously in the illusion of space! Kitchen is awesome in this place!!! and the BATHROOM!! OMG

[HMSDisaster]

Best small apartment I’ve ever seen! I love how uncluttered and mature it looks—so hard to achieve that in a small space. I was kind of hoping Melissa had published a book in the style of that journal entry; I would buy that in a heartbeat!

[iamwindchakra]

This is is so functional! I don't know that I've ever seen such a well laid out tiny space.

[Dogsnark]

This entire apartment is just a few square feet larger than my own bedroom, so I can really appreciate how wonderfully it is laid it out. It appears so livable, so comfortable. And your kitchen is fantastic, given the size constraints. I watched the video several times and picked up more details each time. I’m glad you showed your floor plan - that’s something I wish all home video tours would include.

[felicitywillboughby]

It's gorgeous😍love the flip out dining table and ottoman tray ideas. Thanks for inviting us into yr beautiful, cosy home. 🏡💕👍💃🙏🌷🌼🌻

[kristen]

I love this!!! I’m a colorful maximalist but I keep coming back to this video because of her and her personality! And how the space suits her so well

[spotterofgold]

Apartment Therapy, maybe in future you could provide links to the special space-saving/dual purpose pieces in these tour videos, like the ottoman and the desk/dining table transformer; I searched for a "butterfly table" and found nothing like Michelle's in the search results. Thanks for the great video tour!