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California's Smallest Legal Apartment

Housing developer, Patrick Kennedy, is a small space lover and is aiming to develop the smallest apartment allowed by California code. At around 160-square-feet not a single inch goes unused and everything is multi-purpose. He's given his residential response to the Smart Car a spin — watch the video below to find out what works great, and what just cramps his style.

Kennedy lived in a 78-square-foot Airstream for a period of time, and was inspired to build small homes. He built the tiny apartment prototype, SmartSpace 1.0, in a Berkeley warehouse and had an MIT student live in, and test the home. It's actually very impressive the amount of research that went into the design, and how efficient they've been with the space. After the trial period they've honed in on the successful details, as well as tweaks that they plan to make for the next version.

Small space features that work:

  • 160-square-feet, while the minimum allowed, is enough space for a single person.
  • A 'smart bench', whose center expands up and transforms into a dining banquette for 2-3 people, or can be used as a guest bed.
  • A couch that transforms into a queen-size bed.
  • An appliance closet for a clean and organized look.
  • Stainless steel casework works great because it is durable and easy to clean.

Things Kennedy would change:

  • A 'Euro' style bath (an open shower) will not work well because of maintenance.
  • Provide a convection oven for the kitchen.
  • The ceiling should be 9-feet high.
  • While a 10-feet wide room works, 11-feet is better.
  • The kitchen sink needs to be large enough to fit a stock pot or large pan.
  • The solartube in the bathroom for natural light was not worth the cost.