What is an Efficient Apartment?

Being a real estate marketing term than a building type for the property. The phrase perfectly captures the phrase that the apartment is efficient and accommodates everyone to live in. It is widely known for having bare bones accommodation and accessible housing option that is fit for civilians who are tight with their budgets. It also perfectly accommodates to anyone who lives alone.

What Is an Efficient Apartment?

An efficient apartment is a small, open space unit which has every room packed into one that includes living, dining, kitchen, and bedroom. Often, the term “efficient apartment” is also called a studio apartment.

History of Efficient Apartments

The term efficient apartment originated around 1930. Today, efficient apartment can be furnished or unfurnished with enough furniture needed for the common men or woman. The term efficient apartment can vary according to country or states that you live in, the most known term is called a studio apartment. Studio apartments are often distinguishable from efficient apartment, the only main difference it has is that it includes a separate fully equipped kitchen rather than a kitchenette built along one wall for that unit. Efficient apartments can be found anywhere in the world but are most common in dense, crowded cities where space are placed at a premium price and many civilians would rather have a workplace closer to their apartments.

While efficient apartments are the least expensive housing available on the market, the definition of what constitutes an efficient apartment can vary according to region and its time in which it was constructed. In the late 1920s, real estate developer Fred F. French built the Tudor City neighborhood on the east side of Manhattan, the first residential high-rise complex in the world. These were intended for busy city workers who often lived in these small apartments during the week and walked to nearby Grand Central Station to catch the train to their homes in the suburbs on the weekends. The units had built-in Murphy beds, but they did not originally include kitchens, since building residents had access to three dedicated restaurants where you could order room service by phone.

Today, tons of these efficient apartments are just 200 square feet, smaller than the legal minimum building size for any apartments in NYC. Many owners have converted the Murphy beds into closets, installed kitchenettes, and order takeout in the absence of an onsite restaurant. And if you are browsing the internet in search of an efficient apartment in Tudor City, you are more likely to notice them being called as a studio apartment rather than being called as an efficient apartment.

In fact, many could argue that any small-space apartment could technically be described as an efficient apartment from studio house to bachelor pad. Today, architects, building developers, and realtors prefer more trendy sounding terms for this apartment called micro-apartment.

Key Characteristics of Efficient Apartments

- Living room, kitchen, dining room and bedroom all in one room.

- Bathroom usually comes with a shower head instead of a bathtub to provide efficiency of space for the owner.

- Frequently feature kitchenettes built in along one wall rather than fully equipped separate kitchens

- Various unique layouts that prioritize on the efficiency of space.