1- Units will be small, but not too small, ideal micro-apartment size is between 275 and 300 square feet, the optimum size for a “one person plus dog” household. It’s the same size used by New York City’s pilot micro-housing program, adAPT NYC. In other words, people are willing to deal with Murphy beds and hidden storage, but won’t go as far to live with a motorhome-style combination bathroom/shower stall.
2- They won’t have ovens, but it will have a full-sized refrigerator. Modern consumers may be ready to live with a little bit less, but haven’t quite embraced the tiny appliances sold in Europe and Asia, like all-in-one washer-dryer combos. Mini-fridges are a no-go as North Americans want a full-height refrigerator. An oven, however, can be sacrificed if there’s a microwave and convection oven in its place.
3- There will be places to socialize outside your apartment. Most tiny-apartment dwellers are single professionals, are social, but do not want or need to socialize in their own homes. In an effort to entice people to downsize, developers are tossing building amenities into the mix, with spaces like gyms, communal tables, and roof-top gardens.
4- Micro-apartments will be convertible. Though micro housing has not yet achieved widespread acceptance, the legislation allowing them in many cities is relatively new. Just in case the trend is a passing fad, developers are hedging their bets on micro-housing with a number of buildings being designed so that micro-housing units can be easily combined into one- or two- bedroom apartments, if demand decreases. Load-bearing walls, utilities, and other systems within the building are designed so that side-by-side units can be cheaply converted into bigger apartments.
5- They won’t be called “micro.” This term has begun to arouse some negative connotations associated with higher density, overcrowding, and transient populations. Perhaps as they become more ubiquitous, they’ll just be called “apartments.”