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Tiny Living On A Whole New Level – Family Of 6 Is Right At Home In A Penthouse Studio

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's no surprise that you need a little creativity to transform some tiny New York apartments into a home.

One family of six on the Upper West Side is taking tiny living to a whole new level.

At the top of 200 W. 86th St., there is a quaint 480-square foot home that currently belongs to a family of six.

Allaya Fleischer stays at home with her children while her husband Eric works as an engineer in New Jersey.

Their home is small, but they do have some extra space outside -- a shared amenity on the penthouse level, and their own private terrace.

"I often have dreams of semi enclosing this with lots of glass doors," Fleischer said.

They walked CBS2's Emily Smith through a normal night in their modest home.

For dinner they had pizza in their kosher kitchen,  it was served at what they jokingly call the 'Murphy table.'

It's mechanical -- designed by the Fleischers to fit about twelve people.

The kids climb ladders to their bedrooms, Astrid sleeps in a crib with their family cat Josie, and Max has a spot on a small mattress in the front hall by the door.

"So that's really important that we lock the front door, and I don't want any accidents to happen," Fleischer said, "He has an extra blanket if he's feeling cold."

Mom and dad sleep in a Murphy bed that comes out of the wall, and turns into a queen.

When things get busy at the front door Eric Fleischer routinely enters the home through the balcony window.

At 7 p.m. it's bed time, which means the dinner table has to go back into its place, and decide who gets to use the only bathroom first.

So, will the family be there forever?

"There may be a time in the future where we have to make difficult decisions but we don't have any plans to move anytime soon," Eric said.

The parents have one closet each, and the kids use drawers under the window seat for their belongings.

The Fleischers have owned the studio apartment for 9 years. It's a space bought by Eric for himself during a time when he never imagined having a family.

"This was just sort f a bachelor pad, but nobody really wanted to move," he said.

Now, it's home.

Eric purchased the apartment for $560,000 9 years ago. It used to be a recreation room, but it was turned into a studio apartment in 1953.

 

 

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