Turning Storage Spaces Into The Ultimate Escape
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- If you live in the Tri-state area, you know how limited space can be.
Some savvy renters are now turning storage units - usually sold to hold your excess stuff - into lavish bachelor pads and work spaces.
CBS2's Steve Overmyer got a look at some of the man caves, she sheds, and recording studios popping up in ordinary public storage facilities.
With affordable space at such a premium in most cities, a growing number of people say they're renting storage units as an extension of their own homes. They transform the rented rooms and garages into personal gyms, quiet offices, snazzy she sheds, and, perhaps most common, the ultimate man caves.
Some storage facilities are going to far as to advertise their units are personal getaways.
"It's just a good opportunity to come hang out and kind of just goof around," said Louis Trestall, who's recently engaged and now sharing his 700 square foot apartment in Hoboken.
Trestall said he decided to make the most of his space at Dumbo Storage in Newark.
"I was like, you know, this could work," he said. "I can store some cool stuff here, and maybe every once in a while, hang out."
He's not the only one.
"We don't have a concierge… but your day-to-day usage… bathrooms, electricity… WiFi – we have it all," Dumbo CEO Lior Rachmany said.
Rachmany rents yet another of his storage units to a couple guys in a band.
"Anywhere you have neighbors, you cannot do whatever you want. And this gives you the freedom to do whatever you want," he said. "Rocking out, or training, we're totally fine with that."
The one thing he's not fine with is people living in his storage rooms full time. Most facilities discourage that. But still, it happens.
Trestall said at $400 a month, the 300 square foot storage space is money well spent, even if he can only use it between the hours of 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.
"Having the ability to know you have a space that you can retreat to… have a friend, just kind of hangout, have a beer… that's ultimately why I do this," he said.
By comparison, a 300 square foot studio apartment in Manhattan costs about $2,000 a month.
Some other uses for self-storage units we've heard of include personal yoga studios and amazing walk-in closets.
For more information on the trendy units for rent in New Jersey, click here.
