How a 36-year-old risk manager lives in under 500 square feet

Calvin Huynh, 36

Risk manager

Where: Corktown How big: 455 square feet How much: $274,000

When Calvin Huynh sold the Yorkville penthouse he shared with his ex-husband, he decided to buy a new place using only his half of the proceeds. He knew he’d have to settle for a tiny apartment, but he didn’t care. “What North Americans consider a small space houses a family of four in Hong Kong,” he says. The first time he viewed the studio unit he now lives in, it was unfurnished and uninviting, and he decided not to bid. Then he saw a similar unit fully furnished and had a change of heart. A month had passed since he had originally viewed the studio, but it was, miraculously, still on the market—so he snapped it up. His only complaint, now that he owns the place, is that the bathroom takes up too much square footage. He’d rather have some of that space allocated to a dining area, where he could entertain.

He sourced much of the furniture from CB2, including the sectional bed frame, which doubles as a shelf:

BoConcept designed this geometric wall-mounted storage unit:

Calvin wishes the bathroom were a bit smaller, so he could use the square footage as living space:

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