How a 41-year-old retail manager lives in under 500 square feet

Greg Prozanski, 41

Retail assistant manager

Where: Regent Park How big: 466 square feet How much: $262,000

Four years after moving to Toronto from Russia, Greg and his wife, Daria, decided they were done with renting. Their strict $250,000 budget locked them out of most downtown one-bedroom options, but, thanks to Toronto Community Housing’s Boost Program, which covered a sizeable chunk of their deposit, they were able to afford a tiny pre-construction unit. To ensure the tight space would be as airy as possible, Daria picked light-coloured finishes, including birch-hued cabinetry and grey floors. Greg scored most of the furniture from the ReStore, Habitat for Humanity’s shop for donated goods, where he works. He didn’t need much: the stone kitchen island takes up a third of the apartment. Guests (a maximum of two at a time) sit there while he prepares dinner.

In Yekaterinburg, Russia, Greg worked as a gemologist. He brought his microscope with him when he came to Canada, and he made a jeweller’s workbench out of an old desk and some plywood:

The 52-square-foot balcony doubles as storage space for whatever won’t fit inside:

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