How a forty-ish couple lives in under 500 square feet

Cheryl Kozoriz, 42; Ross Anicai, 49

Communications manager; retail executive

Where: King West Village How big: 475 square feet How much: $315,000

Cheryl and Ross were living in a 1,300-square-foot Roncesvalles loft with heaps of underutilized space, so they decided to downsize. After viewing a few ho-hum condos, they fell for this two-level unit. Although it was small, the layout was ideal: there was no dead space, and the upstairs bedroom could double as an art studio for Ross, who is a painter. Plus, the main level has a private entrance and a terrace, and the building is next to a rail corridor, so the view will almost certainly never be blocked by development. Cheryl sometimes wishes the condo were wider, but they’re happy with their purchase. Living small allows them to spend money on other priorities, like travel (Bucharest, Vienna and Prague are on the itinerary this fall).

Cheryl thought this was an image of Alain Delon and had it blown up as a gift for Ross. It’s actually Roger Moore, and Ross hates it:

Ross designed this Murphy bed. He flips it up and lays down drop sheets when he paints:

The bed has pull-out side tables:

Cheryl’s dad built her these bookshelves when she was six years old:

The abstract acrylic paintings are some of Ross’s works:

Cheryl’s favourite place to kick back is on the stairs, where she reads while basking in natural light:

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