See Inside a Shared 500-Square-Foot Attic Apartment

A 500-Square-Foot Attic Was Revived with Bold Color and Thrifted Finds

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About this tour

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Home Type

Apartment

Location

Parkdale, Toronto, Canada

Style

Bohemian

Eclectic

Bedrooms

1

Square feet

500

Sq ft

500

Challenging is a bit of an understatement when it comes to Benita and Brian Lynch’s move out of their last home and into this attic apartment. For one, they were moving in 2020 in the height of COVID pandemic restrictions (so finding a mover to do the job was difficult).

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Credit: Justice Darragh

Benita works full time as an accounting assistant but also loves to create works of art and considers herself a self-taught artist. "Some of our art works displayed are done by me in our home. The only thing lacking in our home is the wall space to hang more, but then that gives me opportunities to swirl our pieces," she writes. Benita and Brian share the home with their two cats, both 12 years old, Sadie the black cat and Lexi, a tabby.

The other challenge? Benita and Brian had rented a three-bedroom apartment for 30 years — a long time to accumulate furniture, decor, art, and more. When Benita’s sister’s attic apartment unit at the top of her 1904 Edwardian house became available, the couple was interested but apprehensive. The new unit’s size? Only 500 square feet, considerably smaller than what they had been sharing.

Credit: Justice Darragh

“So, we both looked at it… and decided we wanted to downsize anyway and moved in,” Benita admits. But coming from a large three-bedroom unit to a much smaller one-bedroom space meant a lot of “decluttering, downsizing, selling, giving away to friends, or simply just [leaving items] on the streets to let anyone take … and wrapping my head around how to now live in a smaller place without compromising our style of living,” Benita explains.

Credit: Justice Darragh

The couple's top-floor unit comes with a tiny but mighty little balcony, accessed through the bedroom.

“It was a challenge in the beginning, but so worth the journey,” she continues, explaining that she wanted to add their personality to the space, but also honor the building’s history. Punches of color blend with lots of souvenirs and treasures, and Benita incorporated some renter-friendly wallpaper, too.

Credit: Justice Darragh

Benita loves living closer to family, but that’s not the only benefit to the couple’s downsize. “I love living in a place where everything has a spot for it. We now aim to keep our possessions in balance with the philosophy of one item in needs one item out. But in the end, we need to feel comfy, cozy in a small home … and we LOVE it!!”