This 86 Sq-ft Apartment in Paris Shows Just How Wrong You've Been Living Your Life

Because most aren’t ultra-wealthy real estate magnates, tooling around on a yacht in their free time, people love to see how others maximize the meager spaces they live in. That’s why this 86 square-foot apartment in Paris, which is more akin to a jigsaw puzzle, is simply fascinating.

In a video from 2014 that’s currently making the rounds on Reddit, a woman demonstrates how to turn a closet into a home, using the magic of functional walls that double as staircases and storage units.

Every last, piddling inch of space is used to store books, clothing, bedding, a wardrobe, bookshelves, a dining room table, a kitchenette with a removable cooktop, a hot water boiler and even a bathroom, which is cleverly hidden behind an unassuming door. This, clearly, is a study in living like an ascetic, without the want or need of all the cool crap you can buy with a lot of money.  

The video’s description makes no mention of rent, or the market value of the apartment, although one has to assume it’s markedly lower than what you’d expect in a trendy Parisian neighborhood. After all, it’s about as small as anything habitable can be -- it’s the ultimate Smart Car of urban living spaces.

The bottom line here is, if every inch comes at a premium, why not consider living in a hyper-organized speck of an apartment? You’d probably never lose anything again.

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Sam Blum is 6'4" and could not live in that tiny, Parisian apartment, regardless of the novelty. Follow him @Blumnessmonster.