Couple squeezes into one of Manhattan's tiniest apartments

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Space is hard to come by in New York City, and apartment living causes people to be creative.

But one couple manages to live in just 242 square feet, and they gave us the grand tour.

It is a dream spot, teeny tiny, but it is great how everything has its place and how it feels so homey.

Yes, bathrooms in McMansions are bigger than this co-op. But it sure is charming.

If it is not officially the smallest in Manhattan, it's one of them.

"It's 242 square feet, and that includes the closets," said owner Jourdan Lawlor.

A look at the layout shows the front door, with a bed that folds down, a bathroom, a closet and a kitchen, all crammed into that small space.

The original dining room table takes up three inches in the wall.

"These really cool benches fold down and then we put this really nice maple tabletop in, this just has so much character. And then you squeeze," said owner Tobin Ludwig.

Tobin moved in and so now two people live here, moving the couch and pulling down the Murphy bed every night. The place may be 242 square feet small, but their news is big.

"We do have plans to get married New Year's Eve. I don't know about long-term plans, but our dream is to be able to keep this as a pied-a-terre," said Lawlor.

Years ago, this used to be a dorm for Hudson River dockworkers. The bathroom and kitchen were redone as part of a $30,000 renovation.

And the apartment itself, bought three years ago, was $270,000. The door to the bath is reclaimed wood on barn door sliders.

And they brought in the biggest mini-fridge they could find.

"We really only shop for one or two meals at a time, no Costco trips in this house," Tobin said, laughing.

Though there is a tiny attic above the bath.

"So we're renting that now on Craigslist for $275 a week if anyone is interested," said Ludwig.

Not really. That is a joke. But here's a fact: three doors down, also on West 12th, is a townhouse going for $12 million. Only in New York.

If you add together the mortgage, fees and storage unit they pay for, it still comes to less than $2,000 a month, far less than the average New York studio.

But Jourdan admits some nights after work she stops by the storage unit to get a cocktail dress and shoes, then goes out.