And yes, the Harry Potter bed underneath the stairwell is no go. Huge walk-in closets with room for a bed might be more luxurious than many Manhattan housing situations, but without a window to natural light, it is not a bedroom. Sliding doors qualify as a proper closing entryway, but not a thick curtain.

If you only have 'bookshelf walls', that is there is no wall other than a blockade of IKEA Billy bookshelves, you do not have a one bedoom. OK, from this definition, we can rule out some more creative definitions of a bedroom. The dimensions must fit at least a twin size bed. The bedroom must be a minimum number of square feet, surrounded by floor to ceiling walls on all sides with an entryway that closes (door, not curtain). Legally, a bedroom MUST contain a window that receives at least a few rays of natural sunlight (the technical definition requires a minimum clearance so you can't build a window into the hallway or straight into a brick wall 2 inches away). The Department of Buildings in New York has some strict legal definitions of what constitutes a bedroom, but the bar is a bit lower than what we are imagining. Or, more popular in newer buildings, the floorplan actually makes most of the apartment a nice square shape except for a special alcove large enough to fit a queen size bed and nightstand (or a nice king size bed). Otherwise, you have at best an alcove studio, which is often either an L-shaped apartment where you use the privacy of the nook to carve out a living area that not all your friends will see upon entry. If you have a legal bedroom separate from the living room, then you have a real, true, one bedroom. Your sleeping area and bed are often in the same exact space as your living room, dining room, foyer, and home office. A studio apartment does not contain a legal bedroom, separate from the rest of the unit. What is the difference between a studio and one bedroom apartment? Contrary to popular belief, it has nothing at all to do with the kitchen or bathroom situation. We will quickly review some of those terms here, but we've also written a comprehensive rental guide that will teach you more about the NYC rental process.

Confusing the issue more, there exist apartments advertised as alcove studios, junior one bedrooms, and one bedrooms with a home office. Studios provide the same level of privacy at lower cost, but do not have a separate bedroom away from the living room, so the space may be smaller and when guests visit, they will usually see your bed right alongside your couch. However, the standard one-bedroom apartment averages over $3,200. Searching for a one bedroom signals a preference to live alone, away from the craziness of having a roommate, so that everything past the apartment door is yours and yours alone. We all dream of living in our own one bedroom apartment in New York City! Decades of classic sitcoms and about Manhattan, from Seinfeld, to Friends, to Sex in the City, portray everyday struggling New Yorkers retreating at the end of each arduous day to their lovely homes.

Spacious 1 bedroom apartments