Teh One Who Knocks
03-28-2016, 11:24 AM
By Valerie Edwards For Dailymail.com
A California man, who constructed a tiny bedroom pod in the living room of his friend's apartment, is now living in what he calls a cozy 'box'.
Peter Berkowitz, 25, hadn't imagined that he would be living in a newly constructed pod, but due to San Francisco's 'absurdly high housing prices' he was forced to come up with a housing solution.
One bedroom apartments in the city rent for an average of $3,500 per month compared to Berkowitz's $508 per month to live in his pod.
Three weeks ago, with the help of some friends, he started building the tiny bedroom and on his website, Berkowitz describes his eight-foot-long pod as the 'coziest bedroom I've ever had'.
'People are typically surprised that I would want to live in a pod, but I think they tend to underestimate how pleasant a pod can be if it's designed smartly.'
The pod is equipped with a fold-down desk, a slanted, cushioned backboard and LED lights for reading.
http://i.imgur.com/0fhpAbG.png
The apartment where Berkowitz built his pod is not only allowing him to pay affordable rent, but it's also located up the street from the beach.
He pays $400 per month for actual rent and $108 per month over the course of a year to cover the full cost of construction.
Building the pod cost $1,300 total, according to Berkowitz's website.
In a city where rents are unbearable for most residents, Berkowitz believes that pods can provide a 'needed fix' for people who want to add a bedroom to an apartment without the rent rising.
'If pods can provide an attractive way to add a bedroom to an apartment, I think they could help a lot of people out. People with the extra space wanting to bring in more money by subletting, people looking for cheap and simple housing, or people wanting to add another bedroom so their friend can move in, could all benefit,' Berkowitz wrote.
Berkowitz, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and De Correspondent, told NBC News that his idea for the pod came from several sources.
'I was always interested in Japanese capsule hotels,' he said.
Earlier this year he was living in a noisy apartment at street level and really wanted a quieter place to sleep, so he 'thought of making something like a Japanese capsule hotel'.
Berkowitz has four other roommates in the three-bedroom apartment and he says they 'are very nice to me'.
'I'm allowed in the kitchen and living room. 'It's really like adding an extra bedroom to the apartment.'
The pod, which is equipped with a sliding door, holds all of Berkowitz's possessions and he even has room to store his books and clothing in a storage space behind the backboard.
'I don't really own that much so I'm probably an anomaly,' he said in a video posted to YouTube.
He adds that the pod isn't for everyone. 'It's a little small and it's probably not for people who get claustrophobic.'
http://i.imgur.com/sUNTKwO.png
A California man, who constructed a tiny bedroom pod in the living room of his friend's apartment, is now living in what he calls a cozy 'box'.
Peter Berkowitz, 25, hadn't imagined that he would be living in a newly constructed pod, but due to San Francisco's 'absurdly high housing prices' he was forced to come up with a housing solution.
One bedroom apartments in the city rent for an average of $3,500 per month compared to Berkowitz's $508 per month to live in his pod.
Three weeks ago, with the help of some friends, he started building the tiny bedroom and on his website, Berkowitz describes his eight-foot-long pod as the 'coziest bedroom I've ever had'.
'People are typically surprised that I would want to live in a pod, but I think they tend to underestimate how pleasant a pod can be if it's designed smartly.'
The pod is equipped with a fold-down desk, a slanted, cushioned backboard and LED lights for reading.
http://i.imgur.com/0fhpAbG.png
The apartment where Berkowitz built his pod is not only allowing him to pay affordable rent, but it's also located up the street from the beach.
He pays $400 per month for actual rent and $108 per month over the course of a year to cover the full cost of construction.
Building the pod cost $1,300 total, according to Berkowitz's website.
In a city where rents are unbearable for most residents, Berkowitz believes that pods can provide a 'needed fix' for people who want to add a bedroom to an apartment without the rent rising.
'If pods can provide an attractive way to add a bedroom to an apartment, I think they could help a lot of people out. People with the extra space wanting to bring in more money by subletting, people looking for cheap and simple housing, or people wanting to add another bedroom so their friend can move in, could all benefit,' Berkowitz wrote.
Berkowitz, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and De Correspondent, told NBC News that his idea for the pod came from several sources.
'I was always interested in Japanese capsule hotels,' he said.
Earlier this year he was living in a noisy apartment at street level and really wanted a quieter place to sleep, so he 'thought of making something like a Japanese capsule hotel'.
Berkowitz has four other roommates in the three-bedroom apartment and he says they 'are very nice to me'.
'I'm allowed in the kitchen and living room. 'It's really like adding an extra bedroom to the apartment.'
The pod, which is equipped with a sliding door, holds all of Berkowitz's possessions and he even has room to store his books and clothing in a storage space behind the backboard.
'I don't really own that much so I'm probably an anomaly,' he said in a video posted to YouTube.
He adds that the pod isn't for everyone. 'It's a little small and it's probably not for people who get claustrophobic.'
http://i.imgur.com/sUNTKwO.png