small change

No doubt the micro-homes you know and love are minimalist cabins built in the boondocks. Less sexy are their compact urban counterparts whose ‘all-inclusive’ business models make amenities, not architecture, the heart of the sell. While touting a tiny footprint, micro-apartments are increasingly competing on micro-luxuries. Who needs bike racks, free gyms and laundry facilities when New York’s Carmel Place is offering Hello Alfred butler services? Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, microflats come equipped with ultrashort-throw home projectors that transform small walls into big screen TVS. Expect jam rooms, pet spas and golf simulators to become de rigueur, too. After all, when your home is the size of a pixel, the tiny perks count.