Ikea offering free advice, furniture to buyer of ‘skinniest house'

Apartment measures 9½ feet wide and 42 feet long

Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, September 22, 2009

NEW YORK — Ikea is showing off its expertise in furnishing small spaces by offering free design advice, including furniture worth up to $10,000, to whoever buys the skinniest house in this city, which is on the market.

According to a press release, the retailer has volunteered to help whoever buys the apartment at 75½ Bedford St. in Greenwich Village, which is 9½ feet wide and 42 feet long. Despite the design challenges, it is priced at $2.7 million.

"We know that space is at a premium in most homes and especially in this particular home. In fact, the Huffington Post quoted the real estate broker saying that you'd have to be ‘clever in how you decorate' it," said Janice Simonsen, an Ikea design expert and spokesperson. "We're so in love with small spaces that we're putting an offer on the table, albeit a skinny table - free furniture and design expertise to the eventual buyers."

Here some fun facts about the home, according to Ikea:

• Built in 1873, the structure is squeezed between 75 and 77 Bedford St. (hence the fraction in the address).

• Its noteworthy past occupants have included anthropologist Margaret Mead and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay.

• It was purchased in 1994 for $270,000.

• Its kitchen contains a custom stove that has all four burners in a single row, instead of the usual two-by-two arrangement.