Narrow houses are all the rage in space-starved cities like Tokyo. But in New York, where they are more of a ‘novelty’, their skinny footplates can command quite the premium.

The Millay House, aka 75 ½ Bedford Street, is the city’s narrowest historic townhouse at just 9.5-ft-wide, and the West Village property was home to poet and writer Edna St Vincent Millay in the 1920s. Inside, it’s even thinner at just 8-ft-1-inches.

According to Dwell, the townhouse was originally a carriage entrance for the adjacent Hettie Hendricks-Gomez Estate and dates from around 1893. It’s built in a Dutch-style and rises three-storeys with a full basement below.

Rooms have been given a minimalist makeover, with white-washed walls and raftered timber ceilings exposed throughout. Oversized, leaded windows and the stepped gable roof were added under Millay’s custodianship, while modern, space-saving storage maximises square footage.

The three-bedroom skinny home is listed with Hannah Oh of Nest Seekers International for $4.99m.

She said: ‘People expect it to be very tiny—almost micro-living, but there’s more space than you’d think.’

Take a peek inside.

[Via Dwell]

Peek inside a pair of poets’ homes in London