How to Make the Most of 500 Square Feet: See How This City Renter Did It

When Lola Simmons and boyfriend Garrett Moore began looking for an apartment in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, they were hoping to spend around $1,400 on monthly rent. So when the pair found their dream spot for just over $1,000 a month in Seattle’s infamously difficult rental market, they knew they’d struck gold.

“I walked in, and after about two minutes, I said, ‘Yep, I’ll take it,’” says Simmons.

From there, the process was easy, and the couple experienced little surprise throughout their move-in — besides an out-of-commission antique freight elevator on move-in day.

We sat down with Simmons to discuss how she found the perfect rental and how she’s made the cozy 500-square-foot space into a home over the past three years — including turning the walk-in closet into a bedroom.

How did you find this place?
Garrett’s good friends lived here, and they were moving out. We’d gone and looked at a bunch of low-income houses that were sketchy, smelly and small, and we just kind of stumbled upon this place. They were looking for someone to take over their lease.