The uncompromising verticality of architect Simon Storey’s black stucco-clad Echo Park home was his response to an unusually tight site; sandwiched between a concrete stairway and another property, it’s a mere 15 feet wide.

The low-budget, four-level design—comprising a combination garage/workshop, an open-plan living room and kitchen with adjoining patio, a third story with a bathroom and two rooms (one of which functions as Storey’s architecture studio), and a roof terrace—solved the spatial issues in a no-frills way. It wasn’t until after the house was finished THAT Storey realized it offered a different way of living.

“I never expected it to be that interesting, actually,” he admits. “It was only after I started living here that I realized 960 square feet is all you need, as long as it’s well thought out and has lots of natural light. It becomes a liberating space to live in, because it’s nothing more than you need.”