This Small Condo Has 13-Foot Ceilings And Feels Surprisingly Spacious
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Apartment Therapy profiled Molly Hatia’s 714-square-foot Seattle condo, which has 13-foot ceilings and large windows in a building that began as an elementary school in 1896. Hatia said she renovated the kitchen and bathroom and used period-inspired details to make the compact home feel both inviting and spacious.

Apartment Therapy has featured a 714-square-foot condo in Seattle that its owner, Molly Hatia, said feels open and comfortable in part because of its 13-foot ceilings and large windows. The home is in a building constructed as an elementary school in 1896 and converted into condominiums in the 1980s.

Hatia owned the condo for five years, according to the Apartment Therapy home tour. She said the building’s history, its windows and its high ceilings attracted her when she first viewed the unit. The published profile presents the home as a single-owner design story, not as a real estate market report or a measurement-based study of how ceiling height affects perceived space.

Hatia said she wanted the interior to feel “inviting and cozy, yet spacious” while acknowledging the building’s past. She added a vintage school desk and a classroom map, which she found at a local antique store, as references to the property’s original use. Apartment Therapy identifies the home’s area as 714 square feet; the source does not provide a floor plan or a room-by-room breakdown.

The homeowner renovated the kitchen and bathroom, according to the profile. Hatia said she chose details inspired by Victorian and Edwardian design, including vintage-style sink faucets, subway tile and mosaic tile. She also exposed a previously concealed brick wall in the bathroom. Large windows support her collection of tropical houseplants, which she described as creating a “little jungle oasis.”

At a glance
reportWhen: Published yesterday, according to the s…
The developmentApartment Therapy published a home tour of Molly Hatia’s 714-square-foot condo in a former Seattle elementary school, highlighting its 13-foot ceilings and historic features.

How Height Shapes a Compact Home

The home tour offers a specific example of how a small condo can be designed around its existing features rather than relying only on floor area. Its 13-foot ceilings and large windows contribute to the feeling of openness Hatia sought, while period-inspired finishes and furnishings connect the rooms to the building’s history. That account is useful to readers considering small homes, but it remains an individual homeowner’s experience rather than proof that tall ceilings will make every compact space feel larger.

The story also shows how adaptive reuse can preserve traces of a building’s former purpose. The school desk and map are decorative choices, while the exposed brick and historic structure are features of the property itself. Together, they illustrate how a renovation can combine updated rooms with visible reminders of a building’s past.

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From Schoolhouse to Condominiums

The building was constructed in 1896 as an elementary school and converted to condominiums during the 1980s, according to Hatia’s account in Apartment Therapy. The source does not name the school or provide additional details about the conversion. Hatia, who was born and raised in Seattle, said she valued the property’s history and felt the city had fewer historic buildings than places such as the East Coast or Europe.

The published report focuses on the finished home and Hatia’s design decisions. It says she owned the condo for five years and works as a software engineer, but does not state when she bought it, when the renovations took place or whether she still owns it. Its description of the home as spacious reflects the homeowner’s design goal and the tour’s framing, rather than an independent evaluation.

““What drew me to this home was the big windows, soaring 13-foot ceilings, and the unique history of the building.””

— Molly Hatia, as quoted by Apartment Therapy

What the Home Tour Leaves Out

The source does not give the condo’s address, floor plan, purchase price, renovation costs or the dates of the kitchen and bathroom work. It also does not include independent measurements of natural light, ceiling height beyond the stated 13 feet, or how the layout affects the usable area. The report says Hatia owned the condo for five years but does not clarify whether she still lives there.

Claims that the home feels spacious are attributed to Hatia and the framing of the home tour. The available information does not establish how other residents or potential buyers would experience the unit, or whether its tall ceilings and windows would be typical of other small Seattle condos.

No Further Project Update Reported

Apartment Therapy’s published home tour documents the condo’s design and history; the supplied source material does not announce another renovation, sale or follow-up. No future milestone is identified. Further details about the property’s current ownership, its precise layout or the cost and timing of its renovations remain unreported.

Key Questions

How large is the Seattle condo?

Apartment Therapy lists the condo at 714 square feet. The source material does not include a floor plan or room-by-room measurements.

How tall are the ceilings?

The home tour describes the ceilings as 13 feet tall. The report does not say whether that measurement applies to every room.

What was the building originally used for?

According to the report, the building was constructed as an elementary school in 1896 and converted into condos in the 1980s.

What renovations did Hatia make?

Hatia said she completed full renovations of the kitchen and bathroom. She described using vintage-style faucets, subway and mosaic tile, and exposing a previously hidden brick wall in the bathroom.

Does the report show that tall ceilings always make small homes feel larger?

No. It shares Hatia’s experience and design goals for one condo, but does not provide comparative research or establish that the same effect applies to other homes.

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