It was time to buy an alcove studio in Manhattan.

But an alcove studio would do - he could add a wall and turn it into a one-bedroom.

Two north-facing alcove studios came available at the same time.

He was stunned to learn the alcove studio had previously been home to a married couple with three young children.

On the 10th floor, two alcove studios were for sale, each with around 650 square feet.

The doorman told them of a vacant alcove studio, for $1,900 a month, and gave them the key.

The apartment was what a real estate broker would have called an alcove studio.

She found a listing for a 600-square-foot alcove studio at 100 West 57th Street, asking $240,000.

She bid the asking price, $279,000, for an alcove studio of nearly 600 square feet.

Within weeks, it became clear that her business was too space-intensive for her $1,400-a-month alcove studio.