Bizarrely Narrow Home with a Toilet in the Bedroom Goes on Sale for $2 Million

Tiny home living is a popular and growing fad, but maybe not quite like this. A super-narrow home in Toronto has just gone on the market. If the price tag for the space—nearly $2 million—isn't eye-popping enough, the home has another feature that's been raising some eyebrows. Read on to find out what it is, the unusual materials it was built from, and what social media has to say about the listing.

The 1,693-square-foot, three-story home—only 53 feet wide—is described as a "unique and modern creation that is exceptionally durable and low maintenance" on its listing. It includes three bedrooms, four bathrooms, three kitchens—and a toilet in one of the bedrooms. The toilet is apparently placed in the bedroom because the nearby bathroom is too small for it. The home also includes a basement and a private rooftop deck.

If the home looks like stacked shipping containers, that's because it is. Designer Glen Donaldson created the home and is now selling it. The Toronto Star reported on the building—or raising—of the house in 2018: It was built from three shipping containers stacked on top of each other by crane. Donaldson had built two shipping container homes in Atlanta, and another in Florida as a wider home. He built the Toronto house as a pied-a-terre close to his parents.

Donaldson became interested in shipping container homes after seeing them in Europe, the Star reported. He built his first three-story house in Atlanta from six, eight-by-40-foot containers in 2007, and another next door a few years later. "I have always wanted to live in a house made of steel. I thought it was a better building material than wood, and that's been the attraction," he said. "They are unique looking. I like a modern-looking box. And steel is such a durable material."

At the time, Donaldson said the size of the house didn't seem prohibitive. "When I stand inside, it seems pretty spacious, but it will be more telling once the drywall is up," he said. It's unclear why he's selling the house now. 

"Houses require too much maintenance over the years. This kind of property is almost good forever, just a little bit of tenting here and there, there's no roof to chant, there's nothing," the home's realtor told Storeys. "He's done a very good job when it comes to not making the place look small when you're in the interior. When you look at it from the outside, that's one thing, but when you come inside, that's pretty surprising. The way he managed to build everything, it's actually very, very nicely designed."

The house went viral after being posted on TikTok by @realtor.nero, real estate agent, and the virtual tour attracted plenty of commentary. One commenter called it "the 'can you get out of my way' house." Another suggested you'd have to walk single file through the home. "Prisoners have the same toilet set up," observed one, while another declared the home "a 3 story hallway."