Different Apartment Layouts and Terminology

The following are descriptions of different apartment layouts in the New York City. Apartments (unlike rooms for rent) always include a kitchen and a bathroom. 

Studio - One room with kitchen (or kitchenette) and a bathroom. Known elsewhere as 'efficiency'. 

Alcove Studio - Studio apartment with a distinct, visually separate area for sleeping. Usually 'L' shaped. More common in elevator or doorman buildings.

Two Room Studio- Two rooms studio where kitchen is large enough to be used for dining. Also known as 'Junior One Bedroom'. Most people use this open space as a livingroom.

One Bedroom - Separate livingroom and bedroom space. Kitchen may be separate or a part of the living room (known as an "open kitchen").

Junior 4 - 'Almost four rooms'. Living, bedroom, kitchen and dining area. Found in doorman or concierge attended buildings.

Convertible Two - Large one bedroom with a separate dining area that can be converted into a second bedroom. ('Converted Two Bedroom' is different - it implies two bedrooms already exist). 

Two Bedroom - Living room and two bedrooms. 

Convertible Three - Large two bedroom apartment usually with a dining area that can be easily converted into a third bedroom. 

Classic Six - Very large three bedroom apartment with good sized livingroom, a separate kitchen, a dining room (the third bedroom is usually small and used to be a servants room). Found in luxury pre-war buildings mostly on Upper West Side and Upper East Side.

Three Bedroom - A livingroom and three real bedrooms. The three bedrooms and larger layouts are less common and always in high demand.

Duplex An apartment that has 2 floors joined by a staircase. These can be found in brownstone buildings where one floor is usually below street level. Or in renovated buildings where the landlord has combined two apartments (either inside the building or on the roof).

Loft An open space apartment usually converted from commercial use to residential use. These are found primarily in Brooklyn as most of the ones that were in the Village have been converted into co-ops and condos. 

Floor through (commonly referred to as a floor-thru) An apartment that runs the whole floor of the building from the front of the building to the back of the building (although not necessarily using the entire floor, most often it is one half of the entire floor). These are found in brownstones and are usually in walk-up buildings.

Garden Apartment Apartments with any time of outdoor space are highly sought after. They include: garden apartments, which tend to be on the ground level with a garden in the back. Other outdoor spaces are: terraces, balconies, juliette balconies, and shared rooftop terraces.

Penthouse The top floor of a building and it usually has outdoor space. Although many landlords have renovated spaces and now all the top floor apartments are called "Penthouses".