This really is a fascinating slice of real estate. 

The Montlake Spite House located at 2022 24th Ave E in Seattle was built in 1925 and it has been likened to a wedge of cheese or pie due to its tapered shape. 

In a new YouTube video uploaded by Kirsten Dirksen, the current owner Emily Cangie gives viewers a tour of the unusual abode, starting at the back door which measures just 4.5ft wide.

She has been living in the property with her husband for more than two-and-a-half years and according to property site Zillow, it is currently estimated to be worth $748,900. 

According to Emily, the house was built by a woman who lived in the big house next door with her husband after they decided to get divorced.

As it was ‘during the time when women couldn’t get their own loans in the U.S.,’ the divorcee decided to build on the land that she had won in the settlement: her ex-husband’s front yard. 

‘The story goes that she decided to build a house to block his view in the front yard,’ Emily says. 

Starting at the narrowest part of the home, Emily leads viewers inside. 

Firstly, there is a porch area, which is used as a ‘mud room’ to store footwear and coats. 

This then flows through to the galley-style kitchen. 

While the cooking space is narrow, Emily says it has been a ‘pretty effective’ space.

Her only niggle is the fridge, which sticks out into the middle of the kitchen.

Moving onwards, there is a sizeable living room, with a large couch and dining table that can seat six, and, at the widest part of the house, the main bedroom. 

Emily highlights that the sleeping area is a sizeable, with room for a queen sized bed and two dressers.

The bathroom, however, is a bit more of a squeeze. 

Emily says: ‘The bathroom is where the angles get weird again… makes me think of the bathrooms in New York.

‘I mean, compared to New York, you’re just grateful that there’s not a toilet in your bedroom.’

While the tour appears to have finished, Emily then reveals a whole other level of the house which is only accessible via an external staircase.

The bottom floor used to serve as the carriage house, but now it is a self contained flat with a bedroom, living room and bathroom. 

Emily says the lighting in this space is ‘key’ as the ‘windows aren’t huge down here.’ 

Including both floors, the home measures 850sq ft and it serves up two bedrooms, two bathrooms and two living rooms.

Emily, who works in product management and marketing for Amazon, says she came across the Montlake Spite House by chance and she was drawn to it because it was ‘historically odd.’

She explained: ‘Ironically went to school for architecture and thought that’s what I wanted to be… so maybe I’m a junkie for it. 

‘But the design side of me thought this was fun so I just came to tour it solely out of interest for the peculiar nature of it… I had gone to high school just up the street so I had driven by it a hundred times and never noticed it growing up.’

For others thinking of shunning a standard home for something a little more unusual, Emily says the most important skill to have is ‘creativity.’

She concludes: ‘It’s definitely one of the things you sign up for with a weird house is having to get very creative. 

‘I thought I would feel a little more like I was in a fishbowl but so far it’s been pretty private. It’s cozy and it has so many brilliant features.’

Greggs starts year on a healthy note with a sales surge thanks to cheaply-priced treats and later shop opening times

• Bakery chain revealed turnover expanded by 17.1% on a like-for-like basis 
• Greggs has warned profits would be impacted this year by rising cost inflation
• Longer store opening times boosted purchases of pizza and chicken goujons

By Harry Wise For This Is Money

Published: 05:54 EDT, 16 May 2023 | Updated: 06:01 EDT, 16 May 2023

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