Ikea furnishes New York's narrowest house.

From the clever people who brought you Abba and Eric the Red.

"IKEA has offered US$10,000 worth of furniture and free design advice to the buyer of the narrowest house in New York City.

The red brick house, located at 75 1/2 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village, is 9 1/2 feet wide and 42 feet long, and was built in 1873 in the alleyway between 75 and 77 Bedford Street.

The house was put up for sale last month for US$2.7 million, and a plaque on the building notes that poet Edna St. Vincent Millay once lived there, as did anthropologist Margaret Mead. When the house went on the market, real estate broker Alex Nicholas was quoted as saying the future owners would “have to be very clever in how [they] decorate,” prompting the proposal from IKEA.

IKEA spokesperson Janice Simonsen explained the furniture giant’s offer, saying, “We know that space is a premium in most homes and especially in this home… We’re so in love with small spaces that we’re putting an offer on the table, albeit a skinny table – free furniture and design expertise to the eventual buyers.”