This inviting, one-bedroom canal boat is in the 600-square-foot range and has all the comforts of home.

The more people get pushed out of the market in some of the world’s loveliest (and formerly-affordable) cities, the more alternative options look increasingly dreamy. Maybe you could afford to buy a closet in San Francisco, sure, but why not a canal boat in London instead?! This one, “Chinampa” as she is called, is especially lovely.

Built in 2013 and currently docked in London’s Haggerston Wharf, the Chinampa was the recipient of a lovely design by Wright & Doyle. At 58 feet long and 11 feet wide, the one bedroom space runs in the 600-square-feet range – yet the design skimps on nothing.

The current owners are (obviously) creatives, one works in landscaping and the other in fashion, and have created a wonderfully serene home on the water. With the goal of creating an open, clean, and clutter-free space, they have used reclaimed furniture and lots of handy built-ins for storage.

The galley kitchen includes a reclaimed plans chest, an iroko hardwood worktop from salvage designers Retrouvius, custom cupboard doors made from western red cedar, a Butler sink, antique brass taps, a stainless steel gas and electric hob and a small refrigerator/freezer.

Somehow, they have managed to include a glorious full-sized roll-top cast iron bathtub, adorned with reclaimed antique brass taps and shower fittings, and a perfectly respectable pedestal sink as well. This is boat head? You’d never know it; it’s nicer than my bathroom on terra firma! Then again, it’s hard to beat a bathtub with views through a porthole.

As far as the bedroom goes, no tiny home head-bumper here. It has room for a double bed and fitted wardrobe, and also plays home to a large integrated stainless steel, insulated fresh water tank. You can also see that there is access to the bow through a double opening in the front.

I just love the light throughout the space. Some of that light is afforded by those ever-so-romantic portholes and sizable windows, but that hallway skylight just lets the light flood in. It is a large, timber-framed, double-pitched skylight that can be opened to help with ventilation.

For heat, there are radiators and a Morso Squirrel multi-fuel stove. Beneath the hood these is a Webasto high performance water heating system and calorifier – and to get out of Dodge, a 52 horsepower Canaline diesel engine. Four 130-watt solar panels will allow for living completely off-grid and sufficient for year-round cruising, for which she is equipped.

The boat is being listed by Aucoot for £165,000 (around $211,000) – and that includes all the custom-built furniture like the fitted bench/storage, bookshelves, sofa, and kitchen table. Just imagine, all this … for the price of a closet in an overpriced city.