Just listed: A bright-blue Cambridge town house with lofts, ladders, and decks
With its striking exterior, storefront-style entrance, and series of ladders, this home cuts an interesting figure in Cambridge.
With its striking blue exterior, storefront-style entrance, and series of ladders and other funky features, this home cuts an interesting figure in Cambridge.
MIT graduates Chip Webster and Troy Beutel launched their architecture firm from the 178 Harvard St. home’s front office in the 1980s. Webster renovated the town house featured here, which is one of three units in the building they owned. (Beutel renovated the next-door unit.)
An eye-catching floating staircase climbs through the middle of the open-concept space, leading from the loft to the roof deck. Sunlight pours in through large bay windows and glints off of what used to be gaps in the hardwood floors that Webster filled with molten metal.
A tiled mosaic makes up the floor of the kitchen, which is lofted slightly. Lifted tiles remain where Webster once installed vintage bus benches to create a dynamic seating area.
Listing agent Jeff Stephens of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Commonwealth Real Estate said visitors are regularly struck by how vertically driven the space is. Eleven-foot vaulted ceilings and a skylight add to the effect.
The half bath — which Stephens said could easily be converted into a full — is painted a playful yellow. One of the other baths features a double-headed shower with wood grain tiling.
The home also boasts multi-level decks, a patio and garden area, and even a hot tub.
Though the house was first built in 1886, it has updated electrical and air-conditioning systems, a tankless hot water heater, and in-unit laundry. A wood-burning stove sits on its own tiled platform near the kitchen.
The three-level home has three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and 2,341 square feet of living space. It’s listed for $1,495,000.
See more photos of the home below:
Subscribe to the Globe’s free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @globehomes.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com