Peek Inside This Sunny Boston Studio — It Has a Shockingly Chic Murphy Bed

When I lived in Boston, I’d always walk extra slowly down Dartmouth Street and Marlborough Street, relishing the brick sidewalks and matching brick and brownstone buildings. Looking at the elegant residences through the leaves of the old trees that line the avenue made me feel like I was living in the Victorian Playmobil village of my childhood dreams. So I couldn’t help but wonder what these townhomes looked like inside. Thankfully home listing sites allow you to do just that, and during my most recent scroll through one I came across this Dartmouth Street home that is just darling.

• Where: Boston, Massachusetts
• Price: $675,000
• Size: 497 square feet
• Bedrooms: 1
• Bathrooms: 1

To address the financial elephant in the room, yes, this condo is going for $675,000 for less than 500 square feet. Such is the Boston housing market. In an alternate reality where I am putting in an offer, though, let me tell you why I am so taken by this petite home.

For one, it was built in 1850, so it’s full of genuine antique charm (the kind I adored in my Playmobil dollhouse). But it also recently underwent a renovation, meaning you don’t have to deal with the less-than-favorable elements of owning an old home. Just look at the kitchen, where white Shaker cabinets mingle with high-end appliances, and practical (and pretty) under-mount lighting illuminates the honed quartz countertops. 

Because this is a studio, the kitchen flows right into the rest of the living space. At the opposite end, a beautiful bay window soaks the space in natural light, which looks especially lovely on the warm wood floors and sunny walls. 

If you’re looking around the room wondering where the bed is … it’s in the wall. A set of double doors opens up to reveal a built-in Murphy bed that, honestly, looks very elegant. In the world where I own this condo, I’m hanging a big oil painting behind the bed, dressing it in a linen duvet cover so it looks purposefully tousled, and spritzing it with my favorite linen spray so an aroma fills the room each time I get ready for bed. 

This Property Crush is listed by The Biega + Kilgore Team, Compass.

Are you on the house hunt, or just the type of person who loves browsing real estate listings, even when you’re not in the market for a new home? Property Crush is a column where we feature actual real estate listings that get the Apartment Therapy seal of approval in regards to style (we haven’t done home inspections or anything, so don’t sue us). Know of a great house on the market? Email the listing to repitches@apartmenttherapy.com.