On The Market: 7 Appleton Terrace, Cambridge

This home is what happens when a designer and an architect live under the same roof.

7 Appleton Terrace, Cambridge

The garden at 7 Appleton Terrace is its own Eden (Photo by Narin Oun).

Just a 10-minute walk to Harvard Square and down a little lane is 7 Appleton Terrace, which is fenced off by a little wooden gate, opening into a beautiful, sunken garden. “It’s a real refuge,” says McGrath of this totally private residence.

“Most of the top brokers who came in today said they hadn’t even known it existed,” says Coldwell Banker listing agent Leanna McGrath of a tour she gave of the home.

Not only is this home in a superior location, but the current owners are a real estate dream team: an interior designer and the head of an architectural firm. Thanks to their experience with home design, the owners have finished everything with taste and care. “There’s not one detail of the house that hasn’t been thought over and chosen for a reason,” says McGrath.

“We wanted something that wasn’t super casual, or super-traditional,” says one of the owners, Susan Renaccio, who is an interior designer. “We were concerned with creating an open floor plan, but something with a little bit of a twist.”

One place where their creativity shows is in the fireplace, which used to be stone and “didn’t fit [their] aesthetic,” which has been completely redone with moulding and a mantelpiece, giving a finished look. The kitchen was also renovated with a new, gridded ceiling to delineate it from the rest of the floor, with a curve to match the curve in the island. The master bedroom also shines with a Juliet balcony, cathedral ceilings, and multiple skylights. These careful details, clean lines, intricate built-ins, and beautiful moulding certainly achieve the balance of modern and classic that makes this home unique.

7 Appleton Terrace, Cambridge
Price: $1,395,000
Year Built: 1873
Living Area: 2,275 sqft
Bedrooms: 2
Bathrooms: 2 full, 1 half
Fireplace: Yes


The Boston Home team has curated a list of the best home design and home remodeling professionals in Boston, including architects, builders, kitchen and bath experts, lighting designers, and more. Get the help you need with FindIt/Boston's guide to home renovation pros.