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Charlestown one-family home looks historic, yet is modern

The Training Field on Winthrop Square in Charlestown is a glorious urban green space where colonial militia trained in the 1600s and troops mustered for the 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill.

Today, it is the site of the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial dedicated to Charlestown’s Civil War heroes and of tablets that honor the British and colonial soldiers who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Freedom Trail comes right through.

Across the way at 24 Common St. stands a charming single-family home. From its exterior, the house appears to have seen all this history first hand through its lovely six-over-six paned windows. However, the home is less than 20 years old, although it fits perfectly into the neighborhood.

 “Anyone who saw this house would think it was a gut renovation of an antique, but you don’t have to deal with the idiosyncrasies of an antique home,” says Duncan Donahue of Keller Williams Realty.

Together with Chris Remmes, he is listing the house for $1.1 million. The home is more than 2,000 square feet and was actually built in 1993.

When you step down from the entryway into the parlor, you’ll notice the high ceiling and wide, pumpkin pine floorboards.

Period bull’s eye moldings surround the windows and doors.

A wood-burning fireplace with a painted wooden mantel takes the central place on the room’s longest wall. 

The staircase in the living room, staged by Setting the Space of Plymouth, is a nice architectural element. COURTESY PHOTOS /

NEW ENGLAND FLOOR PLANS

In another moment, you’ll detect many details that mark this as a contemporary home, including the open floor plan, modern built-ins flanking the fireplace, sliders leading out to the patio and the tiny, perfect powder room conveniently located for guests.

The cherry, granite and stainless steel kitchen has all the accoutrements a modern chef desires, with lots of counter space, a double sink, Jenn-Air range with downdraft, Whirlpool refrigerator and dishwasher and a Vinotemp wine chiller.

A custom cherry and glass cabinet separates the kitchen from the dining area, creating a focal point on both sides.

The kitchen’s bright breakfast nook has three skylights and a beautiful view of the deck and the garden.

The current homeowner has a real talent for landscaping, so rambling roses, hydrangeas and a Japanese maple thrive around the brick patio.

The neighbor’s dogwood tree is currently in full bloom, further enhancing the view.

A formal dining area lies between the living room and the kitchen, which has lovely cabinetry.

Although it sounds unusual, the next stop on a tour of this house should be the garden-level guest suite. In addition to a good-sized bedroom, it has a full bath with a steam room.

If the new owners don’t need the space for guests, it would make a great playroom or man cave. Adjacent to it is a large storage space for boxes, extra furniture, toys, bicycles and everything else a 21st century family brings with them.

Now it’s time to explore the upstairs. Up a flight from the living level is a generous den.

This would be the room to which new homeowners might adjourn with good friends to watch a game and enjoy a post-prandial drink.

The room’s egg and dart moldings stand out nicely in a dark walnut finish.

Above the living room is the den, which features a large fireplace, flanked by built-ins, and dark woodwork.

More built-ins flank the working fireplace, giving the room the feeling of a library.

A flat screen TV finds its ideal spot above the mantel. When there’s nothing on television, it’s a good time to sit and look out at the window at the Training Field. “When you come in here, you really feel the history,” Donahue says.

This level has a quiet guest bedroom, located in the back of the house. The full bathroom on this level has a Carrara marble vanity, a combination tub/shower and a stacked Frigidaire washer and dryer.

Climb another flight of stairs to the private master suite. The master bedroom has a triple window and a double closet. The floors up here are a stylish maple, contrasting nicely with the pine floors elsewhere in the home.

A master bath has dark green marble on the surround of the whirlpool tub and Carrara marble on the vanity. A separate corner shower provides another place to relax. Skylight windows ensure plenty of natural light.

One more room comprises the master suite, a versatile space with a treetop view of the Training Field across the street.

A good-sized deck has steps that lead to a brick patio and lovely landscaping with hydrangeas and roses.

A high interior window admits light from the skylight windows in the adjacent bathroom. The beamed ceiling gives this room an especially cozy feeling, and built-ins and a deep closet provide storage. You could designate this room as an office, nursery or sitting room.

A spiral staircase leads up to a private roof deck with 360-degree views. On a brilliant late spring morning, an amazing panorama unfolds: as you turn from left to right, you see Old Ironsides, city skyscrapers, the Zakim Bridge, the Old School House, an aerial view of the Training Field and the obelisk that is the Bunker Hill Monument. The deck is mahogany and is due to be refinished soon.

It’s hard to leave this home that offers so much. “It blends in beautifully,” Donahue says, “and it will age with dignity. It’s a blend of the old and the new in a very historic area.”

DETAILS

Address: 24 Common St., Charlestown

BR/BA: Four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths

Size: 2,370 square feet

Age: 1993

Price: $1.1 million

Taxes: $8,582 (with residential exemption)

Features of home: Sunny, nicely appointed historic replica single-family home with all the period charm of previous centuries, across the Training Field; two wood-burning fireplaces; cherry, granite and stainless kitchen with skylights; plenty of architectural detail; master suite with bonus room for office, sitting room or nursery; wood floors throughout; guest suite on garden level; plenty of storage; beautifully landscaped back garden.

Close by: USS Constitution; Monument Square; restaurants and shops; TD Garden; MBTA Green, Blue and Orange lines; easy access to Storrow Drive, Routes 93 and 90.

Contact: Duncan Donahue or Chris Remmes, Keller Williams Realty, 607 Boylston Street, Fifth floor, Boston, MA 02116. Phones: 617-399-1358 (office), 617-967-6666 (Donahue cell) or 617-861-3645 (Remmes cell).

Website: www.kwbostonmetro.com

Due to the Bunker Hill Day parade Sunday, June 12, an open house will be held Sunday, June 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.