My Houzz: Everything He Needs in a 433-Square-Foot Boston Loft
A medical resident has room to entertain, relax, read and even store a surfboard and other sports gear in his Beacon Hill apartment
Southern California native Michael Matthews moved to the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, famous for its picturesque streets filled with historic Greek Revival row houses and early American architecture, in 2014. Matthews, a third-year Harvard medical resident in foot and ankle surgery, was looking forward to East Coast living in a district rich in culture and history, but he also wanted to infuse a taste of his SoCal surfer self into his new home.
The apartment features a number of original details, including hardwood floors, spiral staircase, tall windows and traditional trim work.
“The lack of space and the logistics of moving from California were difficult,” Matthews says. “Luckily, my spot is technically a studio but functionally a one-bedroom. The bed is lofted in such a manner that it completely changes the dynamic. I am able to comfortably entertain up to 10 people without having any issues whatsoever.
“You have to prioritize your pieces,” he adds. “My dining room table only has seating on one side; my couch also serves as a partition to create a micro-environment; and I have a makeshift foyer that creates another micro-space, which also gives the bathroom a distant feel.”
Due to the dearth of storage space in the unit, evidence of Matthews’ hobbies — surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, rowing and golfing — is out in the open. Matthews, who rowed in high school, found the 1920s oars that sit between the windows at an old boathouse in New Jersey.
Couch, rug, coffee table: West Elm
“You have to prioritize your pieces,” he adds. “My dining room table only has seating on one side; my couch also serves as a partition to create a micro-environment; and I have a makeshift foyer that creates another micro-space, which also gives the bathroom a distant feel.”
Due to the dearth of storage space in the unit, evidence of Matthews’ hobbies — surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, rowing and golfing — is out in the open. Matthews, who rowed in high school, found the 1920s oars that sit between the windows at an old boathouse in New Jersey.
Couch, rug, coffee table: West Elm
Matthews believes this apartment may have been the home’s original dining room. It was empty when he rented it, and he estimates he spent between $2,000 and $2,500 on furnishings. “It was designed in such a way to be an outlet from life at the hospital,” he says. “I rarely am around due to work and my travel schedule, but when I am, I’m completely content and can sit around all day.
“Crucial is the absence of a TV,” he adds, “which facilitates more reading, calling friends and keeping in touch with people and personal cultivation.”
“Crucial is the absence of a TV,” he adds, “which facilitates more reading, calling friends and keeping in touch with people and personal cultivation.”
Subtle tributes to his life in Southern California can be found in the pillow on his couch and the artwork on the walls.
At the top of the spiral staircase is the bedroom loft. A recessed shelf functions as a nightstand for bedtime reading material and other small mementos.
The nonworking fireplace is filled with a storage basket and books.
The bar cart holds wine shipped from California and a collection of corks.
Bar cart: West Elm
Bar cart: West Elm
“I’m a work-hard-play-hard, with the most busy part of my day starting after I leave the hospital,” Matthews says. He frequently travels to New York, Washington, D.C., and California but also enjoys making the most of life in Boston.
“Leisure-wise I try to go to yoga daily, surf whenever waves show up and socialize at least once a week,” he says. When he is home, he uses this area as a place to study or do work.
“Leisure-wise I try to go to yoga daily, surf whenever waves show up and socialize at least once a week,” he says. When he is home, he uses this area as a place to study or do work.
The bathroom features a claw-foot tub and shower.
In a kitchen with limited space, upper cabinets and hooks from Ikea help to keep the space organized.
One of the things Matthews loves most about his apartment is its location in the heart of Boston. “The central location is also a logistical godsend and probably the easiest place in the entire city to live if you need to go to a diverse set of places on a daily basis,” Matthews says. “I have been on a perpetual culinary conquest of Boston and aim to try everything notable within a month of opening.”
The building was originally a single home that has since been turned into five separate units. True to its beginnings, the entryway features traditional-style wallpaper and furnishings.
Matthews says he’s enamored with the brick facades of the buildings in his neighborhood. “In California, we have very few brick structures because it’s not seismically stable, and of course we always want what we can’t have, so basically I’m oddly obsessed with brick things,” he says.
Beacon Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the United States and has strict historical-committee mandates, so the architecture of his apartment and the adjacent buildings is relatively unchanged since the 1870s.
Beacon Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the United States and has strict historical-committee mandates, so the architecture of his apartment and the adjacent buildings is relatively unchanged since the 1870s.
Matthews is pictured here next to his one-of-a-kind surfboard, fabricated by a maker who no longer shapes boards in the United States. Matthews has surfed around the world with the board.
“The neighborhood is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” he says of his newly beloved Beacon Hill. “I’m a prototypical Southern California surfer kid who decided he wanted to see what the seasons are all about — I essentially had to reinvent myself in Boston.”
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“The neighborhood is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” he says of his newly beloved Beacon Hill. “I’m a prototypical Southern California surfer kid who decided he wanted to see what the seasons are all about — I essentially had to reinvent myself in Boston.”
My Houzz is a series in which we visit and photograph creative, personality-filled homes and the people who inhabit them. Share your home with us and see more projects.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
Who lives here: Michael Matthews
Location: Boston
Size: 433 square feet (40 square meters); one loft bedroom, one bathroom
Year built: 1870
The main living space is decorated with an eclectic mix of art, including a large landscape painting on the fireplace mantel that Matthews’ mother found. The statement piece is surrounded by other pop culture-inspired artwork, including the two framed Beatles records, which Matthews found in a shop in Brussels.