Fresh renovations, refuge proximity give lift to Concord Cape

(Ellen Harasimowicz for the Boston Globe)

This compact, pristine buttercream yellow Cape with two stand-out red doors is situated one mile from Concord Center, three miles from Bedford Center and, the big bonus, five houses from Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. This killer location is home to mostly modest houses, making it a bit more affordable for Concord.

The owner, a former engineer and a handyman with tidy tool benches in both basement and garage, has fixed up this standard Cape to feel younger than its years. "He was meticulous about keeping up with and maintaining the house," said Leslie Luppold, who is showing the house with her partner Al Magurn of Prudential Prime Properties.

The kitchen isn't fancy but is inviting, with new driftwood cabinets, white appliances, and light-colored Formica countertops. It does have a linoleum floor, although the rest of the house has newly refinished hardwood flooring. Kitchen walls are peach, as the house throughout was recently painted in calming pastels. The adjacent dining room is quaint with wainscoting, chair rails, and new crown molding, and the living room runs front to back with arch-shaped structural wood beams in the middle revealing where a wall once divided it into two rooms. A wood stove sits amid a sea of red tiling and a red- and putty-colored mantle, a fun feature in an otherwise straightforward home. Like the kitchen, both bathrooms are simple but renovated and appealing; one has bars to aid people with disabilities.

The stairway to the second floor has handsome oak. All the bedrooms are compact but have large windows looking onto the wooded lot or enormous, grassy backyard. A basement den adds some additional space. Luppold and Magurn will hold an open house today from 1 to 3 p.m.

MINDY POLLACK-FUSI