Thinking you may want to live close to the ocean? We have a home to share on the east coast located in Wakefield, Rhode Island.
All photos are sourced from Zillow.com.
I decided to go with something a little different today. Mr. Vintage and I are drawn to the Narragansett, Rhode Island area. If you have never been, we highly recommend it. While we could never afford to live in that area, the homes are outrageous, the million dollar mark is usually just a regular oh hum house. I did find a home that would be closer to our price point and pretty close to our desired area.
This home was built in 1840 and needs some TLC, but I could actually visualize this home being updated a little and then it would be perfect for the three of us! It is located at 106 North Road in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. If you decide to take a closer look at this home, there is a 360 degree tour available.
Mr. Vintage has been working late a few nights this week, and how do you think I have spent my spare time? Laundry, like a good wife? Nope. Watching television? Nope again... I have of course been perusing homes for sale on Zillow. I wonder if they have a support group for folks like me? Homes Anonymous, for those who cannot stop looking at them... I may need to check myself in soon.
Anyway, this home? I could really see calling it home. Kind of interesting how the front of the home has wood plank siding, and then the rest of the home is shake shingles. I think it gives it character, not all would like this, but I am ok with it. The front exterior just needs a little cleaning up, trimming, and planting.
Can you tell these people really like their colors splashed on the walls? I would probably go with a white asparagus throughout this home. I like a more neutral color palette on the walls since then you can mix in your color with accents. I would not change a thing on the banister or steps that I can see so far. Original hardwood floors which I think are beautiful!
I believe they consider this a bedroom. Two entry's into this bedroom? Kind of looks that way. Again, I prefer a lighter color on the walls, they tend to show less imperfections in the plaster. Looks like the home may have gone through some updating as far as windows go. Hmm... the windows do not match. Now that would bother me, I would need to make sure they all had the grid pattern on them.
I think I would make this a small office. An area rug, change out the lighting fixture, place a small desk in here. I can see it, can you? We may not even need to paint this room with these choices. I could also see black and white family photos hung on the wall above the desk area, maybe some shelves for more storage too.
Now here is where things begin to get a little interesting. There are many walls, and small spaces. I do not really understand the set up, but the listing indicates the home was built on several times. I can imagine the home was built on as they could afford to do so and smaller rooms would have been more economical.
I can see having this area set up more like a common area. I think I would place the television on the wall to save space. I would put the couch across from the television and a small end table for drinks. I would definitely have an area rug on the floor. I like to walk across soft floors so while we do have carpet in some of our rooms, I am not always a fan of it.
I would never cover these floors, but if they could be salvaged, I think I would strip them. Sometimes you can only strip them so many times. With the age of this home, you may not be able to strip them down any further, and in that case, I would go with a creamy white on the floors to make the space appear larger. Below I gave you some ideas on what I would pick for this room. A list of sources will be at the end of this post.
Couldn't you just see those light walls, painted floors (if we cannot strip them) with that area rug on the floor, the tufted couch, small end table with that vase setting atop it, with peonies in the vase? I can totally see it in my mind's eye. I would go neutral in this space, perhaps even that very light blue gray on the walls...
With this being the only bath, I would hate to get rid of that old bathtub, but I think I would need to have a large shower in here. It will be accessible later in life, and makes more sense than this tub and very tiny shower in the corner. I like the bead board.
I think I would remove the two storage pieces on the walls and try to locate antique medicine cabinets, or small antique cabinets for storage. And... I am sorry to say, the pedestal sink would need to go, we would need more storage for towels... I would only make these decisions based on the fact this is the only bath. The vanity would be an antique dresser or cabinet. I like that idea very much for this bath.
You know, I think I would make this a reading nook for me... I would have a small area rug on the floor for a fun element for this space. A chesterfield chaise chair that I can sink into and just watch the seasons pass me by. The space is small and kind of unusable... my solution? Make it a fun space.
Do you want to talk about a very small, very narrow galley kitchen or what? Peanut would definitely not fit in here with me while I made dinner. May need to look in taking a wall down, which I am not a fan of, but this is tight!
I think I would need to think about this kitchen for a while... I do not think that door is needed since there is another door across the way so maybe it could be closed in. Yep, a plan would be needed for this to work out. Can you imagine trying to make Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner in this tight space? I am not sure I can fathom it. Yikes!
I am thinking this space is behind the kitchen so maybe we could borrow room, like the entire space for a larger kitchen. I am in love with the floors in this room. Knotty pine is something I have always been fond of.
Well, darn there goes that plan, this is the first floor bedroom, not the first room I originally thought. I would keep it as a bedroom, I thought of another plan for the kitchen area. Sometimes I think best on the fly when it comes to some of these situations.
Do you see the area to the right of where we were planning a common area? I would bring the kitchen out to this area and have a dine in kitchen. You could have a pretty spacious area adding this into the kitchen. It would be semi open concept which I am not a fan of, but I think it would work for this home. The brick column is not ideal where it is located, but I am a fan of original features so I think I would keep it. Besides, you need it to support the second story. Yes, I am sure a large beam could be put in place, but the brick? I have a difficult time eliminating that.
Another bedroom, there are two on the upper level. They are not huge, but when there are only 3 in your family, it is not like you need a lot of space. Plus... this is Rhode Island, so much of our time would be spent outdoors! There is quite a lot to do in this area. The mansions to tour, shopping in Newport, and they had a TJ Maxx in Narragansett so I was over the moon about that! It put every other TJ Maxx I have been in to shame.
I would have fun in this spare bedroom and put this fun area rug on the floor, and this bed with all white bedding. I would have colorful throw pillows on the bed like this, this, or this. I would really have fun with the throw pillows in this room, bring in lots of colors and texture from the area rug we chose. Can you see it coming together? I can! The guest room would be a fun place for visitors to stay and relax. When you keep your more expensive items like bedding neutral, you can change up the cheaper items like pillows whenever you want.
I could see this area rug on the floor, with the gray nail head bed frame and white comforter. Bring in a little texture with this unique pillow, and I think this little clock would be perfect on a small nightstand. Our second bedroom would be complete with these choices and some paint on the walls.
What do you think of the yard? I am liking the space, it is actually a double lot. I would imagine we would need to put up a fence for peanut to roam around his yard. How do you like the shake shingles? I am a big fan, they can be found quite often on homes along the east coast. They all look weathered like these are too.
I like it and that is all I have to say about that. There is even a sink, I wonder if there is running water, or if you hook up a hose to this sink? I think I see faucet handles on the top of the sink.
If you would like to see the full listing and 360 degree tour, you can click to see 106 North Road, Wakefield, RI 02879. This home has 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1,694 square feet and is listed for $325,000. The home also sits on .89 acres and was built in 1840! Talk about a lot of history in this home, if these walls could talk, I wonder what they would tell us? I would be curious to know some of the families who have lived here over the years.
Could you see yourself living here? Do you agree the kitchen would need more space? I am not sure how you could cook dinner, let alone a full scale holiday meal in that small space, but people make things work. Look at us, walking around our peninsula from the stove to the fridge every day of the week. LOL... so people can make things work and tend to get used to it over time.
Hope you enjoyed this little surprise we came across. We love searching all over for homes, and this is pretty close to the ocean, like 12 minutes from Narragansett which is our highly desired area! 12 minutes is like no time at all, can't get any better than that!
Source List:
Living Room:
Area rug in living room space
Sofa in living room
Small French Country end table
Bedroom:
Rug for bedroom
Bedside clock
