Like a New England Cottage — Only Bigger

By Michael Mello, The Providence Journal, R.I.

Feb. 23–When Carolyn Wexler found a house built to capture the wondrous natural light on Bristol’s Poppasquash Point, it ended a 10-year search for a place in the upscale neighborhood.

The Point area “just gets this special kind of light; it glows over everything,” Wexler said.

Wexler and her husband, Bill, a doctor, bought the contemporary-style, 10-room house at 1 Freeborn Rd. in 2000.

Built in 1996 on a little less than an acre, the house is on a cul-de-sac and resembles a traditional New England cottage, with a shingled exterior and dormers. But with 3,306 square feet of living space, it’s bigger than most coastal cottages.

Cathedral ceilings and a multitude of skylights and other windows distinguish the house, filling it with light on all sides.

Unlike other houses the Wexlers had lived in, save for some kitchen improvements and creative painting, this one needed little interior work.

That left the couple free to concentrate on the grounds, which are adjacent to a tree farm that makes the backyard appear to extend as far as the eye can see. They added a rear patio, a Koi pond, meditation garden and a host of trees that helped transform the property into a peaceful retreat.

Visitors enter from a semi-circular driveway to an open foyer. The entrance faces a great room that on most days is bathed in natural light. The space includes a living room, dining room and kitchen.

Ceramic-tile flooring in the foyer gives way to oak in the living room, which has a cathedral ceiling. A fireplace adorned with a tan ceramic-tile surround, made by Carolyn, and an antique, green-painted wood mantel with a mirror that rests atop the original mantel, serves as focal point for the great room.

Old wood columns bought from a salvage business and glazed and painted walls give the illusion of separation between the living and dining rooms. The columns and soft-toned walls also fit a decorative purpose, giving the interior an older look to match the antiques and artwork that fill the house.

Sliding glass doors in the dining area lead to a raised stone patio facing the tree farm.

More decorative faux painting is found off the dining space in an enclosed den.

The kitchen has recessed lighting and is dominated by white cabinets built around a square island with a brown granite top. Counters are a mix of granite and Corian. Appliances are standard and about three years old.

There’s a ceramic-tile backsplash. A window above the sink overlooks the Koi pond and a weeping cherry tree.

Off the kitchen is a mud room that includes a pantry and hookups for a washer and dryer. An attached two-car garage is heated.

The carpeted second floor has three bedrooms, two baths and an open space used as a library.

Window seats with storage spaces bracket built-in bookcases on one wall in the library. Spiral stairs lead to a light-filled loft office with Berber carpeting.

The bedrooms are small, except for the master suite. The latter has a walk-in closet at the entrance and double closets that run the length of two walls. Two skylights fill the room with light.

The master bath has a Jacuzzi tub, skylight and a vanity with tumbled tile and matching basins.

An unusually high ceiling is found in the unfinished basement, which has ample storage space.

Oil heats the house, which has a well and septic system.

The Wexlers estimate they spent about $100,000 on the patio, meditation garden and landscaping.

The patio connects the house and grounds. The meditation garden has a pebbled stream and serves as a place to commune with nature and the abundant wildlife in the area.

The couple is selling so they can move to a smaller house.

Stone walls and undeveloped land give the exclusive neighborhood a country feel, though it’s only about a mile from Route 114 and the shops and restaurants near Bristol Harbor.

Colt State Park, the Coggeshall Farm Museum and Bristol Yacht Club are all less than two miles away.

The property was listed in October and is for sale for $895,000. Real estate taxes were $8,858 last year. Susan Gustavson, of Lila Delman Real Estate, in Newport, has the listing: (401) 419-5783.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Providence Journal, R.I.

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