By Gretchen A. Peck

One of the first things you’re inclined to notice about the antique farmhouse-style colonial at 250 Laurel Hill Avenue in Norwich is the prominent wraparound front porch. It’s easy to imagine a rocking chair there, perhaps with a side table to hold a cold beverage or the Sunday newspaper—a perfect perch to watch the world pass by down below.

The house debuted on the site in 1900. Today, the single-family home affords four bedrooms and two baths.

Angela Thoma’s family lived here for 20 years, and they recently listed the property for sale. They’re asking $274,900. Realtor Patricia Williams, who leads the Patricia Williams Team at William Raveis Real Estate, is the listing agent.

Thoma and her husband bought the property in October 2003. They discovered that the original owner’s family resided in the home for more than 50 years. It had changed hands a few times in the years since, each new owner and family leaving their imprint on the property.

When they bought the house back in 2003, it had “good bones,” she recalled, but it needed some updating.

“We took down walls and opened up the floor plan,” she explained to Welcome Home this week. “We put in a woodstove and pretty much have redone almost every room in the house. It’s been a great house.”

The front door opens to an entry hallway; to the right, is the living room, and the kitchen and dining room are positioned at the back of the house, with a full bath and exterior access to a patio.

Likely original to the 1900-period house, pocket doors separated the “public rooms.” Hoping for a more contemporary open concept, they opted to remove one set of them.

“We kept one pocket door, and in the wintertime, it’s great, because you can shut the hallway off and keep the downstairs nice and toasty,” she said.

The couple gave the kitchen a makeover, as well. The footprint remained, but they repositioned new cabinets in a way that made more sense and allowed for the gas stove, refrigerator and sink to be in closer relationship. She estimated that they installed the gas stove five years ago. The refrigerator is about three years old and has a built-in TV display, a feature their whole family appreciated.

One of the little design details they incorporated was a hanging pot rack, which saves cabinet space and puts your primary cooking vessels right at your fingertips. The pot rack conveys with the house, though she said she’ll miss it.

With 2,478 square feet of living space, the updated Victorian afforded their family a lot of flexibility with how the rooms were used.

“It transformed over the years. We used to have a playroom in the attic, which we turned into a spare bedroom,” she said. “When our kids were younger, they shared a room, but as they got older, they wanted their own separate rooms. There’s a lot of space.”

There’s also a good deal of closet space, she noted, including a large walk-in closet in the primary bedroom.

“It used to be an office that we turned into a closet with built-ins. That’s a nice feature,” she said.

Off a second bedroom, there’s a private balcony deck overlooking the backyard.

Should a buyer want a low-maintenance yard, this property has that appeal. Behind the house, there are terraced gardens.

“In the summertime, when you sit out there, you feel like you’re sitting in a tree house, because everything is in bloom, including the Wisteria. It’s gorgeous. You feel like you’re not so close to the city when you’re hanging out back there,” she said.

Thoma believes the two-story barn on the property is an original to the 1900s house. Her husband used it as a workshop, and there’s a workbench and shelving in place should the next owner wish to retain that amenity.

There were some home-improvement projects they considered along the way, but didn’t have the time to complete. She mentioned a few, in case a prospective buyer may find them helpful. For example, the next owner could renovate the first-floor bathroom, which still has an antique clawfoot tub. It is eternally charming, and the buyer may appreciate its antique quality and functionality, but other buyers may want to create a more modern bathroom, perhaps with a large shower instead, she suggested.

Should a buyer want to add more outdoor living or play space, there may be the opportunity to level out some of the lot behind the barn toward the back property line. They considered clearing it and adding a horseshoe pit.

More recently, they considered converting the antique barn into usable space, perhaps leveraging it as a guest suite or investment apartment. “There’s lots of possibilities,” she said.

The property is on a well-trafficked route, but that has its perks. “It’s great in the wintertime, because you get plowed out first. You never have to worry about the road being clear,” she said. The location is also particularly convenient to destinations in southeastern Connecticut, such as major employers, parks and beaches, restaurants and shopping.

“There’s a lot to do around this area, and we loved the events Norwich held downtown and at the marina,” she said.

Property: 250 Laurel Hill Ave., Norwich

Bedrooms: 4

Baths: 3

Square Footage: 2,478

Acreage: 0.16

Asking Price: $274,900

Listing Agent: Patricia Williams, the Patricia Williams Team at William Raveis Real Estate; Mobile: (603) 369-1069; patricia.williams@raveis.com