By Gretchen A. Peck

The four-bedroom Colonial at 64 Elys Ferry Road in Lyme, Conn., debuted on its site in 1801. The antique home has been well-maintained, expanded and improved with modern comforts, such as central air conditioning, over the centuries since. Recently, the property was listed for sale. The sellers — who have enlisted William Raveis Realtor Patricia Williams as their listing agent — are asking $995,000 for the home.

Janet Boughton and William Boughton purchased the property from a couple who’d lived in the home for more than 30 years. It was just as the global COVID pandemic began disrupting and claiming lives in the United States. William Boughton was teaching at the Yale Graduate School of Music and serving as director of the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Janet Boughton was the director of orchestral strings at Sacred Heart University. And suddenly, they both found their campuses closed and classes being conducted virtually.

“We were looking for somewhere that was more rural than where we were,” she recalled. “We were doing all our work from home, and we wanted a place where we could work but still feel rested and at peace, with a garden and beautiful views to enjoy.”

They discovered this antique home perfectly aligned with their wish list.

The previous owners had lovingly cared for and expanded the home, retaining its period character while growing the square footage. Looking at the front exterior of the house, the original C olonial is the section with the front door. Two levels of living space, a wraparound porch and attached two-car garage were added on.

“The house was unspoiled,” she recalled, citing the beamed ceilings, wide-plank hardwood floors, and wood-burning fireplaces in the original part of the structure.

The first floor of the house comprises a living room, dining room, family room, office, eat-in kitchen and a powder room.

Within the past two years, the Boughtons installed new kitchen appliances. They noted the ample cabinet space and granite countertops. In the breakfast room off the kitchen— an open-plan space they call “the parlor” — they appended the fireplace with a wood stove.

“We use it a lot throughout winter. It radiates heat through a lot of the house,” she said.

“We virtually live in the kitchen. We use the dining room for formal and family occasions. So, the kitchen is the hub of the house,” he said.

French doors in the kitchen and parlor open out to gardens and a covered patio pavilion. The formal dining room proved its worth on holidays, when the family gathered for celebration. The outdoor patio was the setting for more casual affairs with family, colleagues and friends.

Their family, including their adult children and grandchildren live in both the United States and United Kingdom. When they all gathered here, the home graciously accommodated everyone.

“It was special,” she reflected on their precious time together.

Since the Boughtons both worked and instructed students from home, they each required a home office space. He used the spacious bonus room over the garage.

“It’s a great space for people if they want to invite other people to the house for business,” he suggested. “You don’t have to come through the house. They can enter through the garage and walk upstairs.” The room affords a buyer some flexibility with how it’s used — if not a home office, it could be a playroom, a room for teenagers to spend time with their friends, a creative space, exercise room or even an additional bedroom.

She opted to make the first-floor family room — generous enough to accommodate a piano — her home office and teaching studio. There’s also a dedicated library/office just off the attached garage.

Upstairs, there are four baths — three with fireplaces — and two baths.

One of the other transformative home-improvement projects they took on was creating a more luxurious second-level bathroom, complete with a clawfoot soaking tub and a separate walk-in shower.

The 1.0-acre lot has level lawn and mature shade trees. It has plenty of land to add vegetable gardens that provided three seasons of fresh produce and herbs.

The couple said that the community is friendly. “You can walk down to the end of the road to the beach on the river,” she said. “There’s also a very nice boating club there on Hamburg Cove, which we belong to. We got involved with the library. … You can be as active and involved in the community as you would like to be.”

They also appreciated the proximity of other nearby towns to explore, especially Essex and Chester. Conveniences, like Costco, are a short distance away, and access to I-95 was a mere seven-minute drive.

“When all of the kids came over from England, we made quite a few trips to the area state parks and beaches,” she said.

Now that the time has come to pass the remarkable house on to the next individual or family, the Boughtons reflected on the responsibility and privileges of caring for an antique home.

“We’re just custodians, that’s all,” he concluded.

Property: 64 Elys Ferry Road, Lyme

Bedrooms: 4

Baths: 3

Square Footage: 3,296

Acreage: 1.0

Asking Price: $995,000

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