Set on a tree-lined street in the historic district of Newburyport, Massachusetts, close to downtown and a bustling waterfront where the Merrimack River meets the Atlantic Ocean, the 1902 house was in a perfect location, but had more than a few less-than-perfect attributes.
When Palen and Melissa Schwab bought the house in 2015 and moved in with their daughter, Alice, now 9, they loved its traditional New England charm—white clapboards and green shutters on the exterior, decorative window trim on the interior—but while the house held three bedrooms, it had just one bath. Tired shag carpeting covered the floors, cold winter air
