Colonial Revival

Built over 120 years ago, this house was relegated to being a college rental with shoddy repairs but was rescued to receive a new lease on life.

- AUTUMN KRAUSE

This Colonial-style home in Newport, Rhode Island, had 120 years of history under its roof, but for a long time none of its potential was tapped since it was turned into a college rental and suffered the indignities of shoddy workmanship, impersonal builder-grade renovations and so much dust and dirt that it was impervious to scrubbing. However, the minute Rebecca Staub, principal and founder of Rebecca Staub Staging & Design, saw it, she knew that with a little love it would be the perfect home for her family. "Through it all, I could see that the house had great bones and a nice flow," Rebecca says. "We resolved to bring it back to its original beauty."

Buying a historical house and renovating every inch of it is ambitious. On top of that, the home was only 1,200 square feet, with the inability to add any square footage due to its downtown location and no footprint space, but Rebecca was up to the task and came up with solutions to update the home and make it live large.