period living with an artistic eye

Owner Deb Richards, who is quite at home in the past, continues to steward the 1740 New England house and its traditional garden.

- TOVAH MARTIN

Steep staircases, creaky floorboards, and things that go bump in the night are status quo for 90-year-old Deb Richards, who says she's always lived with one foot in the past. Deb grew up in a historic house with parents who collected all the accoutrements to create a period interior. After she married, she raised her children in a 1737 Connecticut house. After her husband's death 35 years ago, Richards didn't think twice about moving to the coast in northern New England.

She wanted to live in a historic district. Torn between this and another First Period house, she made a practical decision. The three-storey house that she refers to as "not-exactly-center-chimney" offered ample parking and boasted two driveways and a garage. Most importantly, it was not a fixer-upper. In fact, the house had been sensitively renovated by its previous owner, who updated plumbing and electricity while conserving historic elements. Then there was the price: $12,000.

AN AUTHENTIC INTERIOR

Woodwork is original in the Georgian-era house. Windows even retain pocket shutters; hidden inside the walls, they car be pulled across the window in frigid weather. The wood-body, wire-arm chandelier burning candles is quite old.