The Secret History Of a House

For Celeste Ng , A Gut Renovation Revealed A Surprising Window Into The Past.

IT WAS CHARMING : That’s what we thought at first. We were recently married, childless, and moving to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we hoped to settle and start a family. The real estate agent, a George Lucas look-alike who smelled of cigars, walked us through.

“It’s the top two floors,” he said. “The owner used to live here, but he’s moved to Gloucester. A young couple is renting the first floor.” He opened the door. “It has everything,” he said. “You’ll love it.”

He was right, on both counts. The house was old (built more than 100 years ago, we’d learn later), but it did have everything: a claw-foot tub, a kitchen with dark wood cabinets and an island, a tiny office—hemmed in by French doors—where I could write. The owner turned landlord had been a photographer and amateur woodworker, and he’d added plenty of quirks: built-in cubbies and bookshelves, a pair of closets with carved elephant-head door handles, even a spa-like shower made of ipe wood. And my husband and I did love it. We signed the lease on the spot.

The day after we moved in, we went for a walk through our new neighborhood. I was already besotted. “If Steve decides to sell,” I said, referring to our landlord, “you know what we should do? We should buy it from him.”

Four years later, that’s exactly what we did. We were good tenants, and I was handy, which endeared us to our landlord. He had lived most of his adult life in the house and was touched to see someone taking care of it. He sold it to us at a discount, and we were thrilled. By that time we had a young son, and we were relieved that we wouldn’t have to move. The neighborhood was family friendly and safe. My husband could walk to work. It was the perfect spot for us.