The second-floor bathrooms have blue and white ceramic tile.

When you own a home that’s old or designed to look that way, people expect you to know your history.

William Sandbach found that out after buying a Colonial reproduction in the center of Rehoboth, Mass., in 1999. What he loved most was its location. The design was less important than the attached home office left from a previous owner’s insurance business.

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Walk through the House of the Week

“I wanted to open a law practice in the town I grew up in,” Sandbach recalled. “The property is centrally located. The front [of the house] is 500-feet long and provides such a long view. I thought there was a good shot people would see” the office sign “as they drove by.”

At first, limited natural light in many of the eight rooms made his wife, Nancy, feel like they were living in Old Sturbridge Village, Sandbach said with a laugh. But they came to appreciate the authenticity of the Parker Shaw reproduction, including lots of woodwork, a large kitchen fireplace and brick flooring.

Clients are often curious about the property, located on 6 Moulton St.

“People ask about the history of the property and the neighborhood,” Sandbach said. While the house was built in 1974, it’s located near a one-time stagecoach stop. Sandbach’s 1.3-acre lot does have ties to the town’s early history, a fact he said has added “an air of authenticity to my practice.”

The land was the location of the 18th-century New Palmer River Iron Works and, beginning in 1754, the Palmer River Pound. A plot that was part of the animal shelter is still owned by the town. It is accessed by a narrow right-of-way across Sandbach’s property. A sign marking the entrance to the town-owned land hangs above two stone pillars and a wrought-iron gate.

Visitors to the home enter from a slate walkway lined with perennial gardens to a small, covered side porch. Inside, brick believed to have been used as ballast on 18th-century vessels, provides flooring. The sturdy brick continues around a corner, past a half-bath and access to a rear deck to a large, eat-in kitchen.

The brick, along with wainscoting and exposed, dark ceiling beams create the ambiance of an 18th-century home. The brick fireplace has a small oven and is equipped with a colonial-style, metal pot holder.

The square cooking area has a mix of wood and granite countertops, the latter added during a 2001 renovation. Stainless-steel appliances are standard and include a two-year-old refrigerator. Light-brown, wood cabinets have metal latches and date to the house’s construction.

Off the kitchen, exposed corner beams and wide-planked, pine flooring are found in the living room.

A short hall leads past the front door and a closet to a formal dining room. The Sandbachs added a dining table and chairs designed to match the Colonial period. The room has three windows and access to a partially finished basement.

The attached office is found to the right of the side entrance. Three rectangular windows high above the carpeted floor add natural light to the space, which includes wood paneling. At one end is a wood-burning stove. On the opposite side of the room is a spiral staircase that leads to a loft library with four built-in bookcases.

Carpeted stairs lead to four second-floor rooms, all with functional window seats, and with closets and a bath.

The master suite has light-green walls. In the fall and winter, there’s a view of the Palmer River, which is stocked with trout.

Another bedroom has built-in closets, shelves and a desk on one wall.

The full bath has blue-and-white, ceramic tile on the floor and walls. Even the bathroom has a window seat, with a top that lifts to provide storage.

The basement includes a laundry room with recessed lighting.

There’s a central vacuum system in the house. Heating is electric.

The house has 2,602 square feet of living space. It has a well and septic system.

A rear deck overlooks stonewalls and wooded land that provide privacy on three sides.

The deck leads to a bluestone patio built around a Japanese Red Maple tree. Nearby is a six-person hot tub.

Rhododendrons, azaleas and hostas border the patio leading a large, Colonial-style shed that includes a workshop, separate storage area and private access from a wide, paved driveway.

The owners are selling so they can downsize.

Colonial-style homes predominate in the Rehoboth neighborhood, which includes a horse farm.

Route 195 is five miles away. Providence is a 20-minute drive.

The property was listed in August for $479,000. Real estate taxes this year are $3,377. Joe Botelho, of RED Realty, in East Providence, has the listing: (401) 438-0100, ext. 11.