The West Barrington house is now more than three times the size of the original cottage the McCartys bought in 2005.

When Nick and Pamela McCarty bought a 592-square-foot cottage at 22 Richmond Ave., in West Barrington, as an investment in 2005, the real estate market was flying high — and so were their careers as commercial real estate consultants.

While they considered different approaches and plans, the real estate market sunk into decline. And just when the project was moving from the design to the construction phase early this year, they were both laid off from their jobs.

The good news was they had more time to devote to the project. The bad news was that now, time was of the essence, and it was even more important to keep renovation costs under control.

McCarty, who lives in Bristol but grew up in a large family in Michigan, said he has a frugal nature, and it has always pained him to pay full price for anything. He was determined to refit the West Barrington house with high-end style at a bargain-basement cost.

“I thought, ‘I have to make this house special, or I’m never going to sell it,’ ” he said. But he was also concerned about making the house outsized and overly expensive compared to other houses in the neighborhood.

The leafy neighborhood near Riverside has established houses and trees, and fairly small house lots. McCarty said his first plan was to tear down the 1910 cottage and build an entirely new house. But “I started running into zoning issues,” he said. Working with Barrington architect Gail G. Carley, they settled on an expansion/renovation approach.

Soon, the redesign of the house became driven by the deals he was finding on craigslist, eBay, and from outlet stores and liquidators. Many items had been custom made for other projects, but because of measurement mistakes, they ended up being sold cheaply.

Today, he refers to the West Barrington project as “the house that craigslist built.” The property, which the McCartys bought for $222,000 in 2005, will go on the market this weekend priced at $489,000. What was once a one-bedroom bungalow is now a three-bedroom house with a designer kitchen and two luxury bathrooms, and more than 2,000 square feet of living space. The McCartys changed the front entrance of the house, which is at the corner of Richmond Avenue and John Street, so that it now faces John Street.

McCarty said his renovation approach is one that many could take to save money: instead of making plans and ordering items to fit them, he found bargains on high-quality items and designed the house to accommodate them.

For instance, he paid $50 for a Silestone kitchen counter that was a factory mismeasure. McCarty designed the entire kitchen island to fit around the counter, which he said retailed for $2,500. A granite bath counter was also purchased for $200 (retail price $1,200) from the same factory.

The Pella Architect series windows were the first major score. McCarty bought 26 of them that were originally ordered for a house in Connecticut. McCarty said the retail price per window was $1,252; he got them for $200 each.

What was once the entire cottage is now a large open space with a kitchen, fireplaced living room and eating area, entirely ringed with the prairie-style Pella windows, and bordered by architectural columns in a room with a vaulted ceiling with skylights. McCarty said the skylights retailed for $750, but he paid only $280; they had been marked down because the boxes had been opened.

Most of the stainless steel kitchen appliances, including a Miele gas cooktop, were purchased for half price from a store that was going out of business.

The vented glass fireplace retailed for $1,000, but McCarty said he paid $200 to a contractor who had bought the item for a client who changed plans and didn’t want the fireplace.

The master bathroom is fitted with a freestanding soaking tub that had been used as a display in a bath showroom; McCarty said he paid $300 for the tub, which retailed for $2,500. The showroom was discontinuing the line. In the other full bathroom, McCarty got a tub/shower unit for $350 from a young couple who had ordered it for their house, but it didn’t fit in their bathroom. The retail cost was $1,175.

The pantry off the kitchen has hookups for a washer and dryer and an attractive storage cabinet that McCarty picked up for $250 from a showroom display (retail cost, $2,400).

The stairs to the basement were another mismeasure bargain. They retailed for $2,900, but McCarty got them for $220. The finished basement has 7-foot ceilings and can be used as a family room.

Pamela McCarty, who was in charge of the landscaping, found antique cobblestones for $2 each from a Fall River homeowner who was tearing up a 100-plus-year-old driveway. She said new stones that were not as attractive would have cost $5 each.

McCarty said his experience in bargain-driven construction has led to plans to write a book on the subject. He said the title is, You’re Not Throwing That Away, Are You? For more information, contact McCarty at (401) 595-3500, or npmccarty@gmail.com.

cdunn@projo.com