The landscaped front of the 1924 stucco home in Cranston. ON THE COVER: The living room with a fireplace and beautiful wood floors, a side view of the house, and the backyard pool with a deck.

The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

More than 10 years ago, Philip Hatfield was living in a rented house on Fort Avenue, a waterfront street in Pawtuxet, searching for a house to buy in the same neighborhood.

Although he is a Rhode Island native, Hatfield had been living in Missouri for a while, and had only recently discovered Pawtuxet, which includes parts of Cranston and Warwick.

The neighborhood is popular because of its waterfront charm, village ambience and close proximity to Providence.

“I just really fell in love with the whole area,” he said.

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His 1924 house on Kneeland Street in Cranston wasn’t officially for sale when he first saw it. He and his wife had gone to an open house and although they didn’t like that house, they heard about another one that was about to go on the market.

They contacted the owners, a couple who invited them over for a visit. The husband was a real-estate agent and the wife wanted to move back to North Kingstown, her hometown.

Hatfield remembers getting to their house around 7 p.m. and staying until 10:30. He also remembers deciding pretty quickly that the house was “the one.”

“We loved it; it was just unique,” he said.

“The people who owned the house, they really cherished it, and they really wanted to sell it to someone who would take it to the next level,” he added.

Although the house is in a densely populated neighborhood within Pawtuxet village, the backyard at 40 Kneeland St. is a private enclave, dominated by an in-ground pool surrounded by a deck, a tall wood fence and trees.

The house has nine rooms, including four bedrooms and two full baths, with 2,108 square feet of living space.

The front door opens to a large open space with original hardwood floors, now used as a combination living and formal dining area with a gas fireplace. The kitchen is at the rear of the house.

When he bought it, the house needed some work, and Hatfield said he has tried to update while leaving its unique style unchanged. “I tried to keep the integrity,” he said.

One of the early changes was new windows. All 28 windows were replaced. The stucco-look exterior was recovered. Hatfield said he also landscaped the property to add to its curb appeal.

The pool liner and piping system were replaced within the past three or four years and the house has a new roof, Hatfield said.

What had been a two-car garage was turned into a spacious family room with a cathedral ceiling, a full bath and a closet, but this space could be used as a first-floor master bedroom. It is connected to the main house by a hall that used to be a breezeway. Sliding doors from the family room lead to the deck of the pool.

The hall and family room also work to hide the back yard from view.

The eat-in kitchen has a dining area with a small wood stove. Off the formal living/dining room, there is also a sunny room with built-in shelves that could be used as a home office, small family room or exercise space.

The second floor, which has air conditioning, includes four bedrooms and another full bath. One of the smaller bedrooms seems designed for a child; it has a built-in platform for a mattress, with storage shelves. Extra cubby-style shelves surround the window.

A small sunny room off the master bedroom, which used to be a porch, was enclosed and is now used as a workout space; it also has views of the pool. The master bedroom has mirrored folding closet doors. The upstairs bathroom has a pedestal sink and a combination shower and tub.

Hatfield said he is selling the house due to a divorce.

The house at 40 Kneeland St. in Cranston is on the market for $425,000. Annual taxes are $5,187. An open house is planned Sunday, June 21, from 12 to 1:30 p.m. For more information, contact listing agent Nancy Markham, of Residential Properties Ltd., at (401) 529-9333 or (401) 274-6740.How to submit a House of the Week

A different House of the Week appears each Saturday in the projoHomes section of The Providence Journal. The feature tells the story of the house and the people who have lived in it. If you would like us to consider a house for sale as a subject of this news feature, send a photo, information about the house and why it is of interest, to Christine Dunn or Andy Smith, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902; fax (401) 277-8250; or e-mail pjhomes@projo.com.

For more information,

call Dunn: (401) 277-7913 or Smith: (401) 277-7262.

cdunn@projo.com