Upstairs are two bedrooms, including this master and a smaller bedroom. The master bedroom has a large clothes closet, and the laundry machines are behind another closet in the bedroom with mirrored doors, at right. The Providence Journal / Frieda Squires

One night eight years ago, Philip and Linda Scelfo, new to Rhode Island, were waiting for a table at the Mediterraneo restaurant on Atwells Avenue in Providence. They were in town to visit their daughter, who was living in Federal Hill at the time.

A stranger struck up a conversation at the bar, and they told him they were thinking about moving to the Ocean State. The man offered to pay for their drinks, and he also gave them some free advice: check out “upscale” East Greenwich.

“ ‘That’s the place for you,’ he said,” remembers Philip Scelfo.

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After their talk, the stranger walked out the door to a waiting Lincoln Town Car.

The Scelfos had no idea they had just met the mayor of Providence, Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr., who would be convicted the next year in a bribery and corruption case.

But they took Cianci’s advice. The very next day, they drove to East Greenwich, where they immediately found the house they live in today.

Eight years is the longest time the Scelfos have lived in any house together.

Originally from Long Island, the couple have owned 14 houses since they married, at locations all over the country.

Most of the moves were made because of Philip Scelfo’s career in medical equipment sales. But today, he has returned to his first vocation, nursing; Linda Scelfo is a chef.

When they bought their carriage house in East Greenwich, at 30 Rector St., in the Hill section of town, they were downsizing. Three of their four children had left the nest.

Their previous house had about 4,000 square feet of space, and the carriage house has a bit more than 1,000 square feet, so it was quite a change.

Built in 1900, the carriage house had fallen on hard times. The roof appeared to be caving in, and the lot was so overgrown that the house couldn’t be seen from the street. “It was horrendous,” Linda Scelfo said.

But they thought the location was perfect: a quarter-acre lot with mature trees, bordered by old stone walls and white-painted gate doors, all within the village atmosphere of the Hill and Harbor District in the center of East Greenwich.

The Scelfos decided that with some work, the carriage house could be a charming place to live.

Other prospective buyers had plans to “semi-destroy” the house, by tearing it down and building new, they said.

Little by little, the Scelfos made the carriage house habitable, addressing mechanical and cosmetic problems along the way. Plumbing, roof, electrical, heating, and insulation problems have been corrected.

They considered expansion projects several times over the years, “but we just didn’t have the heart for it,” Philip Scelfo said.

The house is the size of a townhouse-style apartment. Two sets of French doors frame a new gas fireplace in the living room; one set of these doors is the most-used entrance to the house, nearest to the driveway. The front door is near the staircase that leads to the second floor and faces Rector Street.

The downstairs is mainly an open kitchen, dining and living room. The kitchen has white-painted cabinets, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, including a gas oven and cooktop.

The dining area has orange and red Mexican tiles that were there when they bought the house.

Philip Scelfo built a private, fenced-in patio off the kitchen, which adds extra entertainment space during the warmer months.

A full bath downstairs has a walk-in shower and a pedestal sink.

Upstairs are two bedrooms, including a master and a smaller bedroom, and an open loft area is used as a small family room with a television. There is also a full bathroom.

The master bedroom has a large clothes closet, and the laundry machines are behind another closet in the bedroom with mirrored doors.

Although the Scelfos have made the most of every inch of space in the house — about 1,260 square feet — they expect that the next owner won’t be able to resist expanding the house or even tearing it down and starting over.

Now that their youngest child is in college, the Scelfos are planning to make another change; they are selling the carriage house so they can move to a loft in Providence.

They say they don’t want the trouble of caring for a yard anymore, and they are ready for an urban lifestyle.

The carriage house at 30 Rector St., East Greenwich, is on the market for $399,000. Property taxes are $6,663. For more information, contact listing agent Len Iannuccilli at Re/Max Professionals, (401) 884-3999. 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