Thirty-four years ago, Matthew and Mary Harman, a couple who shared a desire to live a green lifestyle in the country, bought the Randall Farm, a property with 6½ acres at 69 Foster Center Rd.

The main house is a 28-by-38 foot center-chimney Colonial Cape, c. 1760 to 1780, with an 11-by-11 foot entry room.

The house is set back about 130 feet from Foster Center Road, and is just a short walk from unspoiled Foster Center.

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The previous owner, an elderly bachelor, had never introduced indoor plumbing, except for a hand pump in the mudroom. And there was no central heat or modern electric service. The house had 15-amp service, Matthew Harman said, which yielded just enough power for four light bulbs.

“We got a pristine home,” he said.

The Harmans have made many changes over the years, adding modern conveniences while preserving the historic character of the house.

Two new bathrooms, kitchen renovations, central heating and new electrical service, new windows, and a new roof are some of their major projects.

One of the two front entrances to the main house leads to a mudroom with a woodstove, window seats and built-in bookshelves. There is also a utility sink that the Harmans use to wash vegetables grown in their organic garden.

The fenced, 5,000-square-foot garden has established raspberries, strawberries, currants, rhubarb and asparagus.

The property also includes a separate fenced herb garden with a small patio and a quince tree. A new fenced orchard has eight apple trees. All the fencing is to keep deer away from the food; Mary Harman said the local deer population seems to have grown in recent years.

The house has five fireplaces, including a massive hearth in the keeping room near the kitchen. The Harmans said they have held many “cook-in” parties for friends in the keeping room during the colder months.

There are two living rooms, and one has French doors that open to the backyard.

The house has original chestnut floors, though boards have been replaced in several sections.

Three bedrooms and a central bathroom are nestled closely together on the second floor.

The second-floor bathroom has a soaking tub, skylight, eyebrow dormer and access to the attic.

Seven layers of linoleum, some secured with roofing tar, had to be removed from an upstairs bedroom.

The first floor has another full bathroom, and a stacked washer and dryer behind a closet door.

The Harman property also includes a number of outbuildings.

An old outhouse is now in use as a garden shed. A separate wood shed can hold three cords of wood.

A large barn known as the Grey Barn Studio has provided plenty of room for the Harmans to enjoy their artistic pursuits. Matthew, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, is a woodworker, and Mary is a painter and printmaker.

The barn, which was built over three centuries, is about 65-by-20 feet and is situated near the street. It has hot water and electrical service, two separate gas heating units, and a telephone line.

Sheets of old architectural drawings that had been transformed into wrapping paper were hanging in the barn recently. Mary Harman said they were the result of an impromptu art project.

“Friends come to visit, and we just do stuff,” she said.

Another side of the barn houses Matthew Harman’s wood shop. The second floor is used for storage.

And they have also used the barn space for a more traditional purpose — boarding a horse owned by a friend.

The property also includes an inground pool behind the main house. There is also an outdoor bread oven to accommodate another of Matthew Harman’s interests, baking bread from scratch.

He also built a cabin far behind the main house, a 12-by-16 foot timber-frame dwelling with bead board wainscoting and a sleeping loft that looks out to the woods through a large triangular window. The cabin has been used in turns as another art studio, guest house and workout room.

Another new building, the screen house, is a 12-by-24 foot freestanding post and beam structure with a saltbox roofline. The main area is screened and there is an attached 12-by-8 foot arbor. The Harmans have used this space for outdoor dinner parties in warm weather.

The property has been well-loved and well-used, but the Harmans plan to move to South Dartmouth, Mass., where they are renovating a cottage near the water.

The property at 69 Foster Center Rd. is on the market for $629,900. Annual taxes are $4,230. For more information, contact Kristen Paul-Jones at Lila Delman Real Estate, (401) 284-4804.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.

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