Whereas Lauren and Ryan Tracy had been visiting his mother and father in Newport, Rhode Island, over the winter holidays in 2023, the couple’s then-toddler daughter, Renny, wanted a automobile nap. Driving round Jamestown on the adjoining Conanicut Island, the San Diego household toured a dilapidated Fifties cottage on the market. Although the small house had “zero curb enchantment” and a definite cat-like scent, it did have an ocean view from the yard, says Lauren. The worth was additionally enticing: $265,000, a far cry from the overinflated California market they had been used to. Having renovated a number of properties earlier than with their design-build firm, Shelter Residential, it was simple for the Tracys to think about it as their subsequent mission: a summer time house for his or her rising household (which now consists of new child Lottie and miniature bull terrier, Hank), situated simply quarter-hour away from the grandparents.