Home of the Week
The two-bedroom Newburyport home overlooks a tidal basin for the Atlantic Ocean.
$875,000
Style Cottage
Year built 1948
Square feet 820
Bedrooms 2
Baths 1 full
Sewer/Water Public
Taxes $7,336 (2025)
The road literally comes to an end outside the front door of this ranch-style home on Plum Island, the North Shore barrier island that includes the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.
Signaling its coastal location overlooking the tidal basin for the Atlantic Ocean, the driveway is pea stone, which is also spread apron-like around the exterior of the home in the Newburyport portion of the island. (Newbury, Rowley, Ipswich, and the feds share the rest.)
The crushed stone leads to the entry point for the home — a portico that hosts several chairs underneath a sheltering roof. The front door is Craftsman-style, flanked by plates of clear glass, offering visual proof of the home’s updates.
The door opens into the heart of the home: the kitchen, which now has snow-white cabinets and appliances offset by dark black granite countertops. There is a white central island with an overhanging black countertop, generating seating for two or three people. The sink is in front of a pair of windows, and a large fan from the high ceiling watches over it all. The flooring is tile, and the range is gas.
Moths are drawn to light, and the living room has the same effect. The far right corner of the 227-square-foot space is occupied by a total of four casement-style windows, providing a panoramic view of the yard that slowly eases into the waters of the bay. On the other exterior wall is a clear glass slider offering access to the rear deck as well as another source of natural light and water views. The flooring is hardwood, there is a large ceiling fan, and the walls are gray.
On the left side is the door to the full bath, where the dual-toned design approach is continued, but flipped on its head. The vanity is black, and the sink top is white. There is a single faucet, and a framed rectangular mirror and light fixture. To the right is the stacked full-size washer/dryer, and beyond is a square window. The shower/bath combination is behind a curtain. Flooring in the 81-square-foot bathroom is tile.
Past the slider is the door to the primary bedroom, where the connection to the bay is again saluted. The exterior wall looking out to the water has a casement-style three-wide mulled window topped by transom windows. On the other wall, the current owner has installed a desk underneath a sliding window. The bedroom has its own ceiling fan, hardwood flooring, and bifold doors for the closet.
The second bedroom is accessed from the kitchen. It’s 102 square feet and has a two-window pairing overlooking the front yard. The closet is in a corner of the room, and the flooring is hardwood.
The 9,583-square-foot lot does not extent to the water, but the land in front of the home is unbuildable, according to the listing agent.
Flood insurance costs the current owner $440 annually. The home has a new roof, siding, updated systems, and central air conditioning.
According to the listing agent, Maggie Pratt of Willis and Smith Keller Williams Realty in Newburyport, Plum Island homeowners can rent their property throughout the year to both short- and long-term renters.
John R. Ellement can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @JREbosglobe. Send listings to: [email protected]. Please note: We may not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at Boston.com/address-newsletter.
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