By Gretchen A. Peck

Welcome Home’s “House of the Week” sits waterfront on Lambert’s Cove in Stonington. The two-bedroom Cape-style cottage is situated on 0.27 acres, with a detached one-car garage and a greenhouse.

With the assistance of Berkshire Hathaway Realtors Lucia Johnstone and Henri Gourd, James Fayal is selling the property, which has been in his family for 70 years. An immigrant from the Azores, his grandmother came to Stonington in the 1920s and built a life and family. Fayal recalled how she’d first worked in the mills and then became a baker.

“In those days, the village was largely Portuguese and ‘old money.’ There weren’t a lot of people with second homes, and during my grandmother’s time, the village had something like 50 businesses. It was a self-sustaining community,” Fayal explained.

His grandmother’s generation of the family opened a grocery store in the village and delivered provisions to the fishing fleet running out of Stonington’s harbor.

“In 1952, she decided to build a house,” Fayal said. She cherished the modest two-bedroom home on the inner cove, which was completed at 32 Harbor View Terrace in 1953.

“Having grown up on St. Michael’s in the Azores—where they were all farmers—land was very precious to her,” he said. Fayal’s father built a greenhouse on the property, so she could grow her own food and herbs.

“My grandmother was very much tied to the earth. That little yard was almost like a working farm. She had all kinds of fruit trees and grapes,” he said. “Dad built her the greenhouse so she could start the plants early in the springtime, and he put heat in it so she could winter-over her plants. It was heavily used.”

When his grandmother passed away in the late 1970s, Fayal’s parents carried on here. Fayal recalled having a magical childhood on the cove, fishing and crabbing in calm waters.

“We are a family that’s got the sea in our blood,” he said.

As a Cape-style cottage, the 1,259-square-foot house has a modest footprint and floor plan that enables one-level living. The front door opens to the living room, made cozy by a gas fireplace. There’s a dining area adjacent to the kitchen, plus a sunroom, a full bath and two bedrooms. The sunroom opens out to a deck overlooking the backyard and cove.

There are hardwood floors in the living and sleeping rooms, and easy-to-maintain tile has been laid in the sunroom.

A bonus room has been created in the attic, which perhaps could be leveraged as a third bedroom, play space or home office. The lower level, which has a partial bath, has been leveraged for storage and workshop space.

Within the past 10 years, the family made some improvements to the home, including updating the kitchen and renovating the main bath. To the kitchen, they added craftsman-style cabinets and granite countertops.

Being waterfront on the cove has some practical perks—like being able to launch a tender and travel by water to local marinas, where larger boats may be kept. It also has aesthetic appeal. The water views are spectacular, and so too, is the coastal wildlife.

“Early in the morning, you’ll see ducks, cranes and swans,” he attested.

The back of the property faces south, looking out toward Wamphassuc Point and Stonington Harbor. It’s just a five-minute drive to the shops and restaurants in Stonington Borough. Westerly, Rhode Island and downtown Mystic, Connecticut are approximately 10 minutes away by car.

The asking price for 32 Harbor View Terrace, Stonington, is $949,000.

Property: 32 Harbor View Terrace, Stonington

Bedrooms: 2

Baths: 2

Square Footage: 1,259

Acreage: 0.27

Asking Price: $949,000

Listing Agents: Lucia Johnstone and Henri Gourd, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, New England Properties; Johnstone’s Mobile: (860) 912-4144; Gourd’s Mobile: (914) 954-3897; luciajohnstone@bhhsne.com; henrigourd@bhhsne.com