Loredanna and Matt Shapson fell in love with their current Newtown home the first moment they saw it partly because it was a former Newtown schoolhouse, writes Paul Jablow for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

They were charmed by the character of the building that was a schoolhouse in the 1860s before becoming a private home in the 1950s.

“It was the feeling of the house, warm and cozy,” said Matt.

However, the home was too small for their family and needed decades’ worth of updating.

The couple hired Philadelphia architect Gabriel Deck to modernize their home while ensuring to preserve its original character.

The biggest change was the new wing with a kitchen and main living room on the main level and the primary suite on the upper floor.

The couple decided to preserve the original stone wall bordering the new wing, along with the old roofline that is visible in the corner.

They started adding details that were new but looked old. For example, they purchased new light fixtures for the kitchen that look like something from the Thomas Edison era.

The couple opted to embrace history and nostalgia and leave the first-floor powder room with its 1950s toilet unaltered.

Read more about the home in The Philadelphia Inquirer.