Sometimes, with a bit of luck and care, old buildings find new life and a new mission. That’s what happened to 132 Warwick Rd., now known as the Haddonfield Home. The Italianate Victorian was built in 1856 when the area was mostly open farmland. It has had many owners over the years as a single-family home–from a paint manufacturer to a lawyer to an accountant. But in recent decades, it has welcomed seniors. The Victorian serves as the offices, reception area and parlor of an assisted living community. The residents live in a more modern one-story addition behind the handsome slate-gray home …
In a town of cavernous vintage Victorians and sprawling modern mansions, there is something to be said for a cozy bungalow on Redman Avenue from the Roaring '20s. First and foremost, it’s a Goldilocks-fit for the Wolfe family: the 1,700 square feet in this Craftsman charmer suits this couple and their young daughter just right. The two downstairs bedrooms are modest in size and there is no family room. Upstairs, there is only one large room, a space Pam and Chris Wolfe hope to use eventually as a master bedroom, as well as a large, new master bath they added. But the Wolfes are fans of the …
When Candida DeLago and David Schwartz first bought their century-old home on Estaugh Avenue two decades ago, it was not a pretty sight–or site. “Our neighbor used to call this house ‘the old shady dog,’” said DeLago. “It was dark and smelly and dirty.” Shrubs obscured the front of the home, maybe not such a bad thing given the state of the house, but the overgrown plantings hid the home’s potential. Slowly, over many years, the couple improved the home, inside and out. Asbestos siding was removed. New exterior paint highlighted the beauty of an architectural style called American Foursquare…
What’s the biggest misconception about the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) and homes in the Historic District? “That we can tell you the color to paint your house,” said Lee Albright, a member of the HPC. Borough officials may not be thrilled if you coat your Italianate Victorian in shades of magenta, and they may point you to old sketches showing how your home originally looked, but the paint color is ultimately up to you. So, too, are all the furnishings, woodwork and design embellishments in the inside of your house. That means you can chuck your Shaker-style chairs for a modern …
When a home is too small, a homeowner has three choices: Move, make do or expand. Kim Horton, her husband, Greg, and their three sons needed more space in their Hawthorne Avenue Dutch Colonial. “We had basically outgrown the house,” said Horton, explaining that moving wasn’t an option. “I liked the neighborhood. I liked this part of town. There was just no reason to leave. I was happy here. And this way I could make it (the house) the way I wanted. I changed the things I didn’t like.” One was the need for a mud room. More about that in a bit. The Hortons planned a makeover that is attractive …
In Greenfield Hall’s family room—an area 19th-century Americans would have referred to as “the keeping room”—a leather fire bucket sits prominently on the mantle. “This belonged to John Gill,” said Jean W. Lawes, administrative coordinator of the Historical Society of Haddonfield, the organization that calls Greenfield Hall home. “It is probably one of our most prized possessions.” The engraved bucket is one of the few items in the home known to belong to John Gill IV, the man who built the mansion, but it is one of many fascinating antiques in this Kings Highway home. The home’s furnishings …
If, when you think Victorian, you think ho-hum, prissy décor, then you haven’t truly looked. The Albright-Haubrich home on Linden Avenue features the big, bold interiors of so many Painted Ladies: rich reds and sparkling golds, elaborate finishes and fabrics and detailed furniture. Lee Albright, president of the Historical Society of Haddonfield, and her husband, Gerard Haubrich, bought their 1868 home more than 20 years ago. “Both of us are Victorian fans,” said Albright. Asked what she loves about Victorian homes, Albright immediately cites the way the golds in the Victorian-style fabrics …
When the Schaeffers resurrected a 120-year-old home that was initially, well, a wreck, they created the best of all possible homesteads—a new, old home. After 18 months of a total exterior and interior renovation, the Kings Highway home is a stunner, a 3,800-square-foot, five-bedroom house outfitted with gorgeous moldings, beamed ceilings and stained glass windows. Attention has been paid to all the hard work. Jason Schaeffer, a homebuilder, showed a visitor a handwritten note on flowery stationery deposited, with a bottle of wine, by a passerby who admired the home’s transformation. “It’s …
When Janice and David Hunt purchased a 135-year-old Victorian on Kings Highway, the home was ideal–which didn’t mean it was perfect. “When we bought the house, you had to walk through a closet to get through to the bedroom,” said David. “It was nuts.” And the kitchen? “The kitchen was really small,” said Janice. “We were living in a nice, big, beautiful house, and we’ve got a crummy kitchen,” recalled David. Over the last few years, they have fixed these problems, and a number of others. Old homes need a good measure of care and, typically, updating. They added a four-star master bath–…
More than most South Jerseyans, Dave Gottardi is suited to life in the vintage, grand home that once belonged to the late historic preservationist Joan Aiken. Aiken was the chair of the borough's Historic Preservation Commission, a post Gottardi now holds. Like Aiken, he loves vintage structures, and he has the skills and enthusiasm to see that his 150-year-old home endures in the 21st century. Aiken could be a controversial figure. Clearly, she annoyed some taxpayers who would have preferred no interference from borough officials regarding how they altered the exteriors of their historic …
Rich in history, the 150-year-old Italianate on Kings Highway honors the past as it accommodates the present. Toni R. Bonnette is quick to note that the Victorian home she shares with husband Rick is anything but a dry structure of dusty relics. "It's not a museum," said Bonnette, whose grand house features a 37 by 16-foot living room, ideal for hosting a dinner party for, say, 85 guests. Asked about the disadvantages of owning a historic home, Bonnette cannot name one minus. "There is none," she said. "The plus is it's so full of life." It's a big place–4,200 square feet, with 11-and-a-half …
