Whether gussying up a once-gutted Victorian or retrofitting a rat-infested hayloft in a former carriage house, these renovations give centennial buildings a new lease on life.
Finding a Rainbow in the Pandemic
The owners of Von Walter & Funk in Lawrenceville turned a long-planned kitchen renovation into an unexpected haven during the state’s stay-at-home orders.
January 26, 2021
It didn’t start as a pandemic project, but it became one.
After eight years of living in their 120-year-old Victorian in Highland Park jokingly called “McVersa Manor” Shawn Aversa and Jamie McAdams, who own lifestyle store Von Walter + funk|BALLOON in Lawrenceville, decided their kitchen needed some help.
Like most houses of that era, the home features high-ceilings and historic charm, complemented by the couple’s carefully curated collection of vintage items and signature pops of bright colors. But while the home’s lack of an open floor plan was always part of its appeal (“We love its original form,” Aversa says), the kitchen’s location, cut off from the rest of the house, was not particularly for a couple that loves to entertain.