Slawek Residence

East Oak Avenue in Moorestown, New Jersey, is one of Mr. Wagner’s favorite streets in the Township, especially since he has completed so many house renovations there.  The majority of the house were constructed between the later part of the 19th century and early 20th century.  The Slawek house was originally  a carriage house, at the back of the property on a neighboring street that at once time went through to Oak Avenue.

The Essentials Were There

Likely subdivided some 70 years ago, the house had been renovated into a residence that worked well and included all of the necessary spaces, living, dining, kitchen and bath downstairs and 3-4 bedrooms upstairs.  A wonderful gem of a structure, the clapboard sided building with its four cornered hipped gambrel roof had grown a formal columned entrance with central door and bay windows sometime in the 60’s or 70’s.   The owner loved the cottage but was not sure of it’s structural stability and considered demolition if a new house would be more economical.

It was a mutual decision to salvage the house, keep its original character and style and remodel it with a seamless addition to complement the house.

Important to the owner was to design a casual, but contemporary interior, a light and airy kitchen open to a large seating and entertaining area, which was put in the addition.  The former kitchen was turned into a mudroom, laundry, powder room and pantry area as the main access was directly to the driveway parking area.  The open floor plan assisted the house to be flooded with light from windows at the front and rear parts of the house.  New hardwood floors and trim made a more attractive and residential appearance to the house.

Upstairs, four bedrooms and three baths were either remodeled or added under the gambrel roofline.  Mechanicals, including heating and air conditioning were all re-worked to avoid soffits and designed to make the most energy efficient design.

Clad in a simple white clapboard façade, the house appears modest and sits far back from the street at odds with its neighbors on each side. But the seamless addition just adds an attractive bonus to this cottage style carriage house turned home.

The house was constructed by Master Contractors of Voohrees, New Jersey.