House of the Week: A Victorian in Merchantville for $650,000
The four-bedroom home has been renovated top to bottom, including new wiring and air-conditioning.
Real estate agent Andrew Mascieri liked Victorian houses, and in 2020, he settled on an 1868 house in Merchantville that he set out to totally renovate.
He started by replacing outdated knob-and-tube wiring with a 200-amp system, but then COVID-19 hit, and getting contractors was virtually impossible. “It was definitely scary,” he recalled six years later.
Now the renovation is complete, the house is up for sale, and Mascieri is ready for a new project and new life in Philadelphia.
Mascieri said the house had been for sale only three times in 70 years — the previous owners had lived there six decades.
He had wanted something to renovate, and the five-bedroom, 1½-bathroom home, with just under 3,000 square feet of space, was perfect.
He has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Temple University and designed everything himself, including picking out the finishes.
“Everything was curated, and there’s custom-made furniture,” he said.
By 2023 the front porch had been rebuilt, new air-conditioning was installed, and there was a new roof over the den. The back porch was rebuilt this year.
The kitchen is built around an Italian range, and the dining room has a backlit, antiqued mirror bar built by a Fishtown glass artisan.
There is a powder room on the first floor, plus a den, study, and laundry room.
The house went from five bedrooms to four in the renovation. The second floor has two bedrooms, including the primary bedroom, which has a walk-in closet with an island and a large bathroom.
The third floor has two other bedrooms, plus a small room that could be used as a reading nook or office.
The house looks out onto the Merchantville bike path, built over old railroad tracks.
The house is listed by Andrew Mascieri of Compass New Jersey for $650,000.
