White House Home opens in Malverne

Officials throughout the village helped Joseph DeVito, 6th from right, cut the grand opening ribbon on his new store, White House Home.

Sue Grieco

Property owners Joe and Judy Canzonari congratulate Joseph DeVito with his mom, Ann DeVito, on the opening of his new store.

Sue Grieco

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After several years of sitting vacant, Malverne’s 110 year-old little white cottage next to Connolly Station officially opened last Saturday as White House Home, a store featuring luxury tabletop items and accessories for the home.

The store, created by Joseph DeVito, who moved to the village recently, was a long-held dream that finally materialized. “When I found this cottage, I immediately envisioned what I wanted to do, and actually pulling it together and making it a reality is surreal,” DeVito said. The store features such items as Murano glass from Italy; porcelain dinnerware from the Netherlands, Turkish crystal; Indian metal designs, as well as locally made items, embossed stationary, scented candles and more. Price points start and $8 and go up to the hundreds.

In addition the customer’s product purchase, DeVito is encouraging people to use his design services to help enhance their homes. “What I would like to do is work with people in their homes,” he said. “Some people are asking me ‘I just moved here and I want to change my sun room or dining room, would you help me with it?’ I love to do things like that, and have taken a lot of time to vet out the best contractors.”

DeVito said from demolition to the final product, it took only a month and a week to completely renovate the cottage, which included a total revamping of its electrical system, closing off an unneeded doorway and creating a new one; recreating the fireplace; taking off layers of linoleum and replacing it with a white oak floor, replicating the original crown molding that surrounds the room; and revamping the existing main door to the cottage in an effort to maintain the cottage’s old fashioned feel. The windowpanes, and the storm windows, are all original to the building. “I hope I look this good when I’m 110,” said DeVito, who added that because the building is old, and its walls are now uneven, the contractor worked tirelessly to use the crown molding to create a sense of evenness.