Shane Kampeter revives historic homes on Capitol Avenue.
Having grown up in Jefferson City, Shane Kampeter has a great passion for the downtown community and its beautiful historical buildings. His wife shares that passion, and it is this shared passion that drives their love for remodeling.
Living in older homes and simultaneously working on them is what ignited Shane’s excitement for remodeling.
“We love old houses,” Shane says. “All the homes we have lived in were old houses.”
These homes come with many surprises, but Shane enjoys the challenge.
“We like older houses because it’s something new every day,” he says. “You open up a wall and don’t know what is going to be behind it. Everything changes every day; that’s the fun in working on these homes.”
While enjoying walks down Capitol Avenue, Shane and his wife could see the potential of the gorgeous buildings lining the street and felt the need to give them life again.
When the City issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for several Capitol Avenue properties, Shane knew he wanted to be involved. He submitted a proposal to purchase and restore 419 E. Capitol Ave. and 413 E. Capitol Ave.
After securing the properties, it was time to get to work.
Each home that Shane has worked on has been unique, but 413 E. Capitol Ave., now Matriarcha, is one of his favorite remodels. The singular charm and distinctive facade also made this home his wife’s favorite.
Despite being a favorite of the Kampeters, the home required a lot of work to make it habitable again.
413 Capitol Avenue
“When we first walked in, it was filled with seven 40-yard dumpsters' worth of trash,” Shane remembers. “As we began demoing, you could be in the basement and see the sky.”
Though there was a lot of remodeling to be done, keeping the integrity of the historical home was a top priority for Shane. Understandably so, not all aspects of a historic home can be saved, but Shane and his team save what they can and repurpose pieces to fit the new space.
“When we save historic homes, not everything has to be original, but we try to save as much as possible,” he says. “The original doors are here. The original trim is here. We added two bathrooms and had extra trim for those, so the whole main level is all original trim.”
In addition to saving the original trim, they were able to save doors throughout the home as well. One stunning door of the home was repurposed as a tabletop.
“We refinished all of the doors,” Shane says. “We tried to bring the wood back. We like to keep the original wood look as much as possible.”
While attempting to stay true to the original design, Shane adds new elements that may give the home a different look, but anything added is in line with the feel of the home. For example, exposed brick was added to the front two rooms; while this is a more modern touch, it still ties in nicely with the overall aesthetic.
Adding to the cozy feel, Shane chose to keep the original fireplaces. Though the mantels were missing, Shane found replacements at another home on East Capitol Avenue.
“We want to keep as much stuff that came off of East Capitol on East Capitol,” Shane adds.
Shane’s work won’t stop with these two homes. With multiple vacant lots in his possession, Shane plans to continue building up Capitol Avenue.
“Capitol Avenue is starting to rebuild, especially the 400 block,” Shane says. “We would like it to be a new area and an extended downtown.”
A street that had been quiet and forgotten is now seeing the buzz of the community again.
419 Capitol Avenue
