Wonderwall

Wonderwall’s 3,00-square-foot showroom in the arts district of Sand City is filled with antiques, art, furniture, furnishings, home décor, architectural elements and some objects that may not be considered art or an antique, but could be the perfect item to complete a room. It could be a rusted early 20th century cast iron radiator or a pair of weathered 19th century Belgium shutters or a handmade antique sky blue wire and wood birdcage. Every piece in the showroom has been discovered and curated by Mark and Carina with an eye toward their uniqueness, originality and appeal.

Wonderwall opened in August 2018, an offshoot of 20-plus years that Cristofalo spent as a home builder, designer and collector. He comes from a long line of master masons and builders from Italy, so the trade is literally in his blood. He learned the business and engineering end of things while attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. As part of the Monterey Peninsula home building firm Mark Cristofalo & Company, Mark and Carina have amassed a collection of decorative artifacts that found a home in Wonderwall. Carina tends to focus on landscaping, plants and gardening and related items, while Mark specializes in the “hard” items such as furniture and sculptural pieces. The couple, who have lived on the Peninsula for 15 years and currently live in Carmel with their four children ages 10 to 16, regularly go on overseas trips to seek and acquire items for their shop.

Carina C.
Business Owner
Carina says that the pieces they feature won’t be found in a catalog or mass-produced, but something found in an out-of-the-way antique shop or in a funky shop in the famed Arts District of Los Angeles. “Sand City is the Arts District of the Monterey Peninsula,” she says.