We specialize in Traditional Resorts and Traditional Homes. We design all new “Old” places, renovations of great existing old places, and transformations of commonplace existing places into traditional masterpieces., often taking them back in time.
The architecture of the past captivates our hearts because more often than not it looks and feels genuine. A house used to look like a house, and a good house was invariably a unique work of art created by and for it’s owners. A hotel or resort was designed to look like a lovely place to visit, not just another anonymous box.
In the classic film “Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House” Cary Grant and Myrna Loy play a couple who are in the process of having their new home designed and constructed for their family. As they struggle through the trials and tribulations of designing and building heir ideal home, they rise above their doubts and tribulations and realize their dream. At the end of the story, their close friend played by Melvin Douglas, puts it best: “Maybe there are some things you should buy with your heart and not your head. Maybe those are the things that really count.” We can help you get started creating just that kind of place.
Today, we think that fine Architecture should look and feel genuine to you too, whether you find it in a cottage or in a grand hotel or resort. The styles we like tend to echo the traditions and styles of earlier days, when homes were designed to be beautiful, and when a hotel or resort was designed to be delightful. The styles we like tend to echo the traditions and styles of earlier days. Colonial Revival, Georgian, Classical and Greek Revivals. Period French, Italian, Mediterranean or English. Also Spanish Colonial and Mission, Neo- Classical and Beaux Arts. Victorian and Queen Ann. And various American Arts and Crafts interpretations: Shingle Style, Craftsman, Adirondack Camp and Rocky Mountain Rustic. These and other wonderful Architectural styles that once inspired our forebears are becoming rare.We prefer the traditional and classic, the beautiful. Our traditional Architecture is all about:
Sustainability. Our traditional Architecture is created to look as if it has been there for generations, and is designed to last for generations more.
Comfort. Our traditional projects can truly fit their sites, neighborhoods and climate. Oriented to catch the sun’s light and warmth in winter and with Architecture that keeps it cool in summer. With natural and traditional materials and Architecture that makes everyone feel comfortable.
Efficiency. Today we can combine the latest in energy efficient and resource efficient technologies with simple traditional practices to create designs that are truly the best of old and new.
Beauty. A beautiful place that’s made to last will be cherished and cared for, for a long, long time. Beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder. There is a quality about a well designed traditional building that speaks to all of us, to our shared sense of place, peace and beauty as few other things can.
We believe Architecture should be unique and should be designed the old fashioned way, with a pencil. The process is simple and time-honored. You tell us what you want and wish for, what your dreams are, and we translate that into schematic sketches, hand drawn in the traditional manner, which illustrate the design in plan and elevation.
These sketches and illustrations, stylized to create the particular look and feel you are searching for, are the framework for all the steps to follow. They are imbedded with the design clues that will serve as guidelines for subsequent working and technical drawings for construction. These pages illustrate the story of how we continue to design many fine projects exactly this way, in the country, towns and cities.
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