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Turning to the Classics
Architect James Schettino Finds Inspiration in the Past
Written by Ellen Best for the Westchester County Times

If you were going to build a new house for yourself, what would it look like? What input would you give your architect in terms of style?

After 30 years of experience in the design process, architect James Schettino has discovered the equation that, he feels, leads to customized satisfaction. It's nothing new. In fact, it's old: Clients usually have a preference for older styles. He calls himself a classicist because he uses classical architecture and historic details with modern floor plans that support our current lifestyles.

Old styles are just part of the trend. While some people today spend a lot of money to disguise signs of aging in their appearance, Mr. Schettino finds that his clients want their newly constructed homes to look old, quickly.

But how do people determine precisely what kind of older style house they want? The most important information about style can come from their own memories. Mr. Schettino calls their desires "anchors."

Anchors or triggers are any details or design styles that give people a sense of security and tradition, and can be based on their family heritage, religious belief or their place of origin. It may include some specific architecture in their past that is familiar or comforting to them. Mr. Schettino says that these triggers are the kinds of images that put us in a positive state of mind, differing from a shiny new McMansion which has no personal tradition. Mr. Schettino likens it to walking into a house and smelling a turkey or an apple pie cooking. That smell may take you back to your childhood when you used to go to your grandmother's house for Thanksgiving.

In architecture, what transports you to that level of fondness or comfort may be a cupola that was atop a barn where you grew up, or the big, inviting veranda porch with a hammock at your aunt's house where you spent your summers as a youngster.

On the other hand, it may not be anything that is architecturally familiar, but just a sense that it will support where you are in your life. "I would prefer to have a compound of smaller structures rather than a large stone mansion with tall ceilings, for example. I can't recall that exact architecture in my past, but it's the kind of living that makes me feel comfortable now. We all have triggers, whether we understand their origin or not," Mr. Schettino says.

Mr. Schettino, 56, an American Institute of Architects member, was born in Stamford, Conn., and moved to New Canaan, Conn., 30 years ago. His father was in the construction business and he always liked art and drafting. After working in other firms after architecture school, he started Schettino Architects in 1972 with the help of his wife, Adrienne. They have three children, Abby, 19, James, 22, and Lee, 28.

He does mostly high-end residences ($500,000 to $5 million) in the metropolitan area. His work reflects a classical, traditional style. He is doing more equestrian architecture as well. The Schettino family lives on a 7-acre farm in a Colonial-style house, which was built in 1807, and converted in the 1920's. Their horse barn has a large copper cupola on top which was pre-patined. His architectural studio is a converted carriage barn on the property which overlooks gardens and an apple orchard. His home and studio are filled with American folk art and antiques.

"The whole farm was thought out so that it looks like it's all been here all along.," he said.

Contrary to his work, Mr, Schettino studied mostly contemporary architectural design. He was educated in the 1960's, when Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Miles Van Der Rohe, and Le Corbusier were making their mark in the field.

He combines his love for history, the classical, traditional styles that are indigenous to the area, and his clients' anchor requests to produce timeless architectural designs. In his architectural practice, he prides himself in helping his clients rediscover that familiar turkey aroma so he can add the fixings to make an architectural feast for them.

"The first ingredient that I ask them for is a wish list. More often than not, it dictates a classical or traditional style. I hardly see any contemporary style preferences."

Mr. Schettino takes the architectural idioms that they request and then adds creativity in that genre. For example, if they want a large covered porch, he may add a beaded board ceiling painted robin's egg blue, a baluster with nice columns and a deck painted battleship gray. He says, "The details make the difference. It's the same pile of lumber; it's all how you use it."

The same thing applies to an addition that needs to match the "old" dream house they may already live in. He says the clues are always there. Things to match may include dormers, the proportions of the roof and windows, and details such as roundtop windows.

He may use materials such as brick, stucco, clapboard, and wood shingles. For French designs, he may incorporate large units of custom made glass or use custom panel doors. Windows may be custom milled instead of using standard vendors such as Pella or Marvin.

On the interior, details like twisted balusters, wainscoating and trim can match the feel of an old style, but not the exact design, and still have the same consistency with an "anchor" idea. He may add custom moldings in modifying the proportions for added style.

"When people mistake the addition as being part of the original older home, that's the greatest compliment they can give me," Mr. Schettino says.

The same consistency from old to "new" can be achieved with new interiors that are built to look old. Clients who want an "old" library with a lot of wood like their grandparents usually envision carved cherry, oak, and mahogany. Also included could be egg and dart moldings and ornate capitals on columns, much in the style of the colonial revival period.

In addition to matching the exact wooden molding design that may have existed back then, Mr. Schettino may create a new pattern. He says he "matches them better" and his new creations can intermingle with authentic old materials even though they ma not be identical. Old beams may be used as floorboards, with chestnut for the paneling. Honed marble instead of polished marble has a mat finish with a much older look.

If clients want old-style homes, structures such as skylights, sliding doors and recessed lighting may not be incorporated because they wouldn't be consistent with the older look. Instead, Mr Schettino would employ French doors with wooden saddles. Lighting fixtures can be new, but handmade to look old by using pewter, copper and old seeded glass.

He has even designed arched stone walls outside in the yard to look like ruins, further reinforcing the older theme. He prefers natural fieldstone with moss on it uses simple joints along with slate and brick for any adjacent walkways.

Typical concrete foundations are often replaced by stone foundations. Mr. Schettino has taken wood windows and had the factory paint the sashes black to make them look like old steel windows from the 1920's.

Pre-patined copper turns glossy orange metallic copper into a weathered teal finish right away, so clients don't have to wait 30 years for the same effect on their bay windows, flashing cupolas.

Cement out of the can appears gray. But in the days of old, cement had more of a white appearance, having been made with lime and seashells in some cases. Using white cement joints gives the appearance of older stone. Ivy can be purchased in long strands and then wrapped around the leader gutter or up to the side of masonry on a house. Metal Bilco doors that lead to the basement from the ground level outside are replaced with wooden ones made of mahogany or cedar, which primed and stained to match any style of house.

Shutters must be of the correct proportion and attached to the house with the correct hardware, instead of just screwing smaller sized shutters to the house on the side of the windows with no hardware showing. Instead of vinyl, they should be made of redwood or mahogany.

Many of these details may seem small, but they add up to make a house look authentic and have character. In fact, Mr. Schettino says, people may not know exactly why such a home appeals to them.

Authenticity and anchors do not always jive with practicality. "Why not use a window that has one pane of glass, instead of a divided light window with sections?" the architect asks. "After all, the one large pane cleans better, views better, and is better energy-wise. But the divided window has a better looks more authentic."

Sometimes Mr. Schettino has had to renovate a spec house without a client in mind. In order to include more possible anchors, he adds charm and personality. On one such house, he took an existing stuccoed contemporary and transformed it into an Adirondack style home, complete with an addition.

To do this, he extended the roofline, took off the metal roof, and replaced it with shingles. He covered the exterior sides with a stone façade and added green shutters, giving the house a much more softened appearance. "We put in fireplaces, but basically did the exterior cosmetic surgery on the old part of the house to make it look like the new part, so the tail wasn't wagging the dog."

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