"New Old House" Principles
With our research, we became convinced that this historic piece of land in this historic area demanded a "new old house," combining the architectural traditions of this area with current best practices in residential design and construction. A useful framework for balancing these sometimes competing interests is Russell Versaci's "Eight Pillars of Traditional Design." Shown below are our responses to each of the eight pillars:
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Respect the character of place: Deciding to work with the Greek Revival Style, as well as the details and traditions that are part of it, was an important aspect of fitting the new house into its context.
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Invent within the rules: While we sought to honor the local traditions, we invented within the rules, especially in the interior where we incorporated more contemporary space concepts, e.g. a large eat in kitchen, taller ceilings, a huge master bath, all indicative of a contemporary luxury home…
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Tell a story over time: Elements of the house were designed as if added on or altered over time by generations; for example, in how the "connector" and Barn were added to the main house, and how the Colonial Revival façade (popular in the 1920-30s) which contains the Living Room and Master Bedroom might have been added to the Greek Revival main house (which might have been from the 1830s).
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Build for the ages: Petrides Homes built with durable materials and time-tested construction techniques that are sound and built to last.
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Detail for authenticity: We sought to define the house's character with authentic details, for example, the moldings we used are based on Asher Benjamin pattern books from the 1830s
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Craft with natural materials: Our wide plank hand crafted floors and our dry-laid fieldstone walls speak for themselves!
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Create the patina of age: We sought to give the appearance of age to certain materials, characteristic of an "Old New House." For example, the rustic boards of the barn were bleached to give the effect of being exposed to the weather for years; the wide plank on the second floor were hand scraped to give the feeling of 100 years of use; the extensive staining work in the Living Room was done to resemble antique varnish.
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Incorporate modern conveniences: There are countless examples: we incorporated the SubZero refrigerator and Bosch dishwasher under matching cabinet panels; installed a state-of-the-art heating and cooling system, including electric radiant heating in selected areas.
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