For graduate studies, David chose the University of Virginia for its Masters in Architecture program because he felt the curriculum’s unusually close ties to the school’s Landscape Architecture program best served his interest in home design.

After graduation, David worked for Austin Patterson Disston in Southport, CT and Quogue, NY and Trumbull Architects in New York, NY, two firms known for thoughtfully-designed single-family homes. Mentors at these two firms gave him nearly a decade of experience in all aspects of home projects.

David launched his own firm in 2008 and has been designing renovations and ground-up homes ever since. David has designed homes in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Florida. He is licensed in Connecticut, New York, and Florida.

David’s projects have been published in Traditional Home, Luxe, and the New York Times. In 2018, he was named to Luxe’s Gold List.

PHILOSOPHY

CLIENT-CENTERED

It’s a great honor and huge responsibility to be asked to create someone’s future home. You’re trusting me to create what may be the most significant gift you ever give your family and that’s not something I will ever take lightly.

You might be here because you related to a past project of mine… but please know that house didn’t result from my imposing a personal style on a client. Every family is unique. If your future home is truly right, it will spring from your specific personal story.

There’s no satisfaction for either of us if you move your family in and the design is ‘nice’ but somehow leaves you cold. A design succeeds if you drive up to your home and it speaks to you on an emotional level. It succeeds if your home is brand new yet it resonates with a deeper place within you, as if its your ancestral home. If it feels like an inevitable place for new memories and celebrations. And above all if it allows you and your family to be your most true, authentic selves.

In a client-centered process, my task is to quietly guide you to possibilities and then LISTEN. To give you helpful information, ask the right questions, and show you beautiful images and then you in turn will guide me to the answer. I will take what moves you and infuse it with clarity and beauty, transforming your needs and desires into a home that could only be for your family.

HISTORY

At a subconscious level, we bring a lifetime of associations to each new experience with a building. I believe new homes should be original and inventive but at the same time we can’t deny the emotional power of being reminded of past buildings from throughout our lifetime.

Even the best modern architects were masters of history. History at its most powerful is never rigid revivalism or pastiche. It’s a deep understanding of what came before us so we can endow new buildings with timeless qualities. Precedents can be abstracted, combined, and transformed. Your personal style is likely a special blend of many associations and influences.

I am constantly researching past architecture and planning my next architectural vacation and I think of my photo collection as a design superpower. The shingle style and Caribbean style may be more visible favorites but I strive to absorb all the lessons of classical and gothic, modern and vernacular, and I relish the opportunity to design every kind of home.

BEAUTY

A favorite teacher used to always say, “Make it beautiful.” That may sound obvious but in much of our built surroundings, beauty feels like an afterthought.

Beauty can be mysterious so in home design, perhaps we gravitate towards easier discussions of function. Proper function is of course an absolute necessity but a home can be so much more.

Some may worry that beauty is out of reach but it truly doesn’t have to be expensive. Maybe it’s my New England roots but I feel a special affection for buildings that achieve their beauty through simple means. Balance, proportion, pleasing line, color, texture, pattern, detail- none of these qualities are exclusive to big budgets… and a bottomless budget in no way guarantees they are properly deployed.

From the most sacred rooms in our homes to the most utilitarian, we deserve to have our lives enriched by happy feelings and I will strive to give every facade of your home and every last room charm and joy and beauty.

SENSE OF PLACE

I believe that when a home design is Client-Centered, when it respects a family’s History, and when it radiates Beauty, then and only then can its inhabitants can feel a “Sense of Place.”

Sense of Place is mere physical ‘space’ transformed by a real bond between a house and family. There is deeper meaning throughout the home that gives rise to authentic feelings of belonging.

An authentic home belongs to its neighborhood and to its site and appears to naturally inevitably grow from it. A home with “sense of place” truly respects the spirit of its surroundings.

Indoor places effortlessly flow to outdoor places. There may be great openness but every space is well-defined and has its own personality. Places of food and fun and activity flow to places of rest and relaxation and every place is personal and memorable and every place feels like home.

PROCESS

PRE-DESIGN

SCHEMATIC DESIGN

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT

CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

BIDDING / PERMITTING

CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION