Damascus, Monte Carlo, New York. Bana Choura has lived, studied, and worked in locations exotic and familiar. Hers was a visual storybook existence: a father who was a famous painter, studying at a Beaux Art fine art school in Damascus where she grew up, working on “small villas” from the 1920s near the palace of the prince in the old town of Monte Carlo, studying and working in Manhattan.
Yet Choura is “fascinated by Westchester,” particularly the architecture of lower Westchester. She’s on a mission to restore and renovate the vintage 1920s homes. She likens them to the fairytale-like villas of Monaco and finds inspiration in both. Choura describes her work as having a “softness and sensitivity” and says “there’s always something whimsical” in her designs. While she obviously has tremendous experience and technical skill, Choura says, “I try to feel, not just build. Homes shouldn’t just look good, they should be comfortable and easy to live in.”
The House: Choura lives near this storybook home in the Fox Meadow section of Scarsdale and had always admired “this very rare” home that “kept its quality and charm.” Every detail reminded her of Monte Carlo. “The turret,” she says, “even had stairs in it!” Restoring and enlarging it was a dream come true for her as well as for the clients.
Choura Architecture PC
Bana Choura AIA, 1 Barker Ave, Ste 240, White Plains, (914) 686 7774; choura.com
General contractor, builder: Trio Creative Construction Concepts, Inc., Victor Matos, Peekskill (914) 393-7966
Kitchen: Modern Classics, John Johnstone, Gerry Hackett, Greenwich, CT (203) 422-2862
Landscaping: Thunderhill Design, Gail Bishop, Guilford, CT (203) 515-9889
