As a child, native Westchesterite Peter Cole used to spend hours playing quietly as a kid with building blocks on the floor of his dad’s toy store. Now, he builds beautiful homes in every style of architecture for clients who value his discretion almost as much as his design skills, including a mega-bestselling novelist and Wall Street titans and their friends. “One-third of my business is repeat business,” Cole says, and the rest is referral.
Cole has long-term experience dealing with business leaders and bold-faced names. His first job was with the world’s largest architectural firm, HOK, headquartered in St. Louis, right after earning his Masters of Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis. When he, and his native New Yorker wife, were ready to head back to New York, HOK transferred him to the Manhattan office. Twenty-five years ago, Cole started his own residential firm based in Chappaqua and has never looked back. Now, he says, the “relationship is as important as the design challenge.” His favorite clients don’t need to have deep pockets or be “masters of the universe.” Cole loves a client who “enjoys the process and is excited about participating with us.”
The House: Originally built in 1908, this brick and shingle was in such disrepair that Cole received approval from the Scarsdale Historic Preservation Committee to have the house taken down to the ground, then painstakingly recreated, enlarged, and reconfigured for use by a 21st century family, as long as he maintained the original central façade of the house.
Peter A. Cole, Architect
Peter A. Cole, Architect, AIA, LEED AP, 75 S Greeley Ave, Chappaqua, (914) 238-6152, petercolearchitect.com
General Contractor: Richard Schappach, D & R Schappach LLC, Brookfield, CT (203) 775-2691
Architect: Peter A. Cole
Landscape Architect: Pamela Lester, Landscape Architecture Consultants, Mount Kisco, (914) 666-3547
Interior Decorator: Lyn Peterson, Motif Designs, Mount Vernon, (914) 633-1170
