Visionary Builder Sees Major Shift in Housing Design for "Our Times"

By Bill Primavera

The Home Guru

 Contractors and builders who seem to know just everything have always fascinated me. Such is the case with Chris Sciarra, president of CS Construction, based in Yorktown Heights, but whose work is found throughout the region.

Chris and I are neighbors as well as friends, but our relationship didn’t start that way. We sometimes chuckle about how we met in the mid-1980s through an un-neighborly exchange of words when I saw him in front of my house installing one of those signs that credit businesses that sponsor clean-up of the roads. While a great service to any community, I thought this sign would be overbearing in that, within two blocks of my home, I had already endured the rapid installation of a new stop sign, followed by one announcing a school bus stop, and a speed limit sign.

“Can’t you put that sign someplace else, away from my property?” I demanded. “Signs are getting to be like the roadside litter you’re trying to clean up!” I said, pleased with myself for a clever analogy. Chris stared at me sharply for a moment, then retorted simply, “Did I do something to you?”

I retreated from the exchange by threatening that I would get the Town to move it if Chris wouldn’t, and I was able to make good on that promise. As a consequence, I thought that he and I would never speak again, but happily our paths have since crossed many times, and most recently, in a compelling way that to me revealed something about the future of upscale housing.

My second meeting with Chris, totally conciliatory, took place when he volunteered his expertise to our town to explore the restoration of an historic structure that I was proposing be converted to a visitors’ center, combined with  the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce. That hope was never realized, but it gave me the opportunity to witness an exceptional mind at work.

I’ve observed Chris resolving seemingly impossible issues in design and planning while navigating the red tape normally associated with town boards as well as planning, zoning and environmental departments. For instance, in the case of the controversial St. George Winery in the Old Stone Church in Mohegan Lake, widely reported in the press, the building required the addition of restrooms which the designer recommended be built as an addition beyond the footprint of the building.

Chris knew immediately that the plan would never fly with the town’s codes requiring buffer zones to wetlands. Quickly, he was able to suggest an alternative design that kept the facilities within the established footprint. At the same time, the project was converted from a contentious fight between property owner and the town to a more orderly process with Chris as the mediator.

His abilities have been evident in many other instances where he has been able to consider a project’s needs and to know almost instinctively how to best address them. It was amazing to me. How did he learn to do that?

“I’ve worked in construction since I was 13 years old and learned everything along the way,” Chris shared with me. “Before starting my own business in1985, I worked for some of the best contractors where I learned what to do -- and I worked for one of the worst, where I learned what not to do. I’m 46 now, and I just knew early on that I was able to see solutions to problems.”

While my original intention was to write a column about the qualities that make a good contractor, my focus changed when I visited Chris’ home for an interview.

Because Chris lives near the end of a dead end street, I had never seen it before. Of course he had built it himself, and I then learned that it was designed by noted architect Barry Goewy whose name appears on the plans of some of Westchester’s most beautiful homes. Goewy has a reputation for convincing clients to stick to the plans he presents, but encountering Chris must have given him pause. “It turned out to be a collaborative effort,” said Chris, adding, “I knew what I wanted.”

What Chris wanted in his own home may well be what designers and owners of upscale homes nationwide will want in response to our downsized economy.

It might be described as a Country Cape/Colonial style home which from the street appears to be quietly unassuming. It is a one and a half story structure with a steeped pitch roof. It features a half-circle, covered front porch that is just a small step above ground level, and there is a reason for that.

The home’s front elevation had to stay close to ground because it is built on a lot with a flat front yard, but one that drops off in the back. Normally this might be considered a negative for a building lot, but in the Sciarra home, the topography is a plus because the house transforms from an almost modest structure on the street, to maintain consistency with the smaller homes on his block, into an impressive three levels in back. And, from its rear windows, and its two-level deck, one can see the distant, purple-hued hills of Connecticut.

While the exterior of his home was designed as a rebuke to the recent trend in many of our communities of tearing down modest, older homes on small lots and replacing them with intimidating, if not bullying McMansions, Chris nonetheless wanted to live in a style that rewarded him and his family for all his hard work. But to Chris, living well does not mean living big.

This philosophy is immediately apparent upon entering his home. Rather than a large soaring, two-story entrance hall, the brief elevated section with balcony on top, converts in a few feet to a regular height ceiling and standard width hall. Two French doors on the left open to a great room that is a marriage of a family room and living room. “Who really needs two living spaces?” Chris asked. “And who needs to heat two stories of empty space in a big, sterile center hall?”

Behind the living room is an office where his business is coordinated by Paula, his wife and partner for 24 years. With more people working from home than ever before, this feature suggests that new homes will have specially designed offices, rather than converting a third bedroom into one haphazardly.

Interestingly the front hall leads directly to the dining room, which surprised me. The “new” dining room according to Chris, will be the family center of the future, next to, but not incorporated into the kitchen as a family room currently is.

“Why have two places near the kitchen for people to gather?” Chris asked. “And the distraction of noise from a kitchen/family room combination can be irritating to the occupants of both spaces.”  This is also the reason Chris has the living room enclosed by French doors, so that his young daughters, Courtney, 13, and Abigail, 11, can enjoy watching television without the noise floating throughout the house.

With no center hall, the stairs to the second floor are modified to a U staircase which requires less space. But in the upscale mode, the spindles are carved fancifully.  Throughout this home of 3100 sq. ft., it is evident that a smaller home will adopt top grade materials to denote luxury, such as inlaid floors, upscale fixtures and unique decorative elements, among them an elaborately carved fireplace mantel piece rescued from Stamford Wrecking.

Other modifications that Chris built into his home as a prototype, with annotations, include: smaller front porches (“What would you really do with all the space of wrap-arounds?”); smaller kitchens (“Who spends a lot of time in their kitchens today?”);  smaller bedrooms (“How much room do you need to sleep?”);  but, bigger closets (“Anywhere to get more storage in a smaller home”); more spa-like bathrooms (“The way we work or play today, we need a big hot tub for soaking our tired bodies”); and direct access to the kitchen through a mudroom with doors to both the outside and garage, which includes all practical features like storage, washer and dryer, work sink and closets (“This just makes sense with the way we live.”).

Further, in keeping with green living, Chris suggests a deeper garage that allows designated space for garbage cans and recycling bins. Also, while most town architectural boards, including the one on which I serve, prefer having garage doors on the side of the house so that, when the doors are open, an unattractive interior doesn’t blemish the look of the neighborhood, Chris placed his in front. “That paved space in front just makes better use of our outdoor living space,” he said, adding, “I just keep my garage doors closed when I’m not going in or out.”

Asked what his biggest challenge is in thinking big thoughts about smaller space, Chris said, “I must make sure that I have enough time to be ‘slow.’”  “Slow? What does that mean?” I asked.  This visionary thinker responded, “Being slow is what I do best. Anybody can build things, but when I’m slow, that’s when I can think, create plans, and talk with people about their needs and dreams.”

Chris Sciarra, visionary builder in front of the "upscale home of the future."

Bill Primavera is a licensed Realtor® (PrimaveraHomes.com), affiliated with Coldwell Banker, and a marketing practitioner (PrimaveraPR.com). He can be emailed at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or reached directly at 914-522-2076.

Follow him on Twitter for housing market updates at Twitter.com/HomeGuruNY.