About Pantuso Architecture
Pantuso Architecture: Bringing charm and elegance to homes throughout Ohio's Western Reserve. Pantuso Architecture is a renowned architectural firm that specializes in creating beautiful and functional residential designs. With a focus on collaborative and controlled processes, the team at Pantuso Architecture strives to deliver timeless architectural solutions that provide memorable, beautiful, functional, inspiring, and connected spaces. Their expertise spans across various areas, including architecture, residential design, home design, and more. Clients praise the exceptional quality of Pantuso Architecture's work and their exceptional customer service. Whether you're looking to build a custom home or renovate an existing one, the team at Pantuso Architecture is dedicated to bringing your vision to life. They have a proven track record of designing stunning Greek Revival houses, seamlessly blending new additions with existing structures, and creating master suites and artist studios that exceed their clients' expectations. If you're in the Chagrin Falls, OH area and in need of an architect, Pantuso Architecture is the perfect choice to bring charm and elegance to your home.
We are working with Becky Pantuso and her team to renovate and add space to the iconic 1873 Italianate house at 65 West Washington Street. Core design work was completed in the Fall 2022. Our contractor, Dan Zgela, was selected because of his experience with these types of projects, and he has been on point for development since mid-2022. Remediation of the stone basement walls was completed in January this year. Careful dismantling of the interior has begun. Before getting underway the project required a thoughtful 18-month review by the ARB, and it will take about 12 months to complete. A project like ours presents interesting challenges related to the existing structure - quirkiness of room shapes and sizes, layers of flooring, inappropriate doors and moldings, outdated plumbing fixtures, scabbed on facades, poorly done previous add-ons, and the like. It also presents a unique design challenge - blending history with new mass in a way that honors the old while distinguishing the new in an esthetically connected, visually pleasing composition. Pantuso Architecture has done extraordinary work dealing with these challenges. When done, people walking through our front door will see history reborn. Progressing to the rear, they will see a thoroughly modern kitchen and gathering room. Wandering to the second floor, they will find living spaces with historical presence and contemporary scale. We will restore the lowered first floor ceiling back to its original height. Where possible we will save and restore windows, doors, moldings; and all new work will be clearly an extension of the old restoration. Approaching the house, visitors will see a Century Home remade for modern living. Becky and her team developed and drew every aspect of the new interior and exterior designs, iterating over and over until Becky, herself, was satisfied the finished work will contribute prominently to the character of our village for the next 100 years. During the design phase of our project, we have found every member of the Pantuso team to be interested in and responsive to our ideas, attentive to our concerns, and constructive in critique. We have learned Becky is well attuned to planning, budgeting and cost management, frequently suggesting more sensible approaches than we would have found ourselves to achieve our ideas. We have also learned Becky knows the builder/contractor community well and is very comfortable in her leadership role in project management.
Rebecca Pantuso and Andrew Reynolds helped us design our new detached garage. It’s been a fantastic experience, and I recommend them without hesitation. This was my husband’s and my first time working with an architect. We wanted someone who would help us design with functionality, aesthetics, sustainability, and budget in mind. We found Rebecca Pantuso through the U.S. Green Building Council directory. Then we discovered our neighbor had worked with Becky on her renovation and had a very positive recommendation. We met with Becky and Andrew many times in-person and through Zoom to discuss our ideas, questions, and give feedback on iterations of the architectural plans. They referred us to a surveyor to confirm the property boundaries. They submitted plans to our local Architectural Review Board for approval, and Becky attended the ARB meetings to answer questions of the review board. They also solicited quotes from three contractors. Becky and Andrew facilitated several meetings with the contractor and us. We found it invaluable to have all these different perspectives coming together to discuss the pros and cons of different building decisions or cost and availability issues such as whether to use roof trusses or frame the roof on-site. These conversations were all the more important because it was difficult to get certain materials due to shortages during the pandemic. Throughout the building process, Becky and Andrew were still involved as questions arose. Plus they’d stop by regularly to confirm everything was as expected. Overall, our experience with Becky and Andrew has been fantastic. They are professional and respectful. They’ve been mindful of balancing our needs and wants, while keeping the budget in mind. They’ve gracefully answered all our questions, kindly made adjustments when we changed our mind on something, and thoroughly explained the pros and cons of different decisions. We think the garage turned out beautifully. We love the door full of windows, the fiberboard siding, and the two back windows giving a view of the wooded backyard. We have plenty of wall and ceiling storage. Plus the garage’s juxtaposition with our house and the neighbor’s house is perfect.