Talk Shop: Gil Schafer // G. P. Schafer Architect
Photo by Eric Piasecki
ABOUT GIL
Gil Schafer, founder of his eponymous firm, G. P. Schafer Architect, is an award-winning leader in the field, consistently recognized as a leading practitioner of contemporary classical architecture. A member of Architectural Digest’s AD 100 and a winner of Veranda’s “Art of Design Award” and the 2019 Arthur Ross Award in Architecture, Gil holds a Masters Degree from the Yale School of Architecture and is the author of the bestselling books (and two of our personal all-time favorites) The Great American House and A Place to Call Home.
Gil’s work has been featured in numerous publications, including Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Veranda, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, Gil serves on several nonprofit advisory and trustee boards, including the Yale School of Architecture Dean’s Council and the board of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. He also served as president and then chairman of The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, the nation’s leading resource for the classical tradition in architecture and the allied arts, for over a decade. Gil regularly lectures around the country on the continued relevance of classical residential design, and when he’s not traveling for work, he divides his time with his family between New York City, the Hudson Valley, and Maine.
We are consistently inspired by Gil’s work for the way it weaves the beauty of classical designs of the past into spaces that feel utterly in the present, yet completely timeless. Needless to say we are huge fans, and we were so honored to sit down with Gil and chat about his background and work! Check it out below.
Describe your style in three words or less:
Comfortable, Gracious, Timeless
What have been the three biggest influences on your aesthetic in your life:
Family, history, and place. As the grandson and great, great grandson of architects, I grew up with a strong sense of what architecture is and how a well-built, thoughtfully designed home can bring pleasure to your daily life. I also had parents (including a stepmother who was a decorator) who cared a lot about decoration and landscape—as well as architecture—so, without even realizing it, I was getting a daily schooling in design. Growing up in that way, I also gained an appreciation for tradition—and traditions—and how they influence design. It gave me a love of history, which I then studied in college and which underpins everything we do at my firm now. And lastly, growing up with peripatetic parents, we were always traveling and living in different places, and that reality gave me a particular sense of the uniqueness of each place that we visited or lived. I gained early on a vivid appreciation of the power of place.
Do you have a mentor in your career, and if so, how have they helped to shape your trajectory:
I guess I have had many, but three that stand out are my former boss for nearly a decade in my formative professional years, Mark Ferguson of Ferguson & Shamamian Architects who taught me the importance of professionalism, being organized in your thinking, flexible in your solutions, and to nurture talent; the landscape designer Deborah Nevins who constantly provided encouragement, taught me about plants, and introduced me to some wonderful clients; and the interior decorator Bunny Williams who, with her husband John Rosselli, has been a longtime friend, teacher, and travel companion.
How did you start your company:
On the strength of two projects: First, the commission to design a potting shed for a new potager garden designed by Debby Nevins in the Connecticut countryside, beautifully sited (thanks to her), and built of antique timbers and salvaged barn siding; and, second, a house I had designed for myself in the Hudson Valley that harked back to houses of a different time, but has lived comfortably and in a more relaxed and contemporary way than its historic “bones” might initially suggest.
What does your home say about you:
I have been so fortunate to have had the opportunity to build several different places to live thus far in my life, including renovating a townhouse flat in Greenwich Village in New York City, building that Greek Revival-inspired country house in the Hudson Valley, and, most recently, renovating a funky A-frame-like house on the coast of Maine. Each has allowed me to experiment, learn, and grow as a designer, and each knit together my love of architecture, decoration, and landscape. I think what each of those places has said about me—over the years—is that comfort is one of a house’s most important ingredients, being rigorously consistent about your aesthetic intentions is essential to creating good design, and that a house infused with memory can make it connect to its occupants in surprising and powerful ways.
Where do you find inspiration:
In so many places: history, travel, movies, magazines (both new and old) and books, friends, and family, including my brilliant wife who is herself a designer.
Who are your style icons:
Living: Lauren Santo Domingo—she has an amazing sense of style in both her houses and the way she dresses.
Dead: two Davids—Adler and Hicks, for all the obvious reasons.
What are your key ingredients for entertaining:
My wife is clearly the better of the two of us on the entertaining front, but together I think we would say: set a beautiful table, fit out an inviting guest room, always have pretty flowers, make something delicious, and, most importantly, make your guests comfortable. When people are comfortable, they enjoy themselves the most.
Do you collect anything:
My wife and I are hopeless collectors, most egregiously of china and glass, nothing we need more of!
Favorite Instagram accounts to follow for inspiration:
@thelsd; @keithyorkcity; @benpentreathstudio; @davidnettosays; @tricialaddphoto; @danieljkiser; @lucianogiubbileigardens; @wgrnstn; @colinking; @nickbondarev; @remy_renzullo; @amyastley; @galerie_half; @studiomellone; @theralphharvard; @miranda.brooks.gardens; @deborah_nevins; @mrmitchowens; @tomkligerman; @nmeyers; @markdsikes
What design “rule” do you always follow, and which is made to be broken:
I suppose what I would more likely say is that I try to follow certain principals: being rigorous and consistent with a design idea; filling a house with natural light; always insuring that there is good flow from room to room and one end of a house to another; having a hierarchy of detail in the architecture so that the more low-key spaces don’t get the same high-key treatment that the big important rooms do; and always making sure that a house functions well and is comfortable. Where “rules” can be broken is in how you introduce the quirky into a design—the element or elements that are slightly imperfect and “off.” It is those things—if handled deftly—that can give a house an indelible charm.
What are you working on right now:
We are working on some wonderful projects right now including a new shingle style cottage on the coast of Maine with Tom Scheerer; new family compounds in Charlotte, Vermont, and Block Island, both in collaboration with Miles Redd; the restoration of a landmarked Maurice Fatio-designed house from the 1930’s in Palm Beach; and a new house and outbuildings near Nashville with Rita Konig.
Wardrobe staples:
Well Covid has certainly upended everything we thought we valued in our wardrobes, but I would have to say, for me, a beautifully-made pair of Bontoni shoes is essential almost every day.
Favorite fabric/wallpaper:
There is an endless array of extraordinary and inspiring fabrics and wallpapers to choose from these days, so it’s next to impossible to pick a favorite. But as a start, for fabrics: anything from Claremont, Rose Tarlow or Robert Kime; for wallpapers, George Spencer, Robert Kime, or Marthe Armitage are always go-to sources.
Best interior advice you ever received:
I’m going to pass along the advice of a great friend and inspiration, the designer Suzanne Rheinstein, who memorably once said, “Go Rolex or go Timex; it’s the middle of the road that will kill you.”
Best career advice you ever received:
Get paid on time.
Types of home purchases you invest in, and save on:
I always believe in investing in good architecture (obviously!) so that the bones of a house are of enduring quality. That is what will make your house truly timeless. When it comes to the saving side of the equation, I will often go with a simple jute rug because it make a perfectly chic, neutral backdrop for just about any fabric scheme and can serve as the background for a smaller, more precious, antique carpet laid on top.
Your greatest extravagance:
My garden in the Hudson Valley.
Favorite places to shop for home:
There are so many to name but a few favorites include: Privet House and Plain Goods, both in New Preston, CT, and March in San Francisco.
Most prized possession and why:
Old photos. Memory shapes who we are and how we want to live.
Your interiors motto:
Don’t focus on trends or the next big thing. Instead look for inspiration that is timeless and always with comfort in mind.
Your life motto:
Never expect more than what you yourself are willing to give.
Advice for someone looking to define their own interior style:
Study the greats and always stay true to who you are.
Take Ten: My Favorite…
Food: I’m not much of a foodie, but if you’re looking for an outstanding Thai restaurant, make the journey to Long Grain in Camden, Maine.
Drink: Always Diet Coke
Film: Anything classic, from Holiday with Hepburn (Katharine) and Grant to Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Hepburn (Audrey) and Peppard, to name just two.
Hotel: La Mirande in Avignon, France; Ballyfin in Ireland; The Beaumont in London
City: London
Bedding: Cotton or linen—anything with an artful hemstitch
Tea or Coffee (and how do you take it): Green Tea or Diet Coke
Playlist: Classic Jazz
Weekend Activity: Time with my family; antiquing; a nap on the porch
Design Book: Again, Adler or Hicks
