TOM FELTON

Black and white headshot of smiling man in dress shirt, tie, and zip-up sweater against plain background.

Let's create something beautiful together!

Gorgeous architecture touches emotions and lingers in your mind. That is the goal of architect Tom Felton, and it is the motto that drives the work of the firm. Everything produced must be lovely and alluring. Advocating the continuing evolution of architecture, the firm is committed to designing buildings, homes, furniture, and decorative pieces that reference the past quite literally while pushing the craft forward. The firm believes in the mixture of new technology, traditional technique, and works in a wide range of styles, always mindful of appropriateness and context.

A photo of an architectural building with a red roof, columns, and arches, alongside a red brick wall with engraved text. The text on the wall reads "OF ART ARCHITECTURE PHILADELPHIA PENNSYLVANIA MCMXCI."
Collage of black and white photographs of historic interiors, including a hallway, living room, and furniture with decorative displays.
Architectural plans and drawings of a new library building, including ground floor plan and building elevation, with a rolled-up sheet on the top right corner.
A landscape painting of a river surrounded by trees. The water is calm with some ripples, and the sky is cloudy with a hint of blue.

The prize offered a stipend for travel and study in England. Tom chose to spend a few months in Bath, England studying the Georgian city and sitting for plein-air oil paintings of the city and the surrounding landscape.

Tom followed this time in academia with his last mentorship in the office of Peter Marino. A wonderful place to learn design at the highest level. Tom was the lead architect on the renovation and additions to the Hicks-Crespi estate in Dallas. The house was designed in the 1940s by Maurice Fatio in an 18th Century French Renaissance Style. Tom's work at PMA made plans that tripled the size of the main house and designed a new guest house, pool house, and conservatory to seamlessly match the original design.

Front view of an elegant, historic mansion with a steep roof, dormer windows, ornate architectural details, and a well-maintained front garden with a water feature.

The idea of practicing architecture did not fall upon Tom until college. He was enrolled in the Pre-Med program at the University of Notre Dame and felt he needed a change. Serendipitously, his dorm was adjacent to the architecture building and there were students drawing, listening to music, and carousing late into the night. Curious, he stopped inside to understand the ruckus and this changed his trajectory. Immediately he changed his curriculum to drawing and Art History. The third year of architecture was abroad in Rome. While in Italy he developed a respect and deep love of Classical Architecture under the teaching of the new dean, Thomas Gordon Smith, and professor Thomas Norman Rajkavik. He graduated with a degree in architecture and a structural engineering concentration. Tom won the thesis prize for his Academy of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia.

Illustration of an architectural building with columns and a red-tiled roof, titled "of art architecture" and labeled as a piece from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Roman numeral MCMXCI (1991).

Tom's career began in the Philadelphia office of the renowned Classical architect, John Blatteau; well known for his work in Washington DC with Riggs Bank and the Benjamin Franklin Dining Room at the State Department. John's mentorship was invaluable and his extensive library instilled a deep love of historic monographs, etchings, and books of traditional details. After a few years in Philadelphia, Tom moved to New York City to experience the practice of architecture in several of America's Premier Classical Firms. First in Peter Pennoyer's office, next in the office of Ferguson & Shamaian, and finally experiencing the splendor of interiors at the design house of Mark Hampton. At Mark's office, Tom was the lead architect on the renovation of the penthouse triplex apartment 625 Park Avenue for Henry Kravis, originally the NYC home of Helena Rubinstein.

  • A woman in a long dark dress standing beside a pedestal with a bust sculpture, in an ornate room with paintings and antique furniture.

    Ms. Helena Rubinstein

  • A grand, elegant interior room with checkered black and white floor, ornate ceiling, large windows with drapes, and classical sculptures and plants, viewed through an archway.

  • A black-and-white photo of an art-filled living room with ornate furniture, a chandelier, and large paintings on the walls.

Tom left New York to earn a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania. During this time he won prestigious annual architecture competitions held by the Royal Oak Foundation for their Traveling Fellowship Prize.

Architectural drawing of a historic new library building with an inscription above reading 'TEACH OUR CHILDREN' and below 'NEW LIBRARY MCMXCIII'. The drawing features detailed elevations and a rolled-out blueprint of the library.
Architectural drawing of a new library building, showing exterior views, floor plans, and interior courtyards, with inscriptions 'And Build Our Future,' 'Knowledge,' and 'New Library MCMXII'.

The prize offered a stipend for travel and study in England. Tom chose to spend a few months in Bath, England studying the Georgian city and sitting for plein-air oil paintings of the city and the surrounding landscape.

A landscape painting of a river flowing through a forest with dense trees on either side. The sky is clear and the scene depicts a calm and serene environment. The painting is signed with the name 'Felton 1999' in the bottom right corner.

Tom followed this time in academia with his last mentorship in the office of Peter Marino. A wonderful place to learn design at the highest level. Tom was the lead architect on the renovation and additions to the Hicks-Crespi estate in Dallas. The house was designed in the 1940s by Maurice Fatio in an 18th Century French Renaissance Style. Tom's work at PMA made plans that tripled the size of the main house and designed a new guest house, pool house, and conservatory to seamlessly match the original design.

Elegant house entryway with checkered black and white marble floor, staircase with black railing, arched ceiling, and hanging light fixtures.
Black and white photo of a large, historic mansion under construction, surrounded by scaffolding, with a vintage car parked nearby.
A large mansion surrounded by trees, with a swimming pool, a garden, and a driveway in a lush green landscape.
Large historic mansion with gray stone exterior, surrounded by manicured garden and trees, with a pond in the foreground.
Large mansion with multiple chimneys and arched windows, surrounded by manicured lawns, trees, and sculptures, with a body of water in the foreground.

Today

Spacious living room with striped sofas and armchairs, large windows, a staircase with wooden steps and black railing, and a glass-paneled upper-level area with black framing.

Tom's first office opened in Philadelphia in 1999. Rather than focusing on architecture as an independent discipline, the firm thinks collaboratively. The design team includes an interior designer, landscape designer, and multiple vendors and consultants. Together, this core group conceives of everything from structure to shrubbery, fabrics to finishes, resulting in an overall cohesive design. Tom refers to this collaborative process as an “effort for the whole” and believes it adds a richness to the work.

Elegant aesthetics are always the mainstay. Satisfying the clients’ budgets and desires is just as important and plans must be functional, efficient, and constructed using building materials that are natural and durable. Emphasis is placed on careful building methods with an attention to detail so that each project has a beauty that is apparent when it is first completed and only becomes more beautiful as it is aged through time.

Tom moved the office to the Carolinas in 2014 and the main office is now located in Asheville, NC with an offshoot in Summerville, SC just outside of Charleston. The firm has completed projects in multiple locations along the East Coast from Martha's Vineyard to Manhattan to Florida and as far West as Idaho. The work has been featured in multiple publications including Architecture Digest, House Beautiful, Veranda, as well as many local publications. Tom's work is also heavily featured in the Interior Design Monograph of Markham Robets, "Decorating the Way I See It", published in 2014 by Vendome Press.

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