Meet Tom Barry, co-developer of Sorrento with Robert Fischer.
He shares his vision for the style and the buyer of Sorrento homes.

What was your vision for the Sorrento development style?

Staying authentic to a style in a development is very important. Many developers mix architectural details and loose the integrity of the style. Developers put a dormer on a Spanish roof or extend roof eves on Cape Cod styles. You look at it and it never looks quite right. Sometimes you know why and sometimes you don't. When it is done right it gives you this "wow" look.... this is the way it was meant to be. We carried the requirement for authenticity all the way through to not only installing tiles roofs but we continually searched to find the most authentic tiles which are the burnt, kiln fired coloration that fit a Tuscan theme. This is in contrast to a plain tile roof, which would be tile, but your eye would tell you there is something off about it. Some of the roofs have these wood rooster tale details under the eves that you might not consciously notice but it gives that look of deep quality.

We wanted an interesting roofline for the development that wasn't a cookie cutter look. In the beginning we had 3 different architects design 4 different facades each. This gave us a serious pallet to work from. The exterior design had to be matched to the floor plan of different style units but when it was built we had a very interesting roofline and street-side architecture.

The windows have a recess in the wall that is only achieved by building a wall of double thickness. You get a Mediterranean-style building but to do it you have to build two stud walls and do all the carpentry and the stucco to make it finished. This means more materials, labor but its how you get the look. It also gives you a great space for a lot of insulation.
		The Tuscan style allowed using different natural materials on the exterior. The most noticeable is the stone. It has the rough unpolished natural look that will be timeless. We realized that just choosing stone wasn't enough. It was the craftsman application to get the right look. We had them install the stone and go back and do a wash with mortar and water that gave it an aged look. We took a long time to get the mortar color just right. You don't want a building of all stone or all stucco so we paid attention to the right mix.

The garage doors are the final element in our natural materials for the exterior. We spent a long time to find garage doors that would be carriage house doors to fit the architecture with the convenience of sectional rollup doors. These doors are a big design decision because of the high cost of these types of doors. We wanted to extend the quality look to the large expanse that the doors take up and we were willing to pay for them. You can go to most developments and they have just plain old aluminum doors which are 1/3 of the price of Sorrento's and that's what you see when you drive in. At Sorrento the garage is the exterior link of all the natural materials: stone, stucco, wood, and tile.

One of the ideas we wanted to implement was to achieve a feeling of warmth and community. You achieve that in a development by insuring that people had both private space and communal space. We wanted people to have a home that they are proud to have their friends to and entertain them in style and comfort. Some people work out of their homes and spend an extraordinary amount of time in it so it has to be functional and comfortable. Many people travel and want to be able to close up the home quickly and walk away and not worry about maintenance. People want to be connected with the immediate community and the greater community. For the immediate community we put in the courtyard and gazebo as a place for neighbors to gather and visit. It's large enough to put some table and chairs and have a small function on some summer night. The greater community is accessible because of the location of Sorrento. We are close to downtown Chico, close to Bidwell Park, close to some churches, close to a health club, close to bike paths and on the bus line.

Who did you imagine buying Sorrento homes?

The development was targeted at young professionals and empty nesters. These are people with an active social life and entertain and may have a guest stay over. The people like to enjoy their home and not be burdened with excessive maintenance. Many people today work at home and want a space for a home office. We imagined that travelers would like Sorrento because it's easy to close up and leave whether it is for business or pleasure travel. We made it so the front yard maintenance is taken care of by the homeowners association. The back patios allow for a barbeque or container gardening or a small water feature or a good reading chair. We imagined that the people who enjoy a true outdoor living space would buy homes with the courtyards that meet that need but are private and provide a superb light well into the house. We wanted the buyers to say that buying a home in Sorrento was the best financial and personal decision that they had ever made. And to say that 10 and 20 years from now.