CLASSICAL HOMES LLC

Classical Homes LLC is a Newton-area design-build partnership: architect Hossein Vahedi, AIA, and builder Joseph Zegarelli, running one outfit that does the drawings and the framing both. The company says it takes on custom homes, additions and renovations across towns west of Boston, including Newton, Wellesley, Brookline, Lincoln, Medfield and Wayland — the kind of work where an architect stays involved through the build rather than handing off blueprints and leaving. Everyone who left a written review liked what they got: four ratings across Angi and HomeAdvisor, every one five stars, describing an attentive architect who listened to what homeowners wanted and a builder who kept costs and subcontractors in line. In a 2022 review, one owner credited Hossein Vahedi with translating a rough idea into a buildable design at a reasonable price; another, writing the same year, called out Joe Zegarelli directly for reliable cost estimates and prompt callbacks. That's a thin sample — four reviews, all from 2022, plus a single five-star Google rating — but nothing in it is lukewarm. BuildZoom, which tracks Massachusetts building permits rather than customer reviews, puts the firm's activity at 35 permitted projects and ranks its score in the top 1% of the state's licensed contractors. BuildZoom lists an active Massachusetts Home Improvement Contractor registration for the company (#177253, issued in late 2025) under owner Joseph Zegarelli — a directory record rather than one verified here against the state board directly, so it's worth confirming yourself. The same BuildZoom page shows several earlier registration numbers, including an old City of Newton contractor license, listed as inactive; that reads more like a firm that has re-registered over the years than a lapse in current coverage, but it's a fair thing to ask about. This looks like the right call for someone planning a substantial addition or a from-scratch custom build who wants one team handling design and construction, rather than a quick repair or a single-room refresh — ask for recent, dated references given how old the written reviews are.