Lately, I've been obsessed with charming colonial architecture. One of the most popular being the home of George and Nina Banks in the movie Father of the Bride.
Here's a floor plan of the Bank's home, but in the movie it was reversed. The dining room was on the right, and the living room on the left.
The following description of Colonial architecture was published in 1928 by
in the Home Builders Catalog:
"The Colonial architecture is more closely associated with American
history and traditions than any other type of architecture. A brief review of
the famous dwellings to which Americans look with pride will show them to one
Colonial style or another. So closely has the Colonial home been interwoven with
American Life that it is only within recent years that a family of culture would
consider anything else. Nor must we think that all houses looked alike, for in
its wide and extensive use different kinds of Colonial houses developed.
Colonial houses flourished in New England, in New York, in Virginia and the
South and in the North under diverse climates and conditions. As necessity is
the mother of architecture, it was inevitable that Colonial architecture should
develop along various lines.
"Notwithstanding the close association of Colonial architecture with
American home life and the fact that it has taken on various forms, it has one
common and foreign source. The style was directly borrowed by the American
Colonists from Georgian England, whose architects in turn looked to Greek and
Roman models for their inspiration. Knowing this ancestry, it is not difficult
to understand the emphasis upon horizontal lines, the simple division of
interior space, the application of Classic orders, the comfortable impression of
compactness and the exceeding economy of the style. The use of flat pilasters
and columns which are part and parcel of the Southern Colonial style have also
obviously their Classic models. Nor was it a simple task to adapt the cold,
monumental architecture of the Greek and Roman public buildings to home use. We
have to thank the particular genius of Englishmen of the Georgian period for
making this style flexible and warm and at the same time retentive of all its
ancestry. One has only to look at the old Georgian houses to ascertain
this.
"While the American colonists copied the Georgian style in general, they
were not content to leave it untouched, and many of the delightful features of
Colonial architecture are their innovations. Such indispensable accessories as
brass knockers, cut glass door knobs and old gilt mirrors topped with their bold
eagles were the devices of our forefathers. The double twist in the newel post,
the dark mahogany hand rail and the frequent application of shutters are also
American in origin. A comparison of New England and Southern Colonial homes with
the pure Georgian houses will help to convey the extent which Americans have
altered, and in some ways refined upon their original English models. Excepting
the architectural principles themselves there is very little of the old English
houses in either New England or Southern Colonial homes.
"As has been pointed out, local conditions play a tremendously important
part in the shaping of an architectural style. Thus we see two different styles
of Colonial architecture in New England and in Virginia and the South which are
designated as New England Colonial and Southern Colonial. The difference in
climate shows it effect upon the height of ceilings, high ceilings being
required in the South because of the heat. The local supply of material accounts
for the fact that New England Colonial homes are almost invariably built of wood
siding, while the discovery of excellent beds of clay in Virginia caused brick
to become popular there.
"The Southern planter, being the wealthier man, indulged in the use of
Classic orders with greater profuseness, as is evidenced by the colonnade which
extended through two stories, an outstanding characteristic of the Southern
Colonial home. He was also able to place the kitchen and servants’ quarters in
adjoining structures, thus permitting retention of the fourfold division of
rooms on the first floor. The practical New Englander, on the other hand,
converted one entire side of the first floor into a large living room and had to
refrain from the privacy of outbuildings because of the much higher fuel
consumption. Other necessities caused other distinctions in style, so that we
have come to look upon the Southern Colonial and New England Colonial as two
different types of architecture altogether.
"In spite of these outward differences, the essence of classic
architecture is retained in both. The emphasis upon horizontal lines, the
economic use of space, there being no cozy corners or nooks, the simple dignity
withal are seen in both. Because of its simplicity and subsequent economy and
because it is a type of architecture proven by our countrymen, it deserves
serious consideration from the prospective home builder. He may be sure that he
will never tire of his Colonial home, that its charm will be lasting and that it
will mellow with age. And what a cultural environment it provides for the
raising of a family."
Published in 1928 By Home Builders Catalog Co., 1315-1321 Congress St.,
CHICAGO
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