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Colonial Williamsburg rebuilt the tavern-turned-home where Bill Barker lives to its exact 18th-century details and proportions on its original foundation, which dates to the early 1700s. |
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Barker's antiques—like this family dining room set—are well-suited to the building's Colonial-era formality. "I happen to enjoy Jeffersonian taste in furniture," he says. |
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The front porch chamber, or vestibule, visible behind Barker is an unusual architectural detail documented in paperwork dating to a 1740s property line dispute. |
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The home's center hall enables a nice breeze to flow downstairs when the front and back doors of the house are opened. |
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Barker's antique Recaimer settee sits beneath a copy of the Mitchell Map, first published in 1755, and used to help set the boundaries of the United States at the Treaty of Paris in 1783. |
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A reproduction of Houdin's bust of Benjamin Franklin presides over the reading nook. |
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Draperies following Jefferson's own design warm the parlor. The fireplace's modest moldings and capped dentillations are typical of the period. |
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Floor-to-ceiling storage pantries demonstrate the efficient use of space in Colonial architecture. |
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A fireplace warms every room, even upstairs. |
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