Throughout my time on this earth, I’ve always had a soft spot for a center-hallway Colonial. Perhaps this is because I lived in one from July 1959 (birth of a seven-pound old house zealot) to April 1978 (zealot leaves to get married).
In 2007 when I got married again (and for the last time, I might add), I moved into another center-hallway Colonial, reminiscent of my childhood home. Not only did it remind me of the family home in Waterview (Portsmouth, VA), but it looked like a good place to drop both anchor and money.
Gordon Van Tine offered a Colonial, known as “Modern Home #601” and later named “The Shoreham.”
Even today, sitting in my perfect Mid-Century Modern brick ranch, I still swoon when I gaze upon the pictures of these early 20th Century Colonials. The copy writers for GVT were right: Its charm is perennial.
To read more about Gordon Van Tine, click here.
Interested in reading about the plan-book houses of Waterview? Click here.
Hey – are you familiar with Bluefield, WV? If so, I’m missing a couple houses there. Please leave a comment below if you know the area?
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GVT Home #601, as seen in the 1926 catalog.
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I know you're just here for the pictures, but take a moment and actually *read* this text. It's worth it. The Colonial has survived "The horrors of the Mansard era and the Victorian period..."
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In 1929, it became known as The Shoreham (as in, are you shore this is ham?). The dormers went bye-bye, too.
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Busy little floorplan. I love the coat closet's placement.
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My oh my, but there's a lot going on in the kitchen.
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GVT #601 (1926 catalog).
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My friend Ersela and I discovered this house in Bluefield, WV. It's a real dandy, isn't it?
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My childhood home at 515 Nansemond Street, as photographed by my father on moving day, April 1957.
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Our beautiful former home on Gosnold Avenue in Colonial Place. I had made a plan with my friend David Strickland to custom-build cut-out functional shutters for the home's front. I was going to paint them black, but life took a few turns and we ended up selling the home and moving to another part of Norfolk. I've always thought this house was one of the prettiest homes in Colonial Place (Norfolk).
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The GVT #601 (the Colonial shown at the top of the page) sat next door to a GVT #603 (this house). I'm sorry to say I don't know which street it was on, but I'd love to find out - and maybe even get a photo. These houses were close to the river (parallel to the river) and on a main drag. Do you know where they are? :/
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To read more about Gordon Van Tine, click here.
Interested in reading about the plan-book houses of Waterview? Click here.
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This is surely a gorgeous traditional Colonial home!
I for one love reading the details as well, but I don’t have all the catalogs to refer back to, and the few references I do have don’t show this.
They mention in the text with the house shipping two different paint color combinations for the kitchen and bath ~ Primrose for the bath, and Emerald for the kitchen.
If you have the page or pages that show these, can you add them?
I would love to see what the original colors of these two rooms were intended to be, and I bet some others who are doing restoration work on their homes might be interested as well.
If for no other reason than to get a historical perspective, rather than to duplicate them shade for shade. Thanks!