Jamestown Harbor

Jamestown Harbor was designed by Lee Rumora, AIA, of Rumora Associates Architects. It is a two-story colonial revival house boasting a side-to-side straight gable roof with single-story wings built to look as though they were additions to the home. 

The foyer introduces guests to a 2,047 sq. ft. first floor with 10’ ceilings. The view from the foyer carries straight through the back of the home, achieving a popular sight line design element for a first impression. To the right, a formal dining room doubles as a formal music room. To the left  is a study with black walnut library paneling and a built-in computer center. Stepping toward the center of the home, one’s eye is carried to the kitchen and casual dining room on the right, complete with Amish cabinets that feature egg and dart molding. Across from the kitchen lies a great room with hand-hewn ceiling beams and a see-through fireplace. Accessible past either side of the fireplace, a pub room completes the area.

American black walnut hardwood floors run in a repeated 2”, 3”, 4”, and 5” pattern throughout the gorgeous, colonial revival interior. This single type of flooring helps with the aesthetic transition from room to room, as a change in flooring tends to define the boundaries of a particular space. We used black walnut to match the stair treads, beside which newel posts and a handrail with wrought iron balusters leads up to the 2nd floor. 

The 1,605 sq. ft. second floor boasts a stunning master suite and three additional bedrooms. Each of the extra bedrooms has bathroom access, with one including its own private bathroom and the other two sharing a Jack and Jill bath. Crucially, the Jack and Jill bath only shares a shower, as each of these bedrooms already has its own vanity and water closet.  

Outside, a breezeway connects the back of the home to a three-car garage. A side porch and mudroom area (complete with lockers, a pantry, a coat closet and a laundry room) finish off this section with a dual touch of utility and style. 

The roof boasts fascia board, frieze board, soffit, corner board, shake shingles, and shutters with shutter dogs. A front porch roof, side porch columns, hand railing, and carriage house garage doors work together to boost the appeal of an already charming exterior. 

Large corbels support either side of the front porch and soffit area where the home’s second floor cantilevers over the first. They combine with small soffit in the gable ends as well to help break up all the shake shingle siding. 

Amazingly enough, out of all the trim materials mentioned, only the corbels are made of actual wood! This means that the home requires very minimal exterior maintenance besides the occasional extra coat of paint.  

Made with hem-fir from western hemlocks, the corbels were planed and glued together before being cut to match the architect’s template. All corbels and shake shingles were primed and finished with two coats of paint on every side prior to installation. 

The fascia board, frieze board, shutters, and columns each use a composite called Miratec made by Jeld-Wen. James Hardie is responsible for crafting the soffit material. The corner board and front porch roof and hand railings came from the building parts manufacturer AZEK, whereas the shake shingle is a fiber cement product made by Nichiha. Finally, the home’s carriage style garage doors are insulated steel with fiberglass trim applied and constructed by Clopay. 

The architects accepted a challenge on this colonial revival house plan — the challenge of designing a home for a corner lot that would offer backyard privacy. In fact, it was the colonial revival style of architecture that helped accomplish this with its three-car side load garage located behind the home and connected to it by a breezeway. This effectively screens the view of the back yard, giving this lovely house the final touch of practical excellence it needed to be the standout build it is.