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Before the completion of the large dining room, the west parlor, was considered by George Washington to be "the best place in my House." The elegant room was a public space, where guests to the home enjoyed the company of the Washington family. As the principal parlor, this room received much use. It was here that tea and coffee were customarily served during the winter months and on rainy days, and where the family gathered in the evenings to read and discuss the latest political news.
The architectural elements of this room make it one of the most interesting and finest surviving examples of colonial Virginia architecture. The design of the mantel was adapted from a popular 18th-century book, The British Architect, by Abraham Swan. The mantel combined with the two Palladian door frames and fully paneled walls, make the Front Parlor one of the most architecturally significant rooms in the home. In 1787 changes were made to update the room and the very fashionable and expensive Prussian blue paint was used. The ceiling was also replaced and decorated in the neo-classical style. Throughout the room, one can find evidence of the Washington family, from the family portraits that adorn the walls to the Washington family coat - of - arms in the carved mantel and the family crest on the decorative fireback.
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