Welcome to the Bouman's parlor.  The room's prominent feature is the magnificent walk-in fireplace.  The beautiful blue paneling on the fireplace wall was added during the house's restoration to replicate the interior finish of the house of a prosperous eighteenth century rural farmer.  The color was chosen after careful research of paint colors found on a piece of original chair rail molding.  The table is set for tea. Though not the Bouman's "grate Duch Bible", our bible belonged to another early Readington Dutch family, the Eick family.  The bible was an important part of eighteenth century life.  It provided reading material for the family, moral and religious teaching, and a method for recording important family events such as births, deaths and marriages.

The bedchamber is next to the parlor.  Our chamber is fitted with a bedstead, a tick (mattress) on the floor, and a cradle.  It's possible that the entire family, from adult to the smallest child, used this chamber.  Privacy was obviously not an issue! The bedstead is a rope bed.  The ropes formed the foundation of the bed.  To keep the bed from sagging, the rope had to be tightened periodically using an instrument called a "bed key".  Hence the phrase, "sleep tight". 

The kitchen is the heart of the house.  The "blue dresser" or hutch was mentioned in Cornelius Bouman's inventory.  Wills and inventories of former inhabitants give us clues to the life and times of Readington's earliest farming families.  We use these documents to furnish the house in the most authentic manner as possible.  In addition to the blue dresser, inventories have listed windsor chairs and delft plates as part of the house's furnishings and accessories. The massive fireplace provided heat, cooking facilities and light to the family.