Stately and large as the early two-story conials were, they shared the same characteristics as capes with a central chimey which dictated the floor plan, the gabled roof, and the window placement on the first floor. Windows were, of course, added to the second floor.

Colonials in some areas had a tendency to look alike. It was common to have the same architect build homes for families and thier relatives who moved to an area at the same time.

As time passed, two story houses underwent a fundamental change. The central chimney disappeared in favor of two or more chimneys either at the gabel ends or centered between the front and back rooms, on either side of a spacious center hall. At the same time the pitched roof was replaced by the hip roof.