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This Cape Cod home seems very traditional—no dormers, a center chimney, and not even any window shutters. Upon a closer look, in addition to a shed-like front door shelter, rain and snow can be redirected away from the house by gutters and downspouts and window lintels. For the practical New Englander, architectural detail is often for very practical reasons. Remembering that the original colonists of the New World took the journey because of freedom of religion, we should not be surprised at the Puritan-stark nature of America's first homes.
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Adding nooks and cranny for storage purposes can really add a serious charm to the house. On a Cape Cod house with side gables, the metal border on the roof looks anything but "colonial." A temple-like portico (porch) with a steep pediment gives this Cape Cod-style house the appearance of a Tudor Cottage. If you fancy a walk down memory lane, consider pieces and elements that harken back to colonial America.
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The home had to function in the heat of summer and bone-chilling New England winters. Unlike Victorian homes popular in the early 20th century, Cape Cod homes are distinguished by their simple architectural designs. Because of their modest geometric forms, Cape Cod houses are particularly well-suited for additions.
Defining characteristics of the Cape Cod house
This old home in Chatham on Cape Cod must have had its share of roof drips over the front door. More formal homeowners may take a Classical approach and install a pediment over the front door—and maybe some pilasters — not this New Englander. Pilasters, sidelights, fanlights and other Georgian and Federal or Adam style refinements decorate this historic Cape Cod home in Sandwich, New Hampshire. The American Cape Cod house style is often considered the first American independent style. Most Cape Cod exteriors have a similar look and feel, making them easy to spot in your neighborhood.
Traditional Cape Cod homes may also have outdated kitchens, uneven floors, unfinished basements, or attics not suitable for living space. While the traditional layout had rooms separated by walls and doorways to create a closed floor plan, the flow in a modern Cape can be similar to the traditional layout, where all rooms flow toward the kitchen. As Americans migrated from east to west, the Cape Cod design and construction moved with them. This is why Cape Cod houses are more often found in colder, snowier climates throughout New England in cities like Manchester, NH, Boston, MA, Cranston, RI, and Stamford, CT. In other areas of the United States, the Cape Cod-style is often mixed with craftsman elements, ranch, or Tudor design. For a Cape Cod style home, feeling cozy is key — and when it comes to feeling comfortable in a home, one of the best places to start is the lighting.
Or maybe you’re considering building elsewhere but crave quintessential New England charm? The typical Cape Cod house plan is modest in size, rectangular, symmetrical and accommodating to a variety of interior layouts. If you’re going to build a home you plan to stay in for the rest of your life, consider selecting a Cape Cod house plan that features the master suite on the main level, as this will make aging in place far easier. Windows play a big factor in creating the charm and efficiency of Cape Cod house plans. The rest of a Cape Cod style house’s exterior is pretty minimal in terms of ornamentation and usually boasts clapboard siding or wood shingles.
Highly identical to the American Vision of a home, these houses master efficiency and aesthetics. This style of home has continuously succeeded in charming us with its frivolous elements and an old-movie look. Meanwhile, its rich history enriches the design of this style and commemorates its century-long existence. But these houses built by the early American settlers were not named after their locale, at least not initially. Homenish broke down the downsides of owning a Cape house, and they're as minimal as the decor you'd find in one.
According to Barry Goralnick, a New York-based designer who grew up surrounded by Cape Cod houses in Massachusetts, these smaller iterations have their perks. When it comes to architecture, Cape Cod house style is as all-American as a fresh slice of apple pie. Originating in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the 17th CE, these houses are a stereotype for the perfect American Cottage that you have envisioned. Despite having a timeless style, Capes have evolved over the years to a few different subcategories, says My Move. Many real estate associations and the Real Estate Standards Organization have classified the term "Master Bedroom" as potentially discriminatory.
The full Cape is the most accurate representation of the original architecture. The home is symmetrical, with a centered door, windows on each side, and a large central chimney. The interior of traditional Cape Cod houses are constructed from durable materials like cedar, oak, and pine. Original Cape Cod homes also had hardwood floors, which remain popular today.
Property of week: Cape Cod in historic section of CT town - Hartford Courant
Property of week: Cape Cod in historic section of CT town.
Posted: Sun, 17 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
But, when you mix it with another architecture style, you can create a home that feels authentic to your neck of the woods. Generally, Cape Cod homes have a steep roof, shingled exterior, symmetrical façade, and large chimney in the middle. While Cape Cod houses can have multiple floors, most residences are single-storied.
The first houses in the New World, like in the settlement at Plimoth, were simple post-and-beam shelters with one opening—a door. Settlers used the materials at hand, which meant one-story houses of white pine and dirt floors. They quickly realized that their own ideal of the English cottage would have to be adapted to the extremes of the New England climate. Colonials are known for their distinct room divisions and center-hall stairways. Traditionally, the space under the roof of a Cape Cod house wasn't used as a livable second story. Later, dormers became a useful solution for many Cape Cod homeowners to expand their living space.
"Primary Bedroom" is now widely used among the real estate community and better reflects the room's purpose.Read more about our Diversity and Inclusion Pledge to make The Spruce a site where all feel welcome. Original Cape Cod houses were small utilitarian structures like the one seen above. From matching Adirondack chair to a pristine picket fence, you can easily bring that Cape Cod charm to your backyard.
This wall paneling adds rustic warmth, giving any room a cottage-like feel. The most obvious difference between today's Cape Cod style and an equivalent true colonial home is the addition of the dormer. Unlike the American Foursquare or other Colonial Revival house styles with one centered dormer on the roof, a Cape Cod style will often have two or more dormers. The modest size of Cape Cod homes often translated into modest use of details. Houses of this style are often sited to maximize available sunlight, with the biggest windows facing south. This positioning helps minimize heating costs while bringing ample natural light into rooms.
All Cape Cod homes have shutters to protect the interiors, so you could let your creative juices flow in specifying a particular shade for these coverings. Use a contrasting color to outshine your shutters and make your house stand out. Defining the authentic English style of architecture, these homes became native to New England’s harsh winters.
And, as it turns out, their interiors are just as streamlined as their facades. 'Thanks to its enduring versatility, Cape Cod houses are suitable for an array of regions, types of families, and, of course, materials. 'The Cape Cod house endures because it is simple, inexpensive to build, directly responsive to its harsh New England environment,' he explains. 'It’s also flexible in how it can be configured and beautiful for all of those reasons.
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