Pennsylvania

The Origin of the Cape Cod style home -- Part 3 of "The Origin of Home Styles Series".

I’ve written previously about:
The Origin of the Tudor home, and

The Origin of the Stick Style Victorian

...and I thought I would continue this series with:

The Origin of the Cape Cod style home.

The Cape Cod style is as popular today as it was when it was first introduced to America in the 17th century by English Colonists.

These early settlers of Colonial New England were the first to build these steep gabled homes, mimicking their homes back in England. Homes during those early years included the half-timbering construction, such as the Tudor style home, that was popular in their homeland of England.

Through the years, these homes were re-styled to weather the stormy Nor’Eastern climate. This is how those famous shutters, cozy dormers and the steep pitched roofs became a discerning quality of the Cape Cod style home. According to This Old House, 17th-century settlers "drew on a shipwright's skills to build a tight house that was almost a ship upon land, able to withstand the fiercest Nor'easter."

From these original designs, the term “Cape Cod” home was invented. During the Colonial Revival period in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, these economical, tidy homes sprouted throughout the nation in suburban settings. It was during this Post WW2 housing boom, that neighborhoods such as in Levittown, NY - built by Levitt & Sons - became the epitome of life in the suburbs.


Discerning Features of the Cape Cod style home:

• Steep Roof with Overhang

• Side Gables

• Usually 1 1/2 stories (early homes were only 1 story)

• Small in Scale (usually 1,000 SF +/-) and Low to the Ground to conserve heat

• Wide clapboard or shingle siding

• Symmetrical in style with a centered door

• 2nd Floor Dormers - providing light and ventilation (usually later styles only

• Shutters

• Plain Exterior

• First Floor Master Bedroom
  
• Hardwood Floors
  

As Realtors, I'm sure we've all had our share of sales of the Cape Cod homes that dot the countryside, from the East Coast to the West Coast. They are the perfect starter home, and an ideal empty nester home. It's no wonder their popularity has *weathered* every storm.

The Cape Cod style home is still popular with today’s home buyers, although new construction has taken some liberties with the original designs of those early Colonial Settlers. Still popular though, are the First Floor Master Bedrooms and 2nd Floor Dormer Windows, although today’s newer Cape Cod homes are much larger in scale and offer more exterior ornamentation than the original designs ever would have featured.

For lovers of Cape Cod homes, you need to look no further than