If you were asked to imagine a typical American cottage, a Cape Cod house would undoubtedly spring to mind. For good reason, charming yet modest dwellings are inextricably linked to our American image of home. Cape Cods have a modest size, are simple to heat, and are adaptable. They usually have two stories with a front porch or other form of outdoor living area. The most distinctive feature of the Cape Cod style is its steeply pitched gable roof with wide overhanging eaves.
Cape Cods were originally built for wealthy Americans who wanted something beyond urban slums but not as grand as a mansion. They typically feature wood paneling and extensive use of maple furniture. By the 1930s, these homes had become popular with returning World War II veterans and others looking to buy their first home. By the 1970s, Cape Cods began to be rebuilt with newer materials and designs, but the characteristic features that make them unique remain the same today.
There are several varieties of Cape Cods, ranging from simple one-story cottages to larger, two-story versions. The most common type is the "one-and-a-half-story" Cape Cod, which has an upper floor that extends over the front door on which it rests. This allows for a spacious living room and smaller dining room on the ground floor while still providing more bedroom space than most houses of this size should have.
Modern-day Cape Cod homes may be found in practically every corner of North America, and they are based on the rough architecture of colonial New England. The design is straightforward, almost rudimentary, with a rectangular footprint and a gable-pitched roof. But even though it may look easy to build, a colonial home requires considerable skill and expertise to create a structure that will stand for many years to come.
Cape Cods were not originally built as vacation homes. They were usually made up of several rooms with a central hallway and a back porch. Over time, these homes became synonymous with beauty and luxury, and today they are prized by people all over the world. Although modern builders continue to produce quality homes, it is hard to find someone who would want to live in one of these structures during the winter months. But despite this fact, a Cape Cod remains a popular choice for new homes because of its simplicity and ease of construction.
The first houses on Cape Cod were built by Europeans who came here looking for economic opportunity. At first, these homes were little more than shacks made out of wood and canvas, but over time, they were replaced by better-built versions of the original structures. By 1835, there were enough residents living on the coast that the government issued a warning not to build your house too close to the water because of the risk of flooding.
A Cape Cod home is a modest, single-story frame structure with a somewhat steeply pitched gabled roof, a big central chimney, and little decoration. The area above the first floor was frequently left unfinished, with or without gable end windows. The interior usually has plain wood floors covered only by rugs or other furniture.
Cape Cods were not built to code. They were made of wood, which naturally burns easily, and therefore had open fires for heat. In addition, there was very little water pressure, so toilets did not exist as we know them today. Instead, there were outhouses located away from homes. When they were full, the smell could be quite bad, so people tended to go when they could afford to hire a man to do it for them.
There are two types of Cape Cods: those that have been updated over time with new wiring, plumbing, and other infrastructure improvements and those that have not. If you look at old photographs you will see that over time the colors of houses changed due to lack of paint and as rooms were added or removed. Also, some houses had their roofs replaced while others didn't. But overall, they remain similar to how they were originally built.
The earliest known picture of a Cape Cod shows a house that looks something like this one in Orleans.
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