|
The Cape Cod is one of America's oldest and most popular styles for family homes. Fine Homebuilding magazine describes these features as typical of the Cape Cod home: - Small in scale and low to the ground.
- Roof pitched at about 8" to 12" to keep the weather out.
- Small roof overhang so strong winds can do less damage.
- Large chimney centered over the front door.
- Roofs and walls covered in wooden shingles or clapboards.
The stormy weather of Massachusetts' Cape Cod region was the inspiration for this house style. According to This Old House Online, 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." The Cape Cod was popular through the 1840s, after which European influences dominated home building in the U.S. In the early part of the 20th century, the Cape Cod experienced a revival when mass production techniques were applied to housing for the first time. Developers filled the suburbs that sprang up across America after World War II with Cape Cod homes. Old House
Chronicle Magazine has several pictures of both historical and modern Cape Cod homes. Cape @ Home lists homes in the Cape Cod, Massachusetts, area for sale and rent, and a great many are in the classic Cape Cod style. If you're interested in modern interpretations of the Cape Cod home, these companies offer floor plans so you can build your own: Omni Homes, Northeast Country Homes, Living Designs, and B4Ubuild.com.
|
