Cape Cod Homes
The Cape Cod style is one that heritage house enthusiasts may be searching for, especially in New England. The distinguishing features of a "perfectly pitched roof without gables" and low, broad frame may be what attracts you to this uniquely American home style. The Cape Cod is a lower, stronger version of its English cottage predecessor, with wooden shutters to protect against the gale-force winds that assail the Cape in all seasons.
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The Cape Cod Style
Cape Cod-style homes are distinguished by their front doors, which are the aesthetic focal point of the house. Ornate carvings, moldings, and glazing can be seen on the front doors of these properties. The luckiest home-finder will see a millstone doorstep, which is a sign of a true Cape Cod house. While there is seldom a front porch, there may or may not be a small pediment to keep snow from dripping onto the doorstep (and on unlucky visitors).
The windows of Cape Cod homes were unusual enough that Thoreau remarked upon the "odd sizes in the ends of the buildings." He also referred to the odd groupings of gable end windows in Cape Cod homes. While most find them charming, Thoreau noted that the number of windows means that anyone passing by was not likely to keep their presence a secret from the residents.
One of the most distinctive features of a Cape Cod house is the roof, and there are several styles that Cape Cods sport. These include:
Plain cottage roof - a severely plain gable design with a steep pitch
Gambrel roof - placed on a two-story home, with the arch "broken" in the middle
Salt-box roof - resembles the old salt-boxes that Cape Cod families hung on the kitchen walls, with one side of the roof slanting nearly to the ground
Ship's bottom, or bow - a rarer type of roof, where the the timbers bent much like the bottom of one of the whaling ships that used to sail Cape Cod's coastline
The Cape Cod design is extremely popular and elements of its construction continue to appear in homes built today. Building practices that were developed to help a house withstand harsh Cape weather have proven useful all across the nation. As well as being practical, the Cape Cod-style home rekindles the charm of yesteryear in New England.
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