What does a traditional Cape Cod house look like?
Sophia Hammond
Updated on March 03, 2026
What does a traditional Cape Cod house look like?
A Cape Cod house is a low, broad, single-story frame building with a moderately steep pitched gabled roof, a large central chimney, and very little ornamentation. The space above the 1st floor was often left unfinished, with or without windows on the gable ends.
What basic house design is a Cape Cod style house?
Cape Cod style homes are a traditional home design with a New England feel and look. Their distinguishing features include a steep, pitched roof, shingle siding, a centrally located chimney, dormer windows and more.
What style is Cape Cod?
Cape Cod architecture is one of the most instantly recognizable home styles in the U.S. At its core, an original Cape Cod house is a small, rectangular, unadorned one to one-and-a-half-story cottage with a steep pitched roof to keep snow from piling up and side gables.
Where are Cape Cod houses most common?
As its name suggests, Cape Cod house style is most common in Massachusetts and the greater New England region. While these types of residences are still be found in the Midwest and along the west coast, they might look different from their traditional, New England counterparts.
What is the difference between a bungalow and a Cape Cod house?
These two architectural styles sometimes get confused with each other, since they often share some overlapping features, including gabled roofs, a single story design, and a symmetrical exterior. However bungalows lack some of the other key features of a Cape, such as prominent central chimneys.
How do you identify a Cape Cod?
Defining features of a Cape Cod
- Symmetrical appearance with a centered front entry.
- Steep roofs with side gables and an overhang.
- Shingle siding.
- Gabled dormers.
- Double-hung windows with shutters.
- Centralized chimneys.
- Simple exterior ornamentation.
What is the difference between Cape Cod and Colonial?
The Cape Cod house has a gabled roof, which means the roof has two sloping sides that meet at a ridge. In the case of the Dutch Colonial house, the roof has a gambrel roof: There are two sides and each side has two slopes.
Do Cape Cod style homes have basements?
While a modern Cape Cod home is likely to have a basement (depending on where it’s located, of course), older Capes usually have what is known as a “Cape Cod” basement—which is a small, brick or stone enclosure that’s just big enough for essentials like a water heater, boiler, and electrical panel.
What is the difference between a Cape Cod and a bungalow?
Is a Cape Cod 2 stories?
A Cape Cod is a rectangular-shaped two-story home with a symmetrical floor plan and a center entry hallway.
Do Cape Cod homes have a basement?
How do you modernize a Cape Cod home?
But if you’ve got your hands on a Cape that needs some TLC, here’s how to update it without losing that classic Cape character.
- Set a budget.
- Plan for the future.
- Look for a large foundation.
- Skip the living room.
- Consider a mudroom or porch.
- Open the kitchen.
- Switch the doors.
What is Cape Cod floor plan?
Cape Cod house plans generally feature floor plans with living quarters on the first floor and most of the bedrooms on the second floor. A typical Cape Cod style of home design has symmetrically located windows and a central front door, similar to the Colonial style home – except that the Cape Cod’s roofline is lowered.
What are Cape Cod homes?
Cape Cod house ) A Cape Cod house is a low, broad, single-story frame building with a moderately steep pitched gabled roof, a large central chimney, and very little ornamentation.
What is Cape Cod furniture style?
Airy, comfortable and relaxed, the Cape Cod style brings a touch of the ocean to your bedroom even if you are completely landlocked. A decorating style that originated in colonial New England, the traditional Cape Cod house is boxy in shape, with a very steep, pitched roof and symmetrical windows on either side of the brightly colored front door.
Where are Cape Cod homes?
Original colonial houses in New England are more often 2 stories than the traditional 1 or 1½ story homes we call Cape Cod. And many of the homes we call Cape Cod style actually are found on Cape Ann, northeast of Boston.