Exteriors: Housing Styles Explained

By Greg Cook

Slide 2 of 19

Cape Cod Style

Cape Cods were first built by English colonists who came to America in the late 1600s. Colonial Revival Cape Cods became very popular in the 1930s. Characteristics:

-- Steep roof with side gables, chimney usually on one end
-- One and a half stories, with one or more dormers on the half story
-- Sided with wide clapboards, wood shingles, or brick
-- Centered front door, most often plain, but sometimes with portico
-- Hardwood floors and center hall floor plan
-- Multipaned, double-hung windows with decorative shutters