With the current Real Estate market in North Jersey providing a great opportunity for buyers and especially first time buyers, I thought it would be a good time to take a look at a style of home that is prevalent here, one that is popular with first time buyers.
Here's a look at the history of the Cape Cod Style Home.
The first Cape Cod style homes were built by English colonists who came to America in the late 17th century. They modeled their homes after the half-timbered houses of England, but adapted the style to the stormy New England weather. Over the course of a few generations, a modest, one- to one-and-a-half-story house with wooden shutters emerged. It was the Reverend Timothy Dwight, a president of Yale University, who is credited with recognizing these homes as a class and coining the term "Cape Cod."
Much later, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, a renewed interest in America's past inspired a variety of Colonial Revival style of homes. Colonial Revival Cape Cod homes became especially popular during the 1930s. These small, economical houses were mass-produced in suburban developments across the United States.
Twentieth century Cape Cod's are often found to have dormers. These dormers range in size from small shed style dormers to full width dormers. The Cape Cod style home is one of the easiest and most economical for expansion. The chimney in the modern Cape is usually placed at one end instead of at the center like the early versions. The shutters on modern Cape Cod homes are strictly decorative; they can't be closed during a storm like the originals that were functional and true storm shutters.
Small, economical, and practical Cape Cod homes were built all across America during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s in great numbers. Many of these homes are still today the most affordable choices for today's First Time Buyers.
Listed below are some of the defining features of the Cape Cod Style Home:
•· Steep roof with side gables
•· Small roof overhang
•· 1 or 1½ stories
•· Made of wood and covered in wide clapboard or shingles
•· Large central chimney linked to fireplace in each room
•· Symmetrical appearance with door in center
•· Dormers for space, light, and ventilation
•· Multi-paned, double-hung windows
•· Shutters
•· Formal, center-hall floor plan
•· Hardwood floors
•· Little exterior ornamentation
Example of an "Early" Cape Cod Style Home
A "Modern" version of the Cape Cod Style
For more information on Cape Cod Style Homes or Professional guidance for First Time Buyers in North Jersey, please contact your North Jersey Real Estate Team
39 E. Main St.
Little Falls, NJ 07424
973-256-0303 ext 218
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