Cape Cod has some of the most distinctive and beautiful seaside homes in the country. The distinctive Colonial architecture and regionally-recognized color palettes of Cape Cod style homes are undeniably charming and uniquely American.
Homes inspired by the Cape are about as New England as it gets – no wonder it’s such a popular destination for tourists and city-dwellers alike!
The good news is that you don’t need to be a Kennedy or own a home in P-Town or Chilmark to enjoy Cape Cod style home’s exterior colors around your own home!
In this article, I will be talking about what colors and design schemes make Cape Cod-style homes so recognizable, and what you can do to inject a little “Cape spirit” into your home, regardless of the region you live in.
Cape Cod-Style Home Design History
Although you will find everything from modest homes to massive and extravagant homes on the Cape today, the origins and design methodology of Cape Cod-style homes are more practical and humble than most would expect.
The traditional Cape Cod-style home was conceived in the formative years of the country. Puritans who had settled on the Cape wanted to bring some sense of an English countryside cottage style, to America.
Because of the harsh weather conditions, the design needed to be adapted to fit into this new environment. So, they built steep pitched roofs to keep snow from collecting on the roofs and causing damage to the home.
Some notable feature on a Cape Cod-style home’s exterior would include:
- Symmetrical design scheme
- Shingled siding – grey from sea air exposure or painted white
- Gabled dormers
- A large centralized chimney
- Double-hung windows
- Prominent window shutters
I love how when you can trace the genesis design and style choices back to practical applications – it’s just fascinating! The Cape Cod-style home is full of these historically practical design choices that have become synonymous with their regional style and design.
Colors of the Cape Cod-Style Home
It’s correct to assume that Cape Cod-style home’s exterior color choices tend to be more on the understated and on the conservative side. You will not find the warm coastal colors pastels of Cocoa Beach on a Cape Cod-style home, nor will you see many South-Western rich desert-colored inspired paint schemes.
Cape Cod-style homes are typically faithful to particular palettes, but this doesn’t mean every Cape home looks the same or is without color inspiration! There are some very unique and colorful homes to be found on the Cape and Islands.
Go-To Cape Cod Style Home Exterior Colors
Cape Cod-style homes are at their most beautiful when they are using two to three colors with variants and accented colors.
For the body of the home, many enjoy the natural color and tones of the beautiful wood shingles after being kissed by the sea air. The weathered New England seaside shingle has a very distinct look, and many homeowners prefer it to painted shingles or siding.
If a homeowner chooses to paint their cape home – white and off-whites are the most popular choice. This choice carries out the greek-revival look of the mid-1800s placed on many Cape homes and it has been one of the most popular choices ever since.
What is unique to this style home is that even though the sides and back of a Cape Cod home are shingled, it is common to see clapboard applied to the front of the home. The shingles are often left to weather whereas the clapboard offers the opportunity to add colors like softer blues, yellows or even light grays.
The major trim, eaves, and window trim are usually painted to contrast with the main body of the home – this will not be “loud,” but rather a color variant to emphasize the symmetrical design features of the home.
Accent colors on Cape Cod-style homes are best saved for major design features of the home. For instance, the centralized front door may be painted a deep royal red, or navy blue to contrast with the white sheen of the home. Or, the shutters may be painted deep-rich forest green, also to be highlighted against the uniformity of the home.
Having visited Cape Cod recently, I also found that the exterior colors often come from a generous garden design. It is common to see climbing roses, trellises covered with flowering plants like morning glories or flowering vines, both floral ways of adding colors to a home.
The method of creating color-inspiration for a Cape Cod-style home is to simultaneously honor the history of the home while adding your tastes as accents.
The last thing you want to do is create distracting and visually-offensive color choices on an immediately recognizable historical style of home. Be creative with your Cape home, but do it in the right places.
Are You Looking To Try Out Some Unexpected Paint Colors?
Read My Recent Blog To Learn How: Unexpected Exterior Colors That Make a World of Difference!
Translating Cape Cod-Style To Your Home
You may be thinking, “Amy, I don’t own a Cape Cod-style house, how can I use those color motifs on my home?” This is a reasonable question, and my answer would be that you can take the lessons that Cape Cod-style homes teach us, and find unique areas of your home to apply them.
Think about adding this textural color palette to your porch, outdoor patio, or even garden shed all of these are places where the timeless Cape Cod-style can be tastefully utilized!
Cape Cod-style homes teach us that even if a style is considered “old and conservative,” it can still be beautiful and inspired.
To learn more about Cape Cod-style homes and color choices, please reach out. You can also schedule an online paint color consultation with me to discuss your options with a professional color expert!
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Love the subtle colors of the Cape. Thanks for the great info on the history and timelessness of this vernacular look.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Lisa, I have always admired this classic style home!
Period design is always an interesting topic relating to house exteriors. Color of the faded gray shingles kissed by sea air, arbors, white picket fences, and hydrangeas blooming out front are fond memories for me. You captured the essence of this style house so well in this article on Cape Cod Traditional Style Homes.
Sincerest thanks Denise, I hope this post brought back fond memories for you!
Brings back memories of home and traveling when I was a kid. Alot of those houses had widows walks on top too, and some I remember had the doors in the basement that connected to the “Underground Railroad” for slaves to escape.
Wow! I did not see that in the homes I visited when I was there this summer. Clearly I will have to go back, what a great story Mary Ann!
I’ve never been to Cape Cod, Amy, but have seen thousands of images of the homes there over the years. Thanks for this informative article on this style. I didn’t realize that most of them incorporated both shingles and clapboard.
Yes Leslie it is a style all it’s own. I visited there for the first tine this summer and I can certainly see why people fall in love with it all!
Living in range of Cape Cod, I love the simple elegance of this style and the understated colors typically used! And, of course, the gardens are always overflowing with hydrangeas which are a favorite as well!
You are so right Janet, the home and abundance of flowers everywhere creates a mood there that is hard not to fall in love with!
While I have not had the chance to visit Cape Cod, I have only heard wonderful things about it (and it is on our travel list for the future). Thank you for sharing the information on this style.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Sheri, I hope you are inspired to make the trip to Cape Cod yourself. I went recently and I can finally see why people love it so much!