Explore 51+ Charming Coastal Cape Cod Style 1 Story House Designs Satisfy Your Imagination

The traditional Cape Cod house designs date back to World War II when wood was the material of choice to build homes that could keep families warm during the winter months. With its signature gabled roof and clapboard siding, the Cape Cod house style instantly brings to mind images of quaint New England life. Though it’s a fairly simple design, the Cape Cod house style has grown in popularity over the last century, now seen in the suburbs and even in high-end, custom homes.

Characteristically, traditional Cape Cod house designs feature simple floor plans that align the home parallel to the street. The homes are generally two stories and feature one massive wall for better insulation. They typically have a hallmark door on the side of the house closer to the street, and the home’s entry, or front, door is typically located on the side of the house. The symmetrical look of the Cape Cod house is seen in the evenly-sized windows on either side of the entrance.

Inside, the traditional Cape Cod design emphasizes functionality over fancy details, making it a great style for everyday homes. Most house plans offer wide eaves, preferably without soffits, and often incorporate an open stair entrance at the front door that serves both as both the entry point and a divider between the halls and other living spaces.

The traditional Cape Cod house style and construction principles have been modernized and combined with open-plot living to create a truly versatile home. The classic Cape Cod shape, roof style and material blend with crossover styles for an open-plan living ensemble. The roofs are generally low-pitched, hipped or shed roofs with front doors at either end of the house.

Since the room layout is an open-plan, the kitchen, living and dining rooms are incorporated in one spacious area. This concept has become popular in many designs, from cabins to luxury homes. The open-plan adds to the sense of the space on the interior of the home, with a minimalistic modern look combined with traditional style.

The open-plan also offers an expansive view of the outside, giving plenty of natural light in an efficiently designed home. The open-plan also allows for more creativity with the layout, such as multiple gathering areas and entertaining spaces. An open-plan Cape Cod house design emphasizes the minimum required by the traditional style, while providing enough room for modern living.

The Cape Cod beach house is a classic style of home that combines the traditional aesthetic of a Cape Cod-style house with beach lifestyle elements, such as wood paneling, wicker accents, and cool wallpaper. This type of design makes the most of waterfront scenery and takes advantage of outdoor space for entertainment, relaxation, and gatherings. The beach house style naturally incorporates the colors and textures of the sea, making it the perfect choice for anyone who loves the seashore.

The exterior of a Cape Cod beach house often incorporates colors like whites, blues, and grays, reflecting the beach’s signature soothing tones. The exterior may feature clapboard siding, wood shingles, and a roof-line that slopes away from the front of the house, popularly known as “salt-box” design style to protect the home from winter weather conditions.

Inside, the beach house embraces its classic roots with white woodwork framing and ceiling beams. The furniture is often built in, such as a full breakfast bar overlooking the kitchen, and built-in storage and shelving are common. Sea glass-inspired materials, such as tile floors or bathroom walls, pay homage to beach-inspired luxury and complete the classic Cape Cod beach house look.

Cape Cod cottage house designs capture the charm of the seaside or a laid-back country home. The colonial style is one of the oldest house designs in the United States and dates back to the first European settlers in New England. This style emphasizes comfort, functionality, and simplicity and can range from quaint fishing cottages to larger vacation homes.

Most cottage houses have a light and airy feel, with windows that open wide and lots of natural wood details. The roof is a low-profile, pitched gable style decorated with shingles, and walls are clad in white shingles or clapboards. They often feature decorative gables with small dormers, and small, symmetrical, shuttered windows.

Inside, the cottage style includes a great room—the main area used for gathering with family and friends—which features exposed beams, a large stone fireplace, and traditional furniture. One of the main benefits of the cape cod cottage is the ability to customize the home’s exterior and interior to fit the family’s needs and preferences. Lastly, the cottage house takes full advantage of its outdoor surroundings with a large porch or wraparound deck.

Passive solar homes combine energy efficiency with the timeless style of Cape Cod homes. Popularly known as “green” homes, passive solar house designs are becoming a popular choice for homebuilders and homeowners looking for an energy-efficient living solution.

Traditionally, the Cape Cod home was built facing southeast to take advantage of the sun’s warming effects in the winter. In the heat of the summer months, windows could be opened at the other sides of the house to provide Kreese to the interior. However, this practice is not always possible due to building codes and zoning restrictions.

Today’s passive solar Cape Cod house designs combine energy-efficient construction and the traditional charm of the style, utilizing designs that help the home heat themselves in the winter and stay cool in the summer. This includes activities like the placement of windows, the use of skylights, proper ventilation, and thermal mass. The combination of these design features helps to regulate the temperature of the home, while also saving energy costs.

The traditional Cape Cod style is infused with modern and contemporary influences, creating a unique blend of two distinct home designs. This style fuses classic elements of the traditional Cape Cod design, such as its symmetrical shape, simple floor plans, and comfortable living space, with modern styles for the contemporary homeowner.

The exterior of the contemporary Cape Cod home typically features traditional clapboard siding or a combination of siding, brick, and stone. The classic gabled roof is still a central component to the design, with its low-slanting profile and eave lines, but it may be combined with more unconventional roof designs, such as curved, shed, or butterfly styles.

The interior of the contemporary Cape Cod home design is where modern touches really shine. Its floor plans often include open-style living rooms and kitchens, as well as 2 to 3 bedrooms and bathrooms. Larger homes may have additional living and dining spaces or a multi-level addition for additional square footage. The living room often features large windows that overlook the outdoor spaces.

The classic Cape Cod country home style brings to mind tranquil settings and a laid-back lifestyle. Much like an enchanting fairytale, this style of house gives homeowners the opportunity to appreciate a simpler way of life, while also enjoying the comforts of modern amenities. The style mixes the classic charm of a Cape Cod house, such as its gabled roof and symmetrical facade, with more rustic details.

The country cottage typically uses darker, natural materials like weathering wood, cedar shakes, or brick siding to give texture and depth to its basic façade. Decorative touches, like gambrel roofs, gated stairways, and barn doors keep the overall aesthetic cozy and inviting.

Inside, the country cottage usually maintains an airy atmosphere, with an often open-style kitchen, living, and dining rooms. Windows are kept to the sides of the house, letting in plenty of natural light while also maximizing privacy and space. Comfortable furnishings and cozy textiles also help bring the look together into an intimate and inviting atmosphere.

The traditional Cape Cod house design can also be dressed up to create a luxurious home. The style is renowned for its classic symmetry and low-pitched roof and eave line, ideal for luxury designs where quality and detail are of the utmost importance. Often, architectural details such as window frames, entryways, and porch railings are upgraded with specialty paints, ornamental accents, and custom hardware.

The luxury Cape Cod house makes full of outdoor living, often utilizing wide decks and patios for gain visibility and convenience to the indoors. Widened eaves, sometimes with exposed rafter tails, provide more shade andrain protection for these outdoor living spaces, while still maintaining the classic look of the style.

The interiors are completely customized, and often include desirable features like elaborate columns and trims, tray ceilings, built-ins, and fireplaces. Interior finishes are e rarely overlooked, ranging from intricate tile and stone flooring to built-in bookshelves. However, these amenities shouldn't overshadow the country cottage style that the house has, resulting in an elegant and comfortable dwelling.

The Craftsman Cape Cod house emphasizes the low-pitched roof and symmetrical façade of the traditional Cape Cod design with the contemporary craftsmanship found in modern Craftsman architecture. The colors are often limited to just a few, such as thoughs found in nature, like tan, beige, greys, and blues; brighter colors are usually used as accents.

In terms of detailing, the Craftsman Cape Cod features elements of stick-and-board construction, stone, stucco, and wood detailing around the windows and entries. The porches are usually off-set slightly from the home’s main walls, with large columns and a low-pitched roof. Many contemporary Craftsman Cape Cod house designs include large, paneled garages, sometimes with matching windows and doors.

The interior of the Craftsman Cape Cod often features open-style common rooms that are connected to the kitchen. Ceilings can be dramatic, with trusses and exposed beams, while fireplaces are kept at eye-level to draw attention and provide a cozy atmosphere. Interior finishes can include stone, wood, and tile, and fixtures like lights, sinks, and countertops are often chosen to reinforce the Craftsman style.

Cape Cod houses are a classic style of home, and the urban version features a more modern and sophisticated interpretation of the traditional design. Urban Cape Cod houses often feature restrained and simple forms, bringing the beauty of the classic shape to the city.

Urban Cape Codhouse designs typically incorporate façades made of brick, wood, stone, or stucco, depending on the desired aesthetic. Often, a mixture of textures and colors are selected to create an eye-catching look, like combining a variety of materials in muted tones or rich colors. The characteristic low-profile roof remains an important feature, sometimes enhanced by dormers or distinctive roof treatments.

Inside, contemporary amenities are found, such as expansive living and dining areas, plenty of natural lighting and ventilation, and modern materials and appliances. Urban Cape Cod houses integrate the traditional style with the conveniences of modern city living, making them a great choice for urban dwellers everywhere.

Cape Cod house designs can also be transformed into a variety of vibrant and refreshing color palettes, from subtle pastels to bright and bold blinding blues. This style of home is known for its classic appeal and timeless aesthetic, and vibrant colors add a touch of vibrancy to the traditional design.

The unique shape of the Cape Cod home is the perfect choice to welcome bright and cheerful hues. Typically, vibrant colors are incorporated into the architectural details, such as window frames, trim, shutters, and doors. Other selected colors, such as on the roof and siding, bring contrast to the overall color palette.

The bright colors draw attention to the details and give character to the home’s exterior, while the strategically placed accents create a lively atmosphere inside. Colorful Cape Cod home designs invoke the essence of the classic style, while making a statement with personal touches of unique design that are all their own.