Shingle Homes of Cape Cod

Over the last week, I've been posting about some really beautiful homes on Cape Cod - from white houses to yellow houses. Today, I want to share a series of shingle homes along the tour. These houses are all in Osterville, MA and range from new to old.

This home below is fairly new and is designed in a classic Hampton's/Nantucket style with low overhanging porch and gabled roof line.

Here's a closeup of the side front with a nice little seating area on the porch and note the bird houses in the gable - such a sweet little detail!

This house below was actually a small, single story ranch house that has been added on to. I think they did an excellent job of keeping a modest proportion, yet adding some lovely details such as the curved portico over the front door. We've all seen overly "done" home makeovers, but this one, which bares a similarity to the home above, maintains a simple elegance that I found really charming.

As I've said, I love a yellow house, but I also love a pink house, which are harder to find. This little bungalow below has the most darling pink shutters - a rare choice for a Cape home. All the details here are really special. The porch balustrade has the lovely little diamond detail and the center gable has a similar diamond detail panel as well. The shutters are raised panel as opposed to the standard louvered versions - which highlights the pink as well. They were smart not to over do the pink - but using a white trim on the the windows and porch. A heavier hand with the color would have deducted from the charm and turned this into a Pepto Bismol pink mess.

And another small shingled house with an unusual shutter and door color - a bluish green. Again, the color isn't over played and white is used on the trim and fence. The front door has a gorgeous pair of lantern lights and topiary. Perfection!

Our last house is perhaps the oldest of these shingle homes - this looks to be a true summer house whose owners haven't opened it up yet for the season. It's been so cold and dark here this Spring, one can't blame them! The screen porch on the left and balcony above show a real penchant for outdoor living and entertaining, I think! This house looks asleep and just needs its owners to come in and wake it up with wide open windows and freshly planted annuals in the window boxes!

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Cape Cod Shingle style homes! Coming up are a series of homes made in old church buildings and a movie shoot I happened upon!

Don't judge a book by it's cover

This unassuming looking Nantucket rental home would be a lovely place to stay for the location alone. But, just a walk around the back to take in the beautifully designed round wall shows that there is maybe more here than meets the eye...


Step inside to a completely different world from the standard Cape style home... (I'm just going to let the pics speak for themselves).







Click here for rental listing.

This spectacular rental home is mostly booked solid (not a surprise!), but it's what I'm hooked on today! Visit Julia's Hooked On Friday party to see what others are hooked on today! For those who listened to our Skirted Roundtable discussion on getting blog readers - this is one of the examples of a Mr. Linky party that we were talking about!

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The Yellow Houses of Cape Cod

I love a yellow house! I used to live in this yellow Federal era home when I lived in Newburyport, MA and I was just in love with it! On Monday I posted images of the White Houses of Cape Cod and as promised, our next group of classic antique New England homes are all yellow!

The house above is a classic center entrance colonial home in Sandwich, MA. This home is attached to the Dunbar Tea Room - a great spot to pick up custom teas or stay a while for a classic afternoon tea party!

The house below is a "Salt Box" colonial, which is an architectural style that originated in New England in the 17th Century. It's distinctive flat front and steep pitched rear roof line resembles the lidded box that salt was once stored in. The "salt box" style was a response to the high taxation the British government levied on two story homes . These homes had two stories in the front, but only one in the rear, thus exempting them from tax. Hah!

This gorgeous Federal home below is nestled in a behind some very old growth trees - so it was hard to get a good shot! But I love the prospect looking up the front walk. The planters and topiary are an elegant welcome to this gracious home, which is dated to 1797 according to the sign on the side of the house.

Of particular note are the round rooms along the right side of the building. I'd so love to get inside!

The Greek Revival house below showcases one of my favorite design styles. The elegant proportions and luxurious trim are just to die! And I love to deeper mustard color of this house.

A quiet little house behind a fence...

This final yellow house is actually a restaurant called The Lyric. Through the magic of megapixels and photo software, I'm able to determine that the little black plaque on the right dates the house to 1755.

The most notable feature is the ancient tree that grows at the foundation. The owners are clearly trying to preserve what they can by training it up the side of the building. Pretty spectacular! The house color is a classic Colonial ochre color - made from yellow ochre, white lead and calcium carbonate. This mixture resulted in an orange/yellow color that ranged from light yellow to this medium hue. Colonial colors were often very vibrant, but faded quickly.

I hope you enjoyed our little tour of Cape Cod Yellow houses. I still have more to come - including some beautiful repurposed churches, shingle homes, and more!

The Skirted Roundtable - On gaining a readership

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White Houses of Cape Cod

I spent Saturday afternoon driving down the historic district on Cape Cod - from Sandwich, MA, through Barnstable, Cummaquid and into Yarmouth. This is some of the oldest settled areas in Massachusetts, and therefor the country. Sandwich was first settled in 1637 and incorporated in 1639 and is the oldest town on Cape Cod.

I'm not sure what the story is about this house above. It has a sign that says "Antiques - Closed", but it appears unkempt and possibly abandoned. The house seems to be from the early Federal Period (1780-1840) with center entrance with sidelights and elliptical window, double fireplaces, and shallow hip roof. The home is lacking shutters and dentil moldings common of the period and is general very simple in style.

This gorgeous house has been carefully preserved and is one of the most spectacular properties in town. It dates to the Georgian Colonial period (1690-1830). It's very square in shape, symmetrical lines with center entrance with flattened side columns and a decorative cornice. The windows are in the classic 5-across pattern with eight over twelve panes on the top windows and twelve over twelve on the ground floor.

The Newcomb Tavern, now a B&B, dates to 1693 and is classic Georgian Colonial. The portico may have been added later, but I'm not sure. I really liked their landscaping up to the front door. There's such a natural quality to it.

This building houses the Sandwich Glass Museum.

Leaving Sandwich, we are now traveling up Rte. 6A into Barnstable, settled 1636 and incorporated in 1639.

I'm not sure of the date of this house, although it is in the style of Georgian Federal. The cupola in the back throws me off, as do the large paned windows. The setting is so pretty, though, isn't it?

This house is in the Greek Revival style (1825-1860). This is a fairly simple version of the style, with it's pedimented gable, wide plain frieze, off-set door with narrow side lights and columned front porch.

This is the Barnstable House, which dates to 1716.

I don't know anything about this barn, aside from the vague Greek Revival feel of it. But I love the front barn doors with chevron patterned boards and diamond windows.

A little "Main Street" America with a series of small Cape Cod style Colonial homes.

This classic Greek Revival house is our last stop on Rte. 6A, in Yarmouth, MA, founded in 1639.

From here, I drove over to Osterville, MA, which is on the other side of the Cape (although not as far away as that sounds!). Osterville is one of the wealthiest communities on Cape Cod with multi-million dollar summer homes hidden behind tall fences and hedges. Most of these houses are newer, dating to the 20th and 21st Centuries. You can see hints of the older house styles in these homes and I think these are some of the most successful "in the style of" houses there.

This little house is so adorable and is likely an antique home. Take note of the twelve over twelve sash windows and stone foundation. Perfection!

Thank you for taking this little field trip to visit the White Houses on Old Cape Cod. Coming soon are the Yellow houses, Shingled homes, and some other fun treats - including movie shoot that I ran into!