Cape Code renovations - what not to do (again)

Siding done wrong

If you're going to renovate a Cape Code, just slapping on some wooden shingles and clapboards isn't going to do it.

You should also change the window trim to complete the transformation.

...and done right

Cape Cod renovations - a coat of paint (part II)

Here's another Cape Cod that doesn't appear to have much done to it aside from a coat of paint and a small front deck, but it too makes me smile every time I walk by.

Great job!

Mrs. E's favorite house

This is Mrs. E's favorite house

I like it as well. I love the color choice. I just wish they'd get around to finishing the front steps.

3 April - on vacation

Mrs. E and I are on vacation. We'll be back in three weeks or so.

29 March - Cape Cod renovations - what not to do (part II)

Nice paint, but those fish-scale shingles don't belong.

This one isn't as bad as the previous one. In fact, with one or two exceptions, it's actually pretty nice. I like the color choice, and the windows have been upgraded without destroying the simple charm of the Cape Cod. The french doors in the basement are a nice touch. The landscaping is well done as well.

However, there are two problems with this house:

1. Although they come from the same geographic area, Cape Cod houses are not the same thing as colonial houses, so the very formal colonial touches like the trim above the windows and around the door doesn't really belong. But that's not the real problem here.

2. The real problem here is that the very formal trim around the entry door and above the first floor windows clashes quite badly with the very informal fish-scale shingles under the gable.They should have just left the clapboards in place above the window. That would have made the slightly out-of-character colonial trim (as well as that nice round attic vent) the emphasis of the house.

27 March - Cape Cod renovations: what not to do

What were they thinking? This looks like an episode of bad design 101. Take a nice simple Cape Cod and add a really ugly 1970's upper story. News flash: adding shutters to the upper story window doesn't make it tie in with the rest of the house. And that phony wrought iron railing isn't fooling anyone - there's no access to that potentially-nice little front deck. Now it just looks stupid. As, I'm sorry to say, does the whole house.

Cape Code renovations - a coat of paint

One simple update for a Cape Cod is with not much more than a coat of paint. I watched them replace the siding of the house above over the summer. When they were done, it looked just like it did before they started - classy.

As for the one below, it's an unusual color choice but it makes me smile every time we walk by.