The Cape Cod house

I've noticed that the information about the Cape Cod houses is a bit spread about, so I'm going to tidy it up a bit. Here's what I've learned about these houses:

They were built in the New England area from the 17th century onwards. That's New Egland in red and the little hook is Cape Cod.

The first houses were small and later became known as 'half Capes'. As families grew, the houses grew, and two other types of Cape Cods came to be: the 'three quarter Cape', and the 'full Cape'. They basically looked like these:

Half Cape                     Three quarter Cape                  Full Cape

You can see some actual examples of these houses here:

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ma0049/

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ma0057/

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/ma0042

As for the inside, the layout was basically a hall and parlour in the first one, plus a keeping room and storage rooms in the other ones. Upstairs you had one or two bedrooms, plus storage in the bigger ones. Each room had a fireplace, which was connected to a large central chimney. Along with the low ceilings, this helped keep the house warm during the cold winters. In the full Capes the staircase was right in front of the door, nestled between the fireplaces. The walls had wainscoting, because of the humidity, and were painted white, and the trimming of doors, cabinets and fireplaces was painted in colours reflecting the Cape seaside: blues for the ocean, beges for the sand and reds for the sunsets. The floors were hardwood, except in the kitchen, where tile was used.

Some examples of how Cape Cod interiors could be

On the outside, Cape Cods had steep roofs to avoid snow acumulation, the walls where clad in clapboard or shingles, unpainted, and the windows had shutters to protect them from the stormy winds. They normally faced south to take advantage of the sunlight and warmth in the winter.

An original 'half Cape'