The Cape Cod style refers to those early homes constructed by European settlers on the New England coastline in the late 17th century. Traditional Cape Cod houses are simple structures designed to withstand the stormy, stark weather. They can be found from Cape Ann in Maine, along the coast in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, in Connecticut, the Hamptons of Long Island and on the Jersey shore. Typically, they are low and broad, usually of one and one half stories and can vary in width.

Cape Cod Style Mouldings

The shipbuilders responsible for constructing Cape Cod houses would spend the long winter months shaping the mouldings for their homes. They would often apply their expert woodworking skills in elaborate paneling and moulding schemes. Cape Cod mouldings were almost always painted white and were composed from the traditional shapes of the quirk and bead, ogee, cove, and ovolo.