1,744 sq. ft. Cape-Style Home, Ellington, CT
Most early Cape Cod houses were timber framed. For this project, we went with a hybrid approach: stud framing the walls, craning the roof trusses, then adding timbers inside for the traditional look. The completed home is like an early Cape: a central front door with multi-pane windows on either side, symmetric design, no dormers, and an a-frame roof.
On the gable end of the home, there is an overhang with mud room entry door. The rear of the home has a walk-out basement. All the windows are thoughtfully placed in keeping with the Cape Cod style.
Inside, timbers are present in the ceiling of the mud room, kitchen, and living room. The rustic exposed timbers are fitting with the Cape Cod look, as just about all of the early Capes had beamed ceilings, bringing the warmth and natural beauty of wood to the interior. Traditionally, many Capes had pine on the interior walls, and in this home, the mud room and laundry room have pine on the walls and ceiling. Upstairs, there are two bedrooms on either side of the stairwell, with a bathroom at the top of the stairs. The master bedroom is on the first floor, with private bath.
While this home was conventionally framed, it could have been timber framed, where the timbers and joinery form the structure of the home and are visible on the interior, in the tradition of early Cape Cod houses. Some homeowners prefer the look of clean lines and drywall, others seek to bring in timbers as part of the design, and others want an authentic, true timber framed home through and through. As custom builders and engineers licensed in multiple states, we are happy to accommodate all styles of building.