Building With Style: Expanding a Cape: The Problem of “Massing Space”

Expanding a small Cape Cod house is a common design problem, and one which is often poorly solved. This case study focuses on successfully adding space to a typical Cape Cod having the following characteristics: 24×32-foot footprint; living room one side, kitchen and dining room on the other; two small gable dormers in front, large shed dormer in back; two small bedrooms over the living room, master bedrooms over the kitchen/dining rooms; two baths up and a half bath down; full basement; and one-car attached garage on a slab (see Figure 1). First Things First Expanding any house involves two different processes. First, you expand the space, developing the overall volume and shape of the house to end up with exterior