The Outer Banks - The Nags Head Cottage

 Last month my family went down to the Outer Banks for a week. The Outer Banks is one of my favorite beaches, the Kitty Hawk to Nags Head area in particular. Driving down the beach road there are many reminders of the small beach town it used to be, and still somewhat is. There has been a lot of new construction in the 1990s - 2000s and most of it, sad to say, ruins the character of the Outer Banks. The construction of the earlier decades is not as offensive because it is more modest in size and was constructed with a natural, unpainted wood siding, instead of the brightly colored vinyl (and possibly some fiber cement siding) that is more commonly built today. And while the houses of the 1970s and 1980s aren't terrible, the historic cottages of the late 19th and early 20th century are my personal favorites.

The Nags Head Cottage was one of the predominant vernacular building types in the area, and now there are not many left. These houses were built with broad overhanging eaves over wrap around porches to take advantage of the sea breezes, but protect itself from the harsh sun. The houses were all sided in a natural cedar shingle. Keep in mind these houses were built before the advent of the air conditioner, when houses were built specifically to their surroundings. The hurricane shutters provide protection from hurricane winds when necessary, but shade the windows from the sun, while still allowing light into the rooms. The beach houses of today, with the ridiculous amount of windows (without hurricane shutters) and decks (not porches because there is no roof) are built knowing there will be two or more air conditioning units in the house, so there is no need to worry about allowing for a good breeze through the house.


Below is a classic Nags Head cottage. Unfortunately I didn't get a good shot of a row of them, it's a bit difficult to stop along the beach road.

 

Other vernacular cottages:

A good row except for the obvious one that stands out..

 

One of my favorites

We drove past some newer construction that was built in the historic style, it's too bad more people don't build this way...

Notice the depth of the porch and the roof?

Another good example of newer construction:

These are all some good examples of the vernacular style of the area. It's sad to say I found it easier to take pictures of houses I hated than houses I liked....which I'll save for next time.