Thank you! I didn’t even notice the section to the left was slightly shorter. ‍I’m so so so glad you pointed that out.

Who designed this?

What are behind the dormers? Rooms?

Where is the beam to hold up the porch?

I see a lot more wrong with the exterior than just the dormers. Have you started building yet?

We haven’t started yet. Sounds like we might need a new designer...

NO you need an architect and window placement has to go with the interior where the windows are. The dormers need to be all the same size for sure.Get some real help now.

I assume these dormers are real and there is a usable second floor.

No scale is indicated on the elevation drawing so its difficult to advice you. Always provide a graphic scale for a drawing that is not a PDF..

I can usually judge the scale by the width of the front door but I suspect yours is shown smaller than allowed by building codes. Its also difficult to judge where the dormers sit relative to the first floor wall which is a critical design choice. If the face of the dormers align with the lower wall, then the dormers and their windows are a foot or more too low and the floor to floor height is probably about 11-0 creating a 10-0 fist floor ceiling. Is that the case? You should have sketched a wall section at the dormers and porch before attempting to draw a front elevation.

The mixing of casements and double-hungs is awkward and there are too many posts/columns. If any of the dormers serve as the required emergency escape opening from a bedroom, they appear to be too small.

IMO the house is not wide enough for 3 dormers and should only have two. And they should be large enough to provide good light for the rooms. If they are fake or only for looks, the same deign considerations should apply because they should look as if they were designed to be functional.

It is difficult to design a well proportioned house with only a front elevation drawing. You should be designing all four elevations at the same time or better yet, using a 3D computer program like SketchUp.

What's the odd little opening at the apex of the big gable? Its too high for a window and the roof should be vented with ridge and eave vents.

The half wall masonry at the bottom of the garage and the little bump out are visual distractions from the vernacular simplicity of the house. You need to choose between a rural folk theme and a suburban subdivision theme instead of trying to "blend" them.

It is amazing what a little education and a lot of experience can do for a home's design. Find a local architect.

It is amazing what a little education and a lot of experience can do for a home's design. Certainly has value. Education and experience is what pays the bills for everybody.

Create a file of designs of Cape Cod homes that have details you like. There are lots of different ones out there.

It’s fun to dream and design. You do not mention the lot on which your forever home will be built. Find an engineering firm in your town, with a draftsman in house, who will help you get things rolling. The raw land Is driving the bus.

Historical Cape Cod houses didn't have dormers, porticos or roof overhangs. The last person you should let design your house is an engineer or draftsman. Find an old architect who works alone from his home.

I would encourage you to find a local sole practitioner architect rather than an engineering firm. Generally engineers are not trained to design for aesthetics like architects are. If the aesthetics of your house is important to you, which I assume it is for you started this discussion, find a local architect to help you design a home to meet your needs and fit your site.

Sometimes "experienced" can be substituted for "old" in the context of some statements made in the English language. ; )

The development of CAD has allowed anyone to produce drawings that look professional to an inexperienced homeowner even when the ideas presented are grossly amateurish. Not only should the designer you choose have professional design skills but be able to produce a 3D model so you can participate in the design process and know what you will be building. Keep looking until you find that person.

If the dormers are up there just so sun can shine on your attic insulation, get rid of the altogether.

RES’s sketch is infinitely better!! Go that direction!

Dormers are not fake if they light an unfinished second floor.
In a small house, for the cost of a stair and rafters, dormers can provide future expansion for you or the next owner making dormers a good investment.

At this stage of a design I would be showing my client numerous variations of a 3D model and rotating it on a laptop.

I would complete the elevation drawings in CAD when I'm sure the design is acceptable. Since no one will ever see the house in elevation view, it is a test of the final design and then becomes a construction document.

Dormers are not fake if they light an unfinished second floor.
In a small house, for the cost of a stair and rafters, dormers can provide future expansion for you or the next owner making dormers a good investment.

Absolutely. Except the house is almost 2300 sq ft, so not so small. Only a one car garage (that we can see). And OP's stated concern was how the dormers looked on the exterior with no mention of how they related to the interior. So I assumed the dormers are aesthetic ones. Which will complicate roof framing, require windows and window dressings. Complicates roofing with the need for flashing and maintenance of the siding up ^ there on what looks like a really steep roof. IOW's significant additional cost. If this is the case, I would spend some of the savings and slap an interesting metal roof on it in lieu of dormers.

Should be mentioned that if there is even a remote possibility that OP will want to expand to using the space as a second floor, planning for it is NOW. Consideration as to how the roof is framed, beefing up the ceiling joists, expanding climate control system and planning where the staircase will be placed and adequate provisions for the space it will require.

Cape Cod houses were a subset of the Colonial styles of the 18th and early 19th centuries. They had a very limited set of features that did not include dormers, porches, porticos, rake overhangs or bay/ganged windows.

A similar 19th century style developed in the Southeast called Tidewater South and had dormers that porches.

As the style spread to other regions, dormers were sometimes added and the houses enlarged but the major makeover occurred when all of the features mentioned above were added as a subset of the Colonial Revival Style. The same transformation occurred with the Georgian, Federal/Adam and Post Medieval English styles.

When using the term "Cape Cod" it is helpful to distinguish whether the house is primarily a Colonial version or a Colonial Revival version since the two versions have little in common other than a sloping roof, double-hung windows and wood clapboard or shingle siding.

Recent update of a 1920's Colonial Revival version of the Post Medieval English Colonial style.

no they don't look appropriately-sized. they look skimpy ill proportioned