How Did Catalog Homes Influence Modern-Day Housing?

What could be better than having the ability to hand pick your house’s layout, design and rooms, order the parts from your telephone, all while sitting at your dining room table? This type of shopping, which seems modern and dystopian, was actually possible back in the early 1900s.

This idea of catalog homes became a trend for almost half a decade and is still relevant in how it’s affected modern day housing. But first we need to know what a catalog home is, and how to know if this would be the right fit for you.

What Is A Catalog Home?

A catalog home is a home featured in a catalog that people could purchase through mail-order. The concept has evolved with time to its more modern name of kit homes. Customers can choose different floor plans, designs and features that they want present in their homes. Once the order is made, your unassembled house will be shipped to your property and ready for construction.

This idea, modern and revolutionary, allowed for the personalization of home and offered alternative living situations that was uncommon beforehand. Its conception around the turn of the century is still relevant, paving the way for modern homeowners as many of these houses can be found today and are still lived in.

The History Of Catalog Homes

Back in the beginning of the 20th century, innovative ideas of convenience and production were breaking way and making history. The assembly line, revolutionized by the Model T, made mass production quicker and easier. While the idea of a catalog home wasn’t thought of by Richard Sears, known for the Sears brand, it was made extremely popular by him expanding his catalog to include a section titled Modern Homes, where customers and subscribers could purchase a customized house to be shipped to them.

In its first 40 years the popularity of the catalog home persisted, with Sears being the top seller of kit homes. During peak popularity, of the 100,000 catalog homes sold across America, over 70,000 were sold by Sears. This remained until lumber demands for World War II started to affect supply, and the craze faded out.

Even though the purchasing and production of these homes slowed down in the 1940s, the idea and impact of them isn’t gone. And with many Sears homes still standing today, we can see the impact a modern and convenient invention had on future homes.

Sears Catalog Homes

Source: searsarchives.com

The homes from the Sears catalog look like any other home that would have been built, the difference came in how you went about buying one. No real estate agent or housing market, you would just need to find a piece of property to build your house on.

After Sears debuted this product in 1908, you could find the houses among the hundreds of pages of clothes, appliances and goods that the company sold. The kit would come with blueprints and all the material needed to build the house, you would even order interior features like lamps and wallpaper. On top of this, Sears offered 447 different home designs, ranging in size, style and price, from the modest to the opulent.

Popular Sears Catalog Home Models

Source: searsarchives.com

With so many different options it would be difficult to list them all. But among the masses, a few styles proved to be more popular than others. Here are a few designs that could be chosen:

• Magnolia: This was one of the larger and most expensive designs offered at Sears and was influenced by the Greek revival of this era. Y.
• Crafton: A very popular design when release in the 1930s, even during the Great Depression, t
• Winona: Introduced in 1916 and very popular until 1940. An example of the American cottage style house, these were moderately sized and came with 5 or 6 rooms depending on the model. Priced at $700 – $2,000.
• Phoenix: First featured in the catalog in 1911, the two-story home with a basement could be bought for $1,200, excluding labor costs.
• Auburn: Listed in 1916, this was larger in size at around 2,400 square feet and could be purchased at $2,500.

All these homes, variants and alternative floor plans could be found in the catalog at some point. And each one had the ability to be adapted to the specific homeowners wants. While these houses had a listed price, the cost of labor and extra amenities was not included in these given prices.

America’s Most Unique Catalog Home

Source: KornersFolly.org

Jules Gilmer Körner was a painter and interior designer. In 1878, Körner began work on what would become known as Körner’s Folly. Körner turned his home into its own catalog, a place where clients could walk through and choose interior items for their own homes.

While this home is not built from a catalog, its purpose of letting homeowners pick and choose their décor and interiors gives tribute to the catalog homes way of choices.

How To Identify A Sears Catalog Home

But how can you tell if the house was originally a catalog home? Because of how long ago these houses could’ve been built, it will be slightly more difficult to identify an original catalog home. But all is not lost, there are a few things to be on the lookout for if searching for one of these homes:

• Checking the home’s floor plan and dimensions using a guide to Sears homes. These floor plans, measurements and amenities can be found in the Sears archives which has many original catalog prints available.
• Look in those dusty and forgotten corners, like basements, attics or crawl spaces for blueprints or receipts. Additionally, the lumber was stamped with Sears branding.
• Sears would stamp an “R” or “SR” on plumbing fixtures once these were installed.
• Your chances of being able to find the origins of a historical home are good, either through mortgage records or building permits to see if Sears was the original mortgage holder or architect.

Modern Build-It-Yourself Kit Homes

The modern build-it-yourself kit home is similar to its predecessor and still just as convenient, with its process of picking out a home and getting it delivered to your property. These kits are often affordable and a way to achieve a custom build.

These houses come in different styles including cottage, studio and contemporary. So, if you’re looking to be the most unique house on the block, a kit home could be right for you.

Why Catalog Homes And Kit Homes Became Popular

Accessible Housing

An important reason for the kit homes popularity was the inclusivity of offering a wide range of homes with varying prices, sizes and layouts. This ability to appeal to the masses was integral in the popularity and longevity of the houses. It was also a quick and easy alternative to the traditional way of buying a home.

They Hold Their Value

Because of the original catalog homes classic and timeless designs, a home built in 1917 would still have all of the features and rooms of a standard modern house.

This along with consistent upkeep and maintenance, the home has great opportunity for an increase in home value appreciation. In newer kit homes, the builds are more aware and cautious of keeping these homes energy efficient, which can be done with the use of solar power. This will not only increase the value of the property but decrease monthly energy costs.

Customizability

These homes became popular because of the individual’s ability to customize the space and make their home unique to their living situations. It’s a clean slate to make your home yours only, an appealing trait for someone deciding whether they want to buy or build a house.

The Bottom Line: Add Your Modern Touch To A Vintage Catalog Home Today

From the catalog homes beginnings to modern kit homes, it’s understandable why a home you can customize yourself has stayed a popular option for anyone in the market for a home.

If you want the convenience of a catalog home and understand the stipulations of added costs, look into purchasing a kit home. It might seem hard at first, but you can find affordable and customizable housing similar to how these homes worked in the past.

If you’re looking to purchase a home, or you’re looking for an original and vintage catalog home to add your own personal touch to, connect here with an agent today.