Comments on: Sears Modern Homes: House Kits from Catalogs

By: Charlene

Charlene — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:36:13 +0000

Our first home was a Sears Foursquare kit home built around 1910 in Lincoln, Nebraska. During the time we owned it we spent a lot of time restoring and refurbishing every bit of it. The woodwork was wonderful — beautiful oak downstairs and a nice pine upstairs. All of it was covered with layers and layers of white paint. We took 13 pounds of dried paint off the trim in the upstairs hallway alone! The walls were made of concrete block which the original owner and his sons poured themselves — apparently the molds were included in the kit. They looked like stone when assembled — or were supposed to. The house had been painted white and we painted it a terra cotta color true to the time period when it was built. Downstairs walls had airspace created by 2×4s with lathe and plaster walls over it. Upstairs walls were just plastered over the concrete blocks. Oh, did they get cold in the winter — usually a thick layer of frost on the inside walls from December to February. Not drafty just conducted the cold really well. Otherwise, it was a very livable house and of much better quality than our present day home built in 1977!

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:58:58 +0000

Renee…I could probably give a good try at telling you what model home you are in…you can email me at nob835@aol.com

By: KP

KP — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 01:34:34 +0000

I live in a Sears house. How do I submit the picture of what it looks like today?
Thanks

By: ajiga

ajiga — Wed, 21 May 2008 14:38:28 +0000

beautiful houses

By: Renee

Renee — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:26:26 +0000

I am the proud owner of a sears modern kit home. My grandma bought it 65 years ago and I have owned it for 14 years. I am not sure what model it is and would love someone to tell me what they think. email…xassper8ing @yahoo.com. Wisconsin.

By: Em

Em — Sun, 11 May 2008 13:56:26 +0000

I grew up in a kit house in New Jersey, although I am not sure it was a Sears. The original paperwork says “kit house.” It is a Four Square from ~1919. I love the window frames and doors etc. One of the charms of the design is that it lets in a lot of light. To our regret, my parents need to sell the house now, as it and the large yard is too much for them. I am always interested when I see a similar house elsewhere in the country.

By: Sherry McKinley

Sherry McKinley — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:44:56 +0000

I’m trying to find a copy of the 75 page instruction booklet for putting the house together… I’m curious about the process, how much of the material was supplied, etc. looked on ebay, amazon, but no luck. Any suggesions?

By: janet

janet — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:04:00 +0000

I have the book “Houses by Mail” by Katherine Cole Stevenson and H. Ward Jandl. It is so much fun to look at all the different styles and read the descriptions (”reflects good cheer and gracious dignity”) and I admit to cribbing some phrases when I run out of imagination for my R.E. ads. A must have book for anyone interested in architecture of the first half of the 20th century.

Janet

By: abbreviated

abbreviated — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:12:46 +0000

Wonder how many people have a mail order house & a mail order bride ?

By: irishsof

irishsof — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:38:41 +0000

Oh, this is my favorite post of your blog for the couple months I’ve been reading it. SO interesting and well, “warm”. My fave is the Puritan model, but it was tough to choose.