In The Case of Bonnie & Clyde in Rome, Laurel and the boys visit Widow Boyd in her very austere Sears kit house. Sears (then Sears and Roebuck) was a revolutionary business in their time, and kit houses were just one of the ways they changed commerce. The Boyd house model is shown below.

From 1908-1940, housing kits were available to be purchased through the Sears and Roebuck catalog, alongside shaving necessities, clothes, and anything else you could imagine. It was, quite simply, revolutionary. More than 100,000 of the kits were sold, which arrived with all of the lumber pre-cut and exciting new products like drywall and asphalt shingles, all you would need for a thoroughly modern home.

[bctt tweet=”Sears houses were a revolution – pre-cut lumber and with newfangled drywall and asphalt shingle roofing. Have a look!”]

I also very much love the floor plans that are included. You can tell that a lot of thought was put into them, and nothing was wasted by their standards.

If you’re interested in more information, including about original color schemes, The Arts & Crafts Society has a great set of articles and several books as well.

Dallas is lucky enough to have a few pockets of these original gems left. I’m hoping to make it to the area and take some pictures or possibly a walking video tour to post here. Would anyone be interested in that?