Some houses are custom-designed by an architect, for a specific site. But most houses weren’t built that way. During the 20th century, many houses were built from plans that the owner or builder purchased from a catalog. Some houses came as “kits,” with plans and a complete set of building materials cut to size and ready to assemble.
If your house has a twin next door, or if you’ve seen other houses around town that look like yours, it’s possible that the builder purchased a plan or kit by mail order. Some catalogs for these plans and kits have been digitized and are now available online. The library also has books with old mail-order floor plans in them.
These websites show exterior views of each house (some in color), floor plans, and prices. Since most mail-order house companies also sold cabinetry, fancy trim, plumbing and lighting fixtures, and furniture, you can sometimes get an idea for popular interior design of the period as well.
-
A large collection of reproductions of house plan catalogs and other helpful resources, including a 1920 book of house plans published by the Portland Telegram newspaper, and a reproduction of an article from a 1925 issue of American Builder describing the development of Portland's Peacock Lane.
-
House plan catalogs from 1908 to 1954, in digital format from the Aladdin Company. Many of the catalogs have color pictures. The site also has a tutorial on researching the history of your own house. From the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University.
-
Pictures from the Sears Modern Homes catalogs from 1908 to 1940. Most images include a floor plan, description of the house and an illustration of the exterior.
-
A growing collection of more than 10,000 digitized trade catalogs featuring different things that builders, architects and homeowners might need to purchase to construct or maintain a building (furnaces, windows and doors, hardware, pipe, etc.). The collection also includes more than 1,000 home plan books.