Many times, I’ve written a note to someone to tell them that they’re living in an Aladdin Kit Home, and invariably, when they right back they’ll say, “I’m so excited to find out that I have a Sears House!”
In fact, I’d say that this happens 80% of the time.
Aladdin kit homes are not Sears kit homes. These are two different companies.
Sears gets all the press, but there were six other companies selling kit homes on a national level and Sears was neither the biggest, nor the longest lived. Sears started selling homes in 1908 and was gone by 1940. Conversely, Aladdin issued their first catalog in 1906 and closed their doors in 1981. During their 32 years in the business, Sears sold about 70,000 homes. Aladdin sold more than 75,000 homes.
When I wrote my first article about kit homes in early 2000, many folks had never even heard of Sears Homes, so perhaps in time, people will come to appreciate (and know about) Aladdin. From an architectural standpoint, it’s a more interesting company, just because of the variety of housing styles offered through the decades.
And many thanks to Dale Wolicki and Rebecca Hunter for finding the beauty featured below! You can visit Dale’s website here, and you can learn more about Rebecca here.
To learn more about identify kit homes, click here.
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The Brentwood was featured on the cover of the 1951 catalog.
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Aladdin was actually a bigger company than Sears, and longer-lived, but today, it seems that fewer people are aware of this company (1951 catalog).
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Close-up of the picture from the page above. The text explains why it's simple to build with the Readi-cut system. I was hoping that those are Aladdin houses in the background, but I don't think they are.
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Thanks to the modern marvel of machinery (and electricity), and a central site for pre-cutting all the framing lumber, one man can now do the work of six!
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The Brentwood was a dandy house with four floor plans with some variation.
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Floorplan one is the only house with a fireplace.
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Floorplan two is down to two bedrooms, but has a bigger kitchen/DR.
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Floorplan 2 and 3 have the same layout, but 3 is a smaller footrpint.
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Floorplan 3 and 4 are the same footprint, but with three bedrooms carved into the small space.
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This appears to be Floorplan #1, as it has a fireplace and a planter under that bedroom window. Apparently, the houses in this subdivision have tremendous water pressure. The guy with the house is being pushed backwards.
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Then again, he also looks like America's first metrosexual.
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Located in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, this gorgeous Mid-Century Modern Ranch is a perfect match to the catalog image. My favorite feature is that over sized, dramatic fireplace (which appears to have several flues). Photo is copyright 2015 Dale Wolicki and Rebecca Hunter and can not be used or reproduced without written permission.
What a house!
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You can visit Dale’s website here, and you can learn more about Rebecca here.
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The first three models, with the biggest kitchen/dining room space available, make the poorest use of that space.
I wonder how many were actually built with the cabinets offered in the arrangement indicated?
That’s terrible. I always look at the kitchens as offered in the plans, no matter what year they are.
It seems immediately after WWII, and a few years after, the kitchens either got too small to turn around in, or had the worst possible use of space with practically no cabinet space, or both.
And that’s not just kit homes either.
Shari! Aladdin Homes wants you to have your dream kitchen! We will move the doors – We will move the windows -We will move the walls – just send us a sketch of what you want!
You can upgrade the cabinets – you can even specify the cabinet manufacturer! Send us pictures of kitchens you like and let us suggest other designs!
If you prefer to do have a local kitchen designer do the work Aladdin Homes will ship your house without cabinets!
Aladdin Homes encourage customers to personalize their order, and they knew the wife made most of the design decisions.