We just bought this house, but we haven't moved in yet so I have to wait before I get to poke around the place looking for the telltale signs that it is indeed a Sears kit house. Still, it really looks like the Sears "Somerset" plan that I found online. Can anyone confirm this for me? What do you think?

I appreciate any and all comments in advance! Thanks!

The house was built in 1920, by the way, and it is located in northwest Illinois if that makes any difference...

No, it is not a Somerset. It isn't a Sears at all. When determining the identity of a house, you need to look at the outside first.

There are only so many ways you can arrange the floorplan of a house so many houses resemble each other.

The Somerset has a very distinctive front porch with a high arch that is usually still apparent even if has been sided.. It also has a bay on one side.

It might be another kit house. Aladdin, Gordon Van Tyne are a coupld of companies.

Ah, you are right. I see what you mean about the porch roof line. It does have a bay window on the other side of the house where the Somerset plans say one should be, and the floor plan matches it to a "T". But yeah, the porch is all wrong, isn't it.

I haven't found anything that resembles it in the Aladdin websites. Where else might I look? Do you figure it's maybe not a kit house at all? If that's the case, does it mean that it was custom built, or did people buy plans from places like Sears and then modify them to their taste?

Thanks!

In addition to kit homes, there were "pattern books" where you could order house plans and then hire a builder.
Often times builders would build a street of homes using a few different floor plans.... just like the different construction companies do today.

I subscribe to Country Living magazine and I know they have a column that shows a "house of the month" where you can order the plans for it.

I would look at some of the small details on your house like the roof brackets and types of columns and see if they match any other houses in the neighborhood.

For example, if you look at the Somerset and its the eaves bracket, it is distinctive because it's made up of 5 pieces and the one piece bisects the support itself. that isn't exclusive to Sears but it always sends up a "check me out signal" when I come across one.

Many times, its the little things that help you figure out the big picture.

By the way your house is a very cozy looking house - the porch looks like a great place to hang out!

Thanks Donna for the ideas, and for the compliments on the house. I think it will be cozy too!

The other pattern that I thought it resembled in the Sears catalogue is "The Somers" (link below), but even with that one, the porch is all wrong. But the floor plan is identical. We will certainly find out more when we move in and are able to look at some of those details you write about. I can't wait. I also hope to find out more in the city's archives. Any advice about that process?

Thanks again!

http://www.arts-crafts.com/archive/sears/page105.html

The best way to research a house is covered in Rosemary Thornton's book "Finding the Houses that Sears Built." She takes you through the whole courthouse process. It talks specifically about sears houses but generalizes well to research any home.

Also talk to your neighbors who've been around for a while.... check the eaves in your attic and in the back of any built ins you might have. The floor plans might be tucked away somewhere. The search should be fun!!

If that were a Sears House, it'd be the Winona. The way the hipped porch roof "oversteps" the house is a key feature of the Winona. However, those little front-gabled homes are mighty hard to pin down.

I'd measure the home's footprint and see if it matches the Winona. Plus, these smaller homes were often "puffed" and customized and altered.

Don't forget to look for stamped lumber.

Rose