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Good podcast on this: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-house-that-came-in-the-mail/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-house-that-came-i... T

Good podcast on this: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-house-that-came-in-the-mail/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-house-that-came-i... The houses look fairly ordinary, here's an example: https://img.atlasobscura.com/w5ka7Nu51kS6w9gIH24ObDyeKBfhbkPybJB_6_Ry7aw/rs:fill:12000:12000/q:81/sm:1/scp:1/ar:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdGxh/cy1kZXYuczMuYW1h/em9uYXdzLmNvbS91/cGxvYWRzL2Fzc2V0/cy9mZjc2YjYwYzMz/ODZmMjM5YTZfQ2Fu/dG9uIE9oaW8gU2Vh/cnMgTWFnbm9saWEg/d2l0aCBCb29rLmpw/Zw.jpg https://img.atlasobscura.com/w5ka7Nu51kS6w9gIH24ObDyeKBfhbkP.... I wonder if I've ever visited one unknowingly.

gs17 3y ago
I lived across from one (nowhere near as nice as that one though), and you definitely can't tell.
soderfoo 3y ago
> fairly ordinary I don't know if I'm just nostalgic for American homes, but that home looks striking to me. But I know what you mean.
nonethewiser 3y ago
That’s so much nicer than I was expecting. I figured it was something like a trailer home.
JoeAltmaier 3y ago
Easy to do! I've known several in my hometown, even rented one for a while. Recently looking at properties for sale around the state, found a fancy house with a pillar'd porch and elaborate newel post, pillared doorways, sliding doors, screened summer kitchen in the back - and instantly recognized it as a Sears Roebuck house with added features! If you enter into a 'parlor' with a switchback staircase on the right, fancy newel post, maybe a gabled landing then it's a good chance. To the left, a double doorway to a sitting room. Right from there, pillared fancy doorway (possibly sliding doors) to a dining room with bay window. Behind that a pantry and then a screened summer kitchen, often closed in in later years. Straight from the entryway you get a sort of closet with the basement stairs on the right (and maybe another exterior door) and a shelving unit on the left. Through that to a play room or downstairs bedroom. If there's a bathroom it's behind that. All lathe-and-plaster walls, wainscoting of various designs depending on the money they had to spend. Upstairs a short hallway with four doors to four bedrooms. Maybe a sleeping porch behind the first bedroom on the right. Anyway seen this design around here (midwest) many times, sometimes a little larger or smaller but always the same layout!

gs17 3y ago

I lived across from one (nowhere near as nice as that one though), and you definitely can't tell.

soderfoo 3y ago

> fairly ordinary I don't know if I'm just nostalgic for American homes, but that home looks striking to me. But I know what you mean.

nonethewiser 3y ago

That’s so much nicer than I was expecting. I figured it was something like a trailer home.

JoeAltmaier 3y ago

Easy to do! I've known several in my hometown, even rented one for a while. Recently looking at properties for sale around the state, found a fancy house with a pillar'd porch and elaborate newel post, pillared doorways, sliding doors, screened summer kitchen in the back - and instantly recognized it as a Sears Roebuck house with added features! If you enter into a 'parlor' with a switchback staircase on the right, fancy newel post, maybe a gabled landing then it's a good chance. To the left, a double doorway to a sitting room. Right from there, pillared fancy doorway (possibly sliding doors) to a dining room with bay window. Behind that a pantry and then a screened summer kitchen, often closed in in later years. Straight from the entryway you get a sort of closet with the basement stairs on the right (and maybe another exterior door) and a shelving unit on the left. Through that to a play room or downstairs bedroom. If there's a bathroom it's behind that. All lathe-and-plaster walls, wainscoting of various designs depending on the money they had to spend. Upstairs a short hallway with four doors to four bedrooms. Maybe a sleeping porch behind the first bedroom on the right. Anyway seen this design around here (midwest) many times, sometimes a little larger or smaller but always the same layout!