Latest obsession du jour

In case no one has noticed, I seem to have (what appears to be) a short attention span. Not true, actually, but there are so many things to do and so little time in which to do them.

I haven't forgotten about working on the How to Design Houses section of my website, nor have I become bored or disaffected by the project, either. I've simply become temporarily preoccupied researching and doing some modeling work on some of the Sears Craftsman "Modern Homes". These were complete, pre-cut house kits that Sears sold from about 1908 through 1940. In fact, they sold over 100,000 houses over that period. It's a history lesson, and I'm finding that modeling these kit houses is giving me some really good insight.

You can find some designs (actually scanned images from their catalogs) on the Sears Archives site. I also found a good many more scanned (but smaller, less distinct) images on the About.com site. If you want a history lesson in early 20th century houses, these are the places to start. There are also books on this subject, and I've taken the liberty to order a few from Amazon.com. I'll let you know what I think once I've looked through them.

But, anyway, I've finished modeling one very nice design, and here are a couple of good, hi-res images for you to peruse. This is the view as from the catalog (No. 161, the Niota) on the About.com site. Here is another view, from the rear. I had to guess on quite a few things, and I seem to have made some materials (and dimension) mistakes (I guess I should have read the description a little better!), but I think it's a pretty accurate rendering. Regardless, I like it. I've started a second design (No. 173, the Princeville), but I only have the one small image to work from.

Stay tuned. I'm enjoying this!