Birdman "PRE-FABulous" Homes

When many of us think of homes in California our minds take us to neighborhoods of endless track homes, mansions scattered in the hills or beach houses lining the coast. Birdman came across something a bit different this past month while scouting homes around Northern California. We found two prefabricated houses built 100 years apart! A Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog home completed in 1908 and the other a Michelle Kaufman Designs modular home completed in 2008.

Sears, Roebuck & Co. started selling prefabricated homes to Americans in 1908. A family could purchase all the necessary hardware, materials and plans to build a home for themselves. This model, Modern home No. 124, was delivered in pieces to Petaluma by railroad in 1908. It came from the first catalog of Modern Homes released by Sears and the bathroom was an upgrade. The homeowner has restored the home to its original beauty.

Michelle Kaufmann Designs (MKD) was founded in 2002 in California; the company offers the general public modular, eco-friendly and sustainable homes. This model, The Sunset® Breezehouse™, like all MKD homes was built in a factory off site in cube like sections. Then it was shipped to Lafayette by truck and assembled by a team on site with a crane.

Eco-friendly upgrades have replaced options like bathrooms. Railroads no longer reach small towns and the Internet has replaced paper catalogs. But all in all the concept of prefabricated homes hasn’t changed much in 100 years. Americans can still order prefabricated family homes and customize it to fit their lifestyle; the major difference is sticker price.

The Modern Home No. 124 in 1908 cost about $3,000.00 (with bathroom upgrade)
The Sunset Breezehouse in 2008 cost about $300,000.00