Sears Honor-Bilt Ashmore: Kitchen Remodel
The Ashmore–the “Aristocrat of Bungalows”–was one of the Sears Honor-Bilt Homes sold through the catalog between 1916 and 1922 for between $1,648 to $3,632. It’s considered one of the rarer models. Rosemary Thornton, who’s a well-known expert on Sears Kit Homes, has been able to identify only three still existing in the United States. (For more information about these homes in general, read my earlier post on the topic here.)
The Convenient Old House followed the remodel of one that was built in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1917. For a bungalow of that era, the model is fairly large, with 6 bedrooms and a living room 23 feet long.
At the time, the kitchen was considered modern and, according to the catalog, “arranged to save unnecessary steps, planned with every thought for the minimizing of labor, with every care for convenience with the idea of intensive housekeeping always in mind. Everything has been placed within easy reach for the work at hand.”
But the kitchen’s layout would be considered cramped and difficult to work in by today’s standards, with less than six and a half feet of counter space and minimal cabinet storage. The “breakfast alcove” was only big enough to seat two. The kitchen was remodeled in the early 1990s by enclosing the porch to expand the kitchen, but it lost most of the original character along the way.
Here are the interior photos of the Ashmore from the original catalog. It came with a fieldstone fireplace, wood paneling, and a built-in buffet:
This was the state of the kitchen when Tom and Carolyn Jensen bought this home in Minneapolis:
And here it is after being lovingly restored with the help of architect
Joseph G. Metzler (SALA Architects, Inc.):
Did you see the picture of the “breakfast alcove” in the original catalog page (shown above)? Here it is in the Jensens’ home, fully restored:
I think it’s charming, don’t you?
(All photos belong to The Convenient Old House.)
Read my overview of the Sears Modern Homes that were built between 1908 and 1940 if you want to see photos of various models then and now.
If You’re Hooked on Old Houses:
- Sears Modern Homes: House Kits from Catalogs
- Sears Honor-Bilt Home: The Lynnhaven Model
- The Historic Spite House in Virginia (only 7 feet wide!).
- Cobble Court, a manor built to look like a French-Norman estate
- Stokesay Court, the estate used in the Keira Knightley film “Atonement”
- 1908 Gaslight Mansion in St. Louis
- Mark Twain’s Tiffany-Decorated Mansion in Hartford, Connecticut
- Toronto’s Little House (which is even smaller than the Spite House)
- Dolly Parton’s Childhood Home in Tennessee
June 5th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I am very impressed with the way they restored the kitchen. What a labor of love!
June 6th, 2008 at 12:22 am
Fascinating article and I agree with JLB regarding the restored kitchen. It really stays true to the original design. I lived in a home similar to this for almost 30 years and spent countless hours remodeling. We replaced much of the molding throughout to match up with the original molding still remaining in parts of the house. The homes built during this period are spacious and solid with tons of character. I love them! Thanks for this wonderful piece.
June 6th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Hi Thanks for coimg to my porch party and for taking the time to leave a comment. Hope you’ll come again. I love that house!
Rhondi
June 6th, 2008 at 7:53 am
what a beautiful makeover! I love the warmth from all of the wood.
The ashmore has a wonderful exterior, but I am not a fan of that floorplan!
June 6th, 2008 at 8:03 am
melting…
June 6th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Julia, this could easily be our dream home!! Love it!
I am so happy to see the kitchen restored to it’s former glory!
Pat
June 6th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I want that house. And I’d even live in Minneapolis to get it.
THAT is my kind of dream home.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I Love this house! It is so charming. Any idea why there are only 3 remaining today? Seems like there would have been more of these since they were sold through the Sears catalog–just wondering. Anyway, thanks for the post.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I love these houses–how would it be to get a six-bedroom house for less than $3,000? And their cramped kitchen with ONLY 6 and 1/2 feet of counterspace? I work on 1 and 1/2 feet of counterspace–seriously. Altogether, we total less than 6 and 1/2 half feet. What would Sears have to say about that, I wonder?
June 6th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Beautiful! I love the style of these old homes and admire the owners for putting so much work into it. Since I own a “fixer” I can’t imagine doing it again but I love the charm and character and warmth that these homes have.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
So stinkin’ charming, those Sears homes. I looked at your previous Sears post–and I cry inside at the box houses popping up all over the country now. When did we lose this sense of “home?” Meaning, the mass home builders today for middle America.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
That’s a good question, Angela. I ask myself that all the time. When we were house hunting a few years ago, I was stunned by how everything we looked at was almost identical. Just big boxes. You could walk through them with your eyes closed and figure out which rooms were which because they all followed the same floorplan, with only minor differences here and there.
I keep hoping home builders will catch a clue. If they built a neighborhood with houses modeled after these Sears homes, there would be a stampede. And lemme tell ya, I’d be first in line. -Julia
June 8th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Aww..its cute!
July 25th, 2008 at 1:32 am
I love the kitchen makeover. It doesn’t abandon the original design or intent but advances it. fabulous kitchen.
p.s. I LOVE the original brochure pics. Gotta love those home prices - $2,870!
January 7th, 2009 at 4:15 am
Wow this house is so much like the home I grew up in! I’m now wondering if my house was a Sears house? Except the floor plan is just slitly different and my house had a bump out upstairs, hhhmmm interesting! Nice makeover too!
~Tam:D