Over-the-top Victorian embellishment was replaced with an appreciation for simplicity.
Introduction
As the 19th century came to a close, the concepts that defined the middle-class home and family were changing. The industrial boom of the late 19th century greatly increased the number of families that wanted to and could afford to own a home. Immigrants who had served as cheap domestic servants found more lucrative employment in factories, and it became difficult and more expensive to hire replacements. Without servants, caring for large Victorian homes was difficult, and a smaller house became desirable. Declining birthrates also drove homebuyers away from large houses. Political developments of the Progressive era contributed to downsizing homes as women sought lives outside of their roles as wives and mothers, culminating in 1920 in the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment granting them the right to vote. The “Cult of Domesticity” slowly came to an end.
Housing design adapted to these new realities. Smaller homes on smaller lots became the norm. There was no longer any need for formal entertaining areas, family areas, and servant areas. Music rooms, reception rooms, conservatories, parlors, and butler pantries were dropped in favor of the “living room” and smaller kitchens. Coziness, comfort, functionality, and economical operation became important elements of homes of the early 20th century.
Also fueling the change in architectural design was the Arts and Crafts Movement, an aesthetic movement that celebrated simplicity. Tracing its roots back to William Morris and John Ruskin in England, the movement was concerned with the dehumanizing impact industrialization had on workers. If factory workers could stop making goods by machine and return to making them by hand, they would once again connect their head with their hands and exert control of their lives instead of being exploited as cheap labor. Aesthetically, over-the-top Victorian embellishment was replaced with an appreciation for simple, clean lines and natural, unadorned beauty and craftsmanship.
The Arts and Crafts Movement became popular in America through the efforts of two of its leaders: Elbert Hubbard and Gustav Stickley. Hubbard established the Roycroft Printing Shop in East Aurora, New York in 1895, which he modeled after William Morris’s Kelmscott Press. Hubbard expanded the print shop to become an entire artists’ community focused on handmade furniture, metalwork, rugs, picture frames, and lighting fixtures.
Gustav Stickley also founded a furniture company in New York, and in 1901, he started his own magazine, The Craftsman, to espouse the ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement. He organized his furniture company along the lines of a medieval guild, seeking input from each worker. Usually made of oak, Stickley’s furniture developed a reputation for its simple designs that celebrated the natural beauty of the wood. In his magazine, he stated that he “stands firmly for the development in the country of a national arts and a style of architecture which shall be a true expression of the character and needs of the American people….”
Arts and Crafts in Home Architecture
The concepts of the Arts and Crafts Movement influenced domestic architecture, particularly a style of house called a bungalow. It quickly became the most popular home design as it was heavily promoted in magazines like House Beautiful and Ladies’ Home Journal. Modeled after traditional homes in India and popularized in California, the bungalow was a low, compact house, often less than 1,000 square feet in size. It emphasized horizontal lines, overhanging roofs, simple porches, and bands of windows that brought the outside in. The design emphasized simplicity and functionality.
The expanding prewar economy led to an expanding middle class in the period between 1900 and 1917. Many people who lived in urban apartments sought to buy small, cheap homes, and the bungalow was marketed to these first-time homebuyers. The bungalow also seemed a perfect fit for America’s democratic ideals. Anyone who wanted to could buy a house, a key element of the “American Dream.”
Companies advertised either house blueprints or “redicut” home kits in popular magazines aimed at a female readership. They did not require hiring an architect. Beautiful color catalogs of home designs were mailed to prospective buyers. If purchased, kit homes were shipped via rail.
Radford’s Artistic Bungalows, a book of home designs published by the Radford Architectural Company of Chicago, noted, “If any person intending to build a home is limited in his means, he cannot do any better than to build a bungalow.” Some companies named their home designs with inspiring and uplifting names. The Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan was one of the largest sellers of home kits through catalogs. Its 1917 catalog included the “Sunshine,” described as having “individuality portrayed in all its lines and it is distinctly American in its character.” It sold for $1,096.30. To encourage buyers who were hesitant about buying a kit from a catalog for a house, the company offered the “Aladdin Famous Dollar a Knot Guaranty.” For every knot found in the wood, the purchaser would be refunded one dollar. During its 77-year history, Aladdin sold more than 75,000 homes. Even traditional catalog companies like Sears and Roebuck and Montgomery Ward entered the home-kit business.
Efficiency and Convenience Inside the Home
Houses of the early 20th century not only looked different on the outside than the earlier Victorian home, they were also very different on the inside. With fewer and fewer households able to afford servants, women became “housewives,” implying they were married to their homes. General housekeeping remained a difficult and time-consuming task, and often one task would take an entire day—Monday for washing clothes, Tuesday for ironing, etc.—and every day required the preparation of meals. Architects saw a direct relationship between house design and the needs of the housewife. As one stated, “The house which is economically planned is economical as to money, carpets, sweeping, and strength. The architect may do a great deal for housekeepers by keeping this thought in mind.” Closets were placed near the front door for outside clothing. Bathrooms gathered all necessary personal hygiene functions into one room. Bungalows often included built-in furniture like bookcases, buffets, and inglenooks.
Perhaps the greatest impact of this economical and efficient planning was found in the kitchen, which was still the hub of family life. Dishwashing, which once utilized a tub, water bucket, and tea kettle to heat water, now benefitted from a sink with hot and cold water next to a counter. Laundry could also be done inside. Everything that one might need for cooking could be stored in a stand-alone unit called a Hoosier cupboard, named for the company that first popularized them. Ice boxes were built so that the ice man could easily deliver.
Electricity revolutionized home life. In the 1880s, a single light bulb cost one dollar—the equivalent of a half day’s wages—while a kilowatt hour of electricity cost 20 cents. By 1910, only 10 percent of American homes had electricity, and it was viewed as a luxury. More electrical lines made it more affordable, and by 1921, one million residences had electricity, and that number doubled by 1924. Electric lights were also safer and cleaner than gas lighting.
With the adoption of electricity, the household appliance industry was born. In an interview in The Mother’s Magazine in 1907, Thomas Edison stated,
“Most laborsaving devices are blessings … the devices that do away with drudgery, like sweeping, kneading bread, washing dishes, oil lamps, laundry, etc., giving womanhood opportunities unknown years ago for better and broader occupations. I admire a good housewife, but pity the woman who goes to her grave broken by household duties. No excuse now exists for such an end.”
Appliance companies advertised in magazines aimed at women. The American Vacuum Company ads of 1900 asked, “Which do you do in your house? Pack dirt in, or lift it out?” The Lisk Manufacturing Company sold self-basting roasters that offered the cook “nothing to watch but the clock,” and the Monroe Refrigerator Company boasted of porcelain refrigerators that were more sanitary than ice boxes.
Floor plans for homes changed with the adoption of electricity. They could be more open since lighting was readily available to illuminate every room. The color palettes used in interior design also changed to be lighter since there was not the problem of soot from fireplaces and gas or oil lamps to make walls dirty. The fireplace that had once been essential for heating became a largely decorative luxury, with modern fireplace like the Dimplex Ignite XL Bold adding a touch of contemporary elegance to the traditional concept.
The Home of a Hundred Comforts, published by the General Electric Company in 1920, exemplifies the role of electricity in shaping the homes of the decade. “You measure the comfort of your home by its convenience,” the book begins—convenience, of course, referring to electricity and all the devices it powered.
The demand for labor-saving devices and the appliance industry’s success in meeting that demand simplified domestic chores, as did the many handbooks that provided advice to the homemaker on efficiency. Christine Frederick’s 1912 The New Housekeeping: Efficiency Studies in Home Management was typical. It was born out of her own experiences with household work and the positive responses she received to four articles she wrote on “efficiency science” for Ladies’ Home Journal. Other guides suggested How To Be Your Own Decorator, a 1926 book that stated, “To make a home an attractive and comfortable place in which to live is a woman’s job. To some women, it comes very easily; to others, though they have the same desire, it is difficult to accomplish.” Many books and magazines provided the necessary guidance.
The small size and simple design of bungalows, along with their heavy promotion and sales through catalogs and in kits, contributed to a rapidly expanding housing market, with nearly a million new homes built in 1925 alone. Other boom industries also expanded rapidly. In 1925, Willys-Overland, an automobile company in Toledo, had a payroll of $27 million, employed 23,000 workers, and built more than 300,000 cars. Many saw an opportunity to make money without even working by investing in the stock market. You did not need any cash up front to do so; you could borrow against future returns to purchase stock. The result was an overheated economy that was unsustainable, and a crash was probably inevitable.
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the longest and most severe economic crisis in modern times. Started by a crash in the price of stocks in October 1929, it soon engulfed all economic sectors. Willys-Overland, which had been the second largest automobile company in the country in 1929, was bankrupt by 1936. New housing construction ground to a halt. Banks closed, leaving depositors without access to their savings after thousands panicked and tried to withdraw their money at once. People who had borrowed to buy stocks found they could not repay the loans and their investments were worthless.
By 1933, over 1.5 million homes were in default or foreclosure, and the need for affordable housing was critical. Some who could afford nothing constructed “Hoovervilles,” temporary squatter communities named after the president who seemed unwilling to help them. After the election of Franklin Roosevelt, the federal government took a much greater interest in helping to provide affordable housing for the dispossessed. The Federal Housing Act of 1934 brought the promotion of housing into the realm of government by allowing for the purchase of homes with little down payment and 22-year mortgages. Roosevelt’s New Deal also created the first permanent, federally funded public housing project in Atlanta, Georgia in 1936. Such public housing was originally intended to meet the needs of the white middle class that had become temporarily unemployed during the Depression, although the passage of the United States Housing Act of 1937 produced public housing for more permanent low-income families. The goal of the act was “… to alleviate present and recurring unemployment and to remedy the unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions and the acute shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling for families of low income….”
For many, poor housing was a reflection of not just poverty, but also race. According to a report of the Federal Housing Administration published in 1934 titled The Structure and Growth of Residential Neighborhoods in American Cities, there was a high correlation between poor quality housing, poverty, and race. In minority neighborhoods, over 50 percent of homes lacked modern amenities and were in physical disrepair.
For those who were lucky enough to afford to own their own homes, financial constraints were a driving force in home design during the Depression. Home design books and magazines from the period frequently referenced homeowners’ budgetary concerns. Even a product like paint could be purchased on a payment plan. Sherwin-Williams’ The Home Decorator and Color Guide of 1939 promoted simple, comfortable furniture against walls painted with clean, light colors that could bring “joy” to the home. In addition, “Sherwin-Williams offers you a Budget Payment Plan that makes it possible for you to paint now and pay for the whole thing, labor included, in either 12 or 18 easy monthly payments.” Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company emphasized similar economical home design in its Practical Suggestions for the Interesting Use of Glass and Paint in Your Home in 1938, which stated, “In the building of the new home or the remodeling of the old one, ideas play just as important a part as money.” Not surprisingly, PPG suggested larger windows, which the company said would be an asset for both the home’s budget and aesthetics.
Guide books for the efficient management of the home continued to be published in the 1930s. As with home design, the emphasis was on not only efficiency, but also affordability. A report by the Committee on Household Management, published in 1932, estimated the average woman spent 45 to 51 hours a week on household chores. Domestic manuals such as Everywoman’s Complete Guide to Homemaking (1938) and Food Purchasing for the Home (1930) advised women on tips for economically running a household to make the best use of these hours. Such guidebooks reinforced the latest scientific theories, especially in regards to buying perishable food and maintaining a sanitary home while avoiding waste. Emily Post’s The Personality of a House, published in 1939, contained a chapter on decorating a charming home “at the least expense.”
Architectural Styles of the 1930s
The clean, simple lines of the Arts and Crafts Movement evolved into Modern, an architectural style that utilized materials such as concrete and glass. One of the proponents of this style was the Owens-Illinois Company, which developed a new building product called Insulux Glass Block. The blocks were used in the same way masonry bricks were used, but their hollow middle provided greater insulation and they allowed in light, which regular bricks could not. Owens-Illinois showed off its new product at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933, constructing an entire building of glass block. The design fit well with the fair’s theme of “A Century of Progress.” Insulux catalogs from the 1930s promoted the style, economy, and practicality of glass block in both residential and commercial construction. In addition, the company touted that glass block would modernize the home with simple, clean styling, improve health and safety by blocking out impure air and outside noises, maintain consistent temperature and humidity, and provide protection against intruders. Because of its style, endurance, and affordability, glass block has remained a popular building product for decades since its development.
Bibliography
- Davey, Peter. Arts and Crafts Architecture. Hong Kong: Phaidon Press Ltd., 1995.
- Foy, Jessica and Thomas J. Schlereth, eds. American Home Life, 1880-1930: A Social History of Spaces and Services. Knoxville, TN: The University of Tennessee Press, 1992
- Kardon, Janet, ed. The Ideal Home, 1900-1920: The History of Twentieth-Century American Craft. New York: Harry N Abrams, Incorporated, 1993.
- Schwartz Cowan, Ruth. “The ‘Industrial Revolution’ in the Home: Household Technology and Social Change in the 20th Century.” Technology and Culture Magazine (January 1976).
- Schweitzer, Robert and Michael W. R. Davis. America’s Favorite Homes: Mail Order Catalogues as a Guide to Popular 20th Century Houses. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1990.
Originally published by the Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections, The University of Toledo, 10.19.2016, under an Open Access license.