A Little Bit of Magic: The Sears Fairy

If you love the smallest and sweetest of Sears houses, say hello to the Sears Fairy  —  a tiny cottage at 616 square feet. From Evanston to St. Charles, these little houses continue to delight.

Evanston

2441 Ridgeway Avenue, Evanston.

The Fairy from the 1928 Modern Homes catalog.

The Evanston Fairy has enjoyed a bit of fame, thanks to a feature on Apartment Therapy that showcased its cozy interiors and clever updates by owners Jaimie and James.

Originally a two-bedroom, the couple opened it up to make the space feel larger, combining the living room into a large dining room, and turning the front bedroom into a small sitting room.

I'm not one hundred percent sure that this house is a Sears Fairy. The Evanston home bears one hallmark of the Fairy model: the front porch pillars, which look like the Sears originals that once held up the pergola.

When the house was new, it belonged to Bernard and Martha Lindberg. Bernard was a city fireman, and the couple lived in the Fairy as early as 1927. By 1932 the couple was raising four children in this tiny cottage!  By 1957, Bernard and Martha had moved to California.

The rear of the house matches the Fairy floorplan.

Living space is at a premium with the Fairy, so the owners wisely utilized the large patio. 

A real estate ad from 2002.

St. Charles

While the Evanston Fairy remains a mystery, the St. Charles Fairy has firm proof of its Sears origins.

319 S. 12th Street, St. Charles.

 

The Fairy was modest and practical and a natural fit for a growing community like St. Charles in the 1920s .

Records show that William H. Leske took out a Sears mortgage on the property in March 1927, confirming its origin as a catalog home. 

Have You Spotted a Fairy?
Do you have a Fairy in your neighborhood? Share your memories or sightings in the comments. Let’s celebrate the smallest Sears homes! 💛

Copyright Disclaimer: All photographs in this post (unless otherwise noted) are from real estate aggregate Redfin.com and are used in this post for the purposes of education, consistent with 17 USC §107.

An Expanded Sears Stratford in Highland Park

1767 Clifton, Highland Park.

Sears Stratford.

The Sears Stratford was a rustic English bungalow sold from 1930 to 1933.  The exterior featured brick and stone.

Designed by architect David S. Betcone, the Stratford had a storybook style that made it one of Sears’ most distinctive late-era homes. Offered as a one-and-a-half–story design, the Stratford appealed to buyers who wanted a solid, well-proportioned house with traditional styling but without the cost of a full two-story model.

This Sears Stratford sits in Highland Park's Sunset Park neighborhood. 

 

Closeup of the trim and shutter detail.

The shutters that Sears sold in 1930. There's the clover.

The Stratford has a spacious 13'x17' living room with a cozy wood-burning fireplace with a stone surround.The triple front windows, which were originally full-length French doors, fill the space with light.   On the right, you can glimpse the vestibule and the original Sears front door.

The recessed built-in bookcases were standard in this model. The pink makes them pop! One arched doorway leads to the sunroom (a modification from the original Stratford design) and the other doorway leads to the dining room.

The sun room adds welcome light and charm.

The formal dining room.

I think the refrigerator is located past the doorway on the left. It was there on the original floor plan.

The first floor has two bedrooms and a full bath, while the upper level includes a third bedroom, large loft area, and second full bath.

The original owners were William Ralph, Jr. and his wife Margaret. In  July 1931, they took out a primary mortgage for $6,600 from Sears Roebuck, followed by an additional $900 secondary mortgage. I suspect the $900 was for the optional sunroom and also perhaps a one-car detached garage. While definitive proof would require original plans or invoices, the timing and amount strongly suggest that the bright sunroom may have been part of the original Sears order rather than a later addition.

The original building permit also mentions Sears, Roebuck & Company.

William’s parents lived just down the street, making this Sears Stratford part of a small family enclave.

William and Margaret by the front door. Public photo from Ancestry.com.

The same door today!

William worked for 37 years as caddie master at Lakeshore Country Club in Glencoe. Margaret also worked at the club, employed as a servant.

A photograph believed to date from around 1946 shows William (left) and his son Victor (right) at the Lakeshore Country Club. The building visible behind three men in the image matches the historic clubhouse, designed by noted architect Howard Van Doren Shaw. Around this time, William, Margaret, and their two sons moved to Texas. Public photo from Ancestry.com.
 

Highland Park has more Sears homes to see!

• A Sears Dover with a superb modern addition
• A landmarked Sears Alhambra with Spanish flair
• A clandestine Sears Newark hiding amongst the trees

An Authenticated Sears Sheridan in Barrington’s Historic District

221 Coolidge, Barrington. This is an authenticated Sears Sheridan built around 1925 (Google Streetview). 

Sears Sheridan from the 1928 Modern Homes catalog.

The Sears Sheridan was marketed as a practical Craftsman-style bungalow with wide eaves, large porch, and a comfortable floor plan suited to middle-class families of the period. 

Today, the large porch is enclosed. 

French doors lead into a warm and welcoming interior. 

The Sheridan living room, as shown in the 1925 Modern Homes catalog.

The living room could be built as a separate space or combined with the dining room, according to Sears specifications. 

Three bedrooms upstairs could be finished at an extra charge of $243. Those are original doors from Sears, so I suspect they were finished at the time of construction.

This bathroom was originally a small third upstairs bedroom.

What makes this house especially interesting is its provenance. The original shipping label survives, showing that the materials were shipped to Irving Schumann, a master carpenter for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. 

The shipping label with Irving's name on it. Photo courtesy of Matt Hader.

Schumann likely built the house himself, applying his professional skills to construct his family’s home. By 1930, Irving and his wife Frieda had moved to Forest Park. 

Copyright Disclaimer: All photographs in this post (unless otherwise noted) are from real estate aggregate Redfin.com and are used in this post for the purposes of education, consistent with 17 USC §107.