Department store Sears sold “build your own home” kits that are still standing after a hundred years
If you believe assembling your own furniture is a modern trend, think again. A popular department store was already challenging its customers with these arduous tasks at the beginning of the 20th century. And it wasn’t just a couch, library, or bedside table. Building those certainly takes time, but they can be put together by looking at the instructions in great detail.
The people at Sears took Ikea’s idea to a whole new level. “Build your own home” kits were sold in their catalogs, and those brave enough to buy them took on the challenge. According to these two pictures, the house built in 1916 is still standing today, a hundred years later.