Cataloging Domestic Space: The Aladdin Home Company as an Archive of Residential Trends in America 1916-1980

Abstract

This thesis suggests that the designs featured in Aladdin Company kit home catalogs can reflect the residential wants and desires of American families living in twentieth century America. An analysis of plans was taken from one catalog per decade during the years of analysis, bringing the total years of analysis from 1916-1980. Through the analysis of the plans, parallels can be seen in many facets of the transformations of Aladdin domestic space. Price, square footage, price per square foot, number of bedrooms, number of stories, number of total rooms, circulation of public space, size ratios, and hallway inclusion were all analyzed in the data set featured in the appendix. Correlations exist within this data, and trends can be seen regarding the transformations of the size of the homes to fit growing family size, expansion of living spaces in reference to modern design influence, and reduction of gender segregation within the home. The introduction of household technologies and appliances to the home affected the way families in the twentieth century lived and used domestic space. The changing wants and desires of the middle class families, the consumers who purchased Aladdin Homes, dictate the future designs of catalog offerings. This relationship means that the analysis of Aladdin plans can show us the transformations of the larger trends of domestic space and family life of America in the twentieth century.