More importantly, plans were kept hazy so that you could not take them to a contractor and have the contractor start construction from them. For one, the house plans companies wanted to appeal to a broader base of dreamers highly specific plans did not leave room for personal changes. Plan books were a springboard to buying a more expensive set of true, actionable blueprints or to a house contract.įree house plans were intentionally left vague. The intent of these free plans was never to build directly from plans. Homebuyers would use these books to dream, fantasize, and come up with rough ideas for their perfect home. Companies in this niche industry would hire architects and artists to mock up dream homes and sell the plans by mail order. These books were lavishly illustrated, extensive, and had both attractive exterior views of the houses and correlating detailed floor layouts.Īnother avenue for free house plans: house plans publishers. The Spruce Home Improvement Review Boardįree small house plans, rather than being a rare commodity, were actually quite prevalent in the latter half of the 20th century.Īs an incentive to purchase a home, builders would give out free books of home plans to prospective buyers.

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