Sears Willard in Waterford, Michigan

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

One of the ways that we discover kit houses is to scour real estate ads with an eye for potential candidates. I recently shared a few kit houses for sale that I located in online real estate listings. Today, I found a few more houses in the area that are for sale including a Sears Willard in Waterford, Michigan. Although I already had this Willard on my list of known houses in Waterford, the real estate listing gives us a chance to get inside and see a Sears house that still has some of the original features. Let's take a tour!

This Sears Willard is located in the Maceday Gardens subdivision in Waterford. We know of at least 14 other authenticated Sears houses in the subdivision including another Sears Willard on Cleveland. This Willard was purchased by Leo R. Hill with a mortgage with Sears Trustee Walker O. Lewis in July 1928 for $4,150. The Willard model was first offered by Sears in 1928 and continued to show up in most of the Modern Homes catalogs for the next 11 years. Sears also offered a version of the Willard with a brick and stucco exterior that was named the Randolph.

Catalog image of Sears Willard (1936)
 

One of the prominent features of the Willard is the "cat slide" roof design of the front vestibule, a common element on a number of Sears models including the Claremont/Riverside, the Maplewood/Ridgeland and the Dover. The Willard is easy to distinguish from the other models because the front vestibule is set to one side of the house versus being centered like the other models.

You can also see how the front dormer has a peaked roof versus the flat top roof as shown in the catalog. We've seen a number of examples of Willards with this style dormer which makes me think that this was a common customization on the Willard either at the time of construction or later when the roof was replaced.

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

This back yard view is one that we don't often get of kit homes. From this view, you can see the back dormer that provides headroom for the stairs to the second floor and the bathroom. You can also see the kitchen bump out on the first floor. In the floor plan, this bump out provides a location for a refrigerator/ice box.

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

Inside the house, we can see several of the original elements of the Sears design. First, there's the original front door from Sears. Second, you can see the original fireplace that goes with the prominent chimney on the front of the house. You can also see the circle head plaster arch that connects the living room and dining room. The flooring appears to be the original oak flooring that would have been found in the living and dining room. Elsewhere in the house, you would typically find maple (kitchen) and pine flooring (bedrooms).

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

Looking back across the living room, we can see the triple window. From the outside, this would help us identify this house as a Willard. To the left of the windows is the staircase leading to the second floor.

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

One of the original features of the Willard was a built-in ironing board. Is that hiding behind the cabinet doors next to the refrigerator (tucked into the bump-out)? Past the fridge, you can see the back entrance of the house and the stairs leading to the basement. You can also see the maple flooring used in the kitchen.

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

In the original house plan, there is only one bathroom located on the second floor. There are also two bedrooms. In a bit of a surprise, the larger of the two bedrooms only has windows on one wall - typically, most bedrooms would have had windows on at least 2 walls for cross circulation of air in the days before indoor air conditioning. This photo is of the smaller bedroom that faces the front of the house with the front dormer providing additional light into the room. This room also has a small closet just to the right of the paired window.

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

Here's one final look at the Sears Willard. According to at least one of the listings I saw for the house, a sale is already pending after just a few days on the market. Someone must have been impressed by what they saw!

6372 Cleveland - Waterford, Michigan - Sears Willard
Image courtesy of Zillow.com

I hope you enjoyed the tour. Do you know of any other kit houses in Waterford? Share those with us in the comments!