These Vintage Prefab Vacation Homes Will Make You Long for the Woods
These Vintage Prefab Vacation Homes Will Make You Long for the Woods
1 minute read
Caption from LIFE. $5,000. Tired of competing for campsites on weekends, John and Janet Smith finally built a vacation house on the Pend Orielle River near Spokane, Wash. From a magazine they ordered a $25 set of plans by Architect Robert Martin Engelbrecht of Princeton, N.J., then made adapatations—exposed beams and wood instead of plasterboard, a larger kitchen. By picking up bargains—such as hand-split shingles at half price—and doing the work themselves, the Smiths wound up with a handsome $12,800 house for only $5,000.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Prefabricated homes are on the rise. Thanks to the recession and an increased interest in green building techniques, easy-to-assemble structures of all shapes and sizes appeal not only to those looking to save a buck, but also to those who prioritize the use of eco-friendly materials and creative design.
But this is not the first time the out-of-the-box house, first offered in the early 20th century by companies like Sears, has enjoyed a boost in popularity. Back in 1970, when an increasing number of Americans were looking to build vacation homes, prefab structures offered an affordable way to take the American dream to the next level. LIFE’s John Dominis traveled around the country photographing the range of styles cropping up in forests and lake shores, from a bird-watching hideaway in North Carolina to a geodesic dome in the desert of Arizona.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.
Caption from LIFE. $5,000. Tired of competing for campsites on weekends, John and Janet Smith finally built a vacation house on the Pend Orielle River near Spokane, Wash. From a magazine they ordered a $25 set of plans by Architect Robert Martin Engelbrecht of Princeton, N.J., then made adapatations—exposed beams and wood instead of plasterboard, a larger kitchen. By picking up bargains—such as hand-split shingles at half price—and doing the work themselves, the Smiths wound up with a handsome $12,800 house for only $5,000.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesInterior of previous photo.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. $14,800. A far cry from its roughhewn ancestor, this cabin in Groom Creek, Ariz. is fashioned of evenly shaped pine logs, which have been tongue-and-grooved to fit together with minimum caulking and cored (see next photo). The dead air space within the log acts as insulation. A customer who orders the house from Air-Lock Log Co. of Prescott, Ariz. gets just enough materials to build his cabin. Usually, in fact, there is not even enough wood left over to kindle a blaze in the fireplace, which is usually constructed, like this one, of local stone.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSee previous photo.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesInterior view of the log cabin.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. $11,200. Looking like a giant golf ball half-buried in the desert near Phoenix, Ariz., this fiber glass-covered plywood house serves as a weekend retreat and art studio. The structure went up quickly, thanks to a system of 68 spiderlike hubs (next photo) sold by Dyna-Dome of Phoenix as a $490 "connector kit." The framing pieces are clamped into the hubs. By using only a half floor for the loft, the owner, a physician, retains a view of the arched ceiling with its triangular sky-view windows.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSee previous photo.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. $10,600. When Carol and David Smith of Greensboro, Vt. decided they wanted to put up a vacation house near Caspian Lake, Carol spent weeks poring over house magazines, then made sketches and talked them over with local builders Kim Inglehart and Hank Merrill. The builders suggested a few changes (such as a deck, to add some extra area), but otherwise worked from Carol's ideas. The result, sturdily built of local materials, is a house that is virtually maintenance free.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. $12,500. Perched on steel stilts on a hillside in Asheville, N.C., this 12-sided house offers lazy bird watchers a fine vantage point. Made of redwood panels constructed by Rondesics, Inc. of Asheville, the leafy hideaway has one third more space inside its wall perimeter than a standard rectangular house. For anyone who needs still more room, two or three such houses may be built side by side or stacked one atop the other.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesInterior view of previous home.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
