Elegant Small Homes of the Twenties

Book excerpt: In 1927, the Chicago Tribune sponsored a competition for "trained men of talent, incorporating into the small home ideas of real worth, types of rare charm, and the best possible plans for comfort and convenience." This collection spotlights the challenge’s top results, presenting the nineteen prize-winning designs for five- and six-room houses, plus eighty additional sets of the best architectural plans. A new introduction by Daniel D. Reiff, Ph.D., adds interesting detail about the competition and the competitors. These fascinating snapshots of American domestic architecture of the 1920s include glimpses of New England and Southern colonials, Normandy cottages, stately Italianate dwellings, and other styles. Each of the designs features a floor plan and exterior views of the house. Architects, architecture buffs, and historians will prize these authentic renderings of the leading designs in American architecture of nearly a century ago.