The Craftsman look popularized hand-worked materials and an honest, unornamented approach to materials. The sensibility was soon extended to the overall design of a house, and was popularized through plan books, the magazines — and the Sears Roebuck company played a key role.

In 1908, their widely distributed mail order catalog began selling house plans, materials, and kit houses to “all corners of the nation.” The basic bungalow, designed in the Arts and Crafts tradition, was one of their best selling designs.