Sears always had an interesting way of ciphering. The Calumet was a four-apartment kit “house” with 12 rooms. The “20 rooms in 12″ was a little misleading.

The eight mystery rooms were “bedrooms” which were really teeny-tiny closets. Inside those eight tiny closets were eight fold-away beds (Murphy beds). The “bedroom in a closet” idea was heralded as a great space-saving device and a money-saving device too. After all, there’s no need to buy rugs and pictures and chairs and night stands when you sleep in a closet.

Who needs a bedroom anyway?

I’ve only seen one Calumet and that was in Bloomington, IL and it had been greatly altered.

The typical Sears Home was a 12,000 piece kit that was bundled and shipped in one boxcar. The Calumet was probably a bit more than 12,000 pieces. It was 2,800+ square feet, but it also had four kitchens and four bathrooms and a lot of steps, railings and porches. And a lot of doors.

And eight beds.

And all for a mere $3,073.

To learn more about Murphy Beds, click here.

"Twenty rooms in 12" promised the header on this page.

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The built-in wall beds came with the Sears Calumet. They were hidden behind nice-looking French doors! I wonder how long these primitive metal-framed beds survived in these old four-plexes?

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Only three rooms per apartment, but they are fairly spacious. And note the small windows in the "bedroom" (closet).

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Close-up on those wall beds in the dining room and living room.

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The "Cinderella" was another Sears House that promoted use of stowaway beds. Note the text at the bottom of this page: "You are saved the expense of two extra bedrooms in your house, as well as the additional expense of rugs and furniture..."

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And what exactly do you get for $3,073?

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Close-up of the Calumet as shown in the 1918 catalog.

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Sears Calumet in Bloomington, IL.

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To learn more about Sears Homes, click here.

To learn more about multi-family Sears kit apartments, click here.

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