Sears Catalog Home Center

I always liked the fancy stuff. Fancy dresses, very fancy shoes -- ok, I know, it was only the Sears catalog -- but still! When it's all you've got at thirteen, use it! Most of all I lived in the kitchen appliance and dishes pages.

Skip to ten years later and I start amassing my wealth of fancy kitchen things. Beautiful dishes, great flatware, and of course fancy crystal stem-ware, not to mention cookware and kitchen gadgets. All of which I still own to this day. Yes there was buyers remorse. There was doubt and always wondering when I was ever going to entertain enough to use it all. Then one day I realized that I really needed my fancy things. So out came the crystal and the "fine" china. Every day I drink from my finest glasses. Water, milk, wine,margarita, whatever! It's always in a beautiful glass. Cereal, salads, cheese fondue or a beautifully grilled steak with sauted vegetable gourmet dinner. It's always on my best dishes. I donated my "everyday" dishes and glasses to the Goodwill and I only use my best.

Why? It's simple really. If I don't use it, who will? And do I really need to wait for that fleeting dinner party to enjoy my fancy t

Kit homes may have lost their popularity for a while with the creation of post-World War II tract housing, but they're back, with a few big changes. Now you can pretty much design your own home courtesy of a number of companies, deciding on one of a number of floor plans, before your building is created according to your specifications. And added to conventional homes are popular log cabin designs, geodesic domes, and minimalist kits which can be ordered room by room and put together using as many units as you want.

Most customers order kit homes for two reasons: cost savings and individual choice. Kit homes can cost substantially less than stick-built homes, primarily because the owners can do most of the construction work themselves. An added benefit is that, in many cases, the owners can actively participate in the design of the home, adding individual features that complement their own lives. The combination of substantial savings and the ability to individualize one's home make kit homes a great deal.