The Historic
Dimension Series
A student publication series by the UNCG Department of Interior Architecture
The Evolving American Home:
Reflecting Society’s Expectations of Women
by Sarah Grahl Fall 2018
The architecture of the
American family home
evolves with changes
to cultural norms. Arguably, the largest
changes that have affected the built family
home have been the changes to the role of
women in the household. Women have been
expected to be the models of perfect moral-ity,
the ever patient wife and mother, and
the maintainer of peace in the household.
Women have also been expected to take up
work when needed and then step back and
hand it over again to be at home. Women
have worn many hats, both literally and
figuratively.
Blandwood Mansion serves as a case study
of the changes made regarding the physical
structure of the home and how those chang-es
were influenced by the role of the woman
in the house. General examples of floor-plans
during the later periods illustrate the
move to make homes more uniform while
the roles of women were being pushed into
conformity, as well. As a women’s expected
role has changed from silent partner in the
late 1700s, to the center of home and family
in the 1950s and 1960s, the floorplan for the
family house has changed, too.
Farmhouses and the Silent Partner
Just as they were before the American
Revolution, women were homemakers fol-lowing
the war. They were expected to raise
children under the direct input of the father
and were also expected to oversee the daily
needs of the house. Many of these houses
in the southern states following the colonial
period were small farmhouses consisting of
two or three rooms. The large living space
would act as a makeshift kitchen, dining
room, parlor, and bedroom for the children.
Another room would act as a bedroom for
the father and mother, as well as a formal
parlor. A third room may have been added
to provide a separate sleeping area for the
children.
Blandwood Mansion in Greensboro, North
Carolina highlights the changes of the role
of the woman and how such changes were
reflected in the floorplan. The house was
built in three sections. The first section was
built in 1795 by Mr. Bland and consisted
of two rooms: a master bedroom that also
acted as a formal parlor, and a room for
everything else. The grander, “all-purpose”
room was built with a large hearth for cook-ing
inside of the home. All preparation of
necessities were completed in this room.
The second section and first addition to the
house was completed in 1822 by the then
owner Mr. Humphreys. Humphreys added
four additional rooms to the two-room
structure, as well as a detached kitchen.
Moving the kitchen out of the main house
and having servants work the kitchen
changed the woman’s role in the household
to more of a silent partner. Instead of focus-ing
on daily chores, the woman was able to
focus on raising her children and managing
the house.
Two of the other rooms Humphreys added
were children’s rooms upstairs. The creation
of separation between children’s space and
“The social
role of women
has in many
ways defined
the style of
American
middle-class
homes, both
inside and
out.”
-Barbara Floyd
UNCG The Historic Dimension Series: 2
adult space better identified the role of the woman in the
household by separating her authority. Humphreys up-graded
the two original rooms by adding mantels to the
fireplaces and molding around the rooms. The fireplace
mantle in the dining room was large due to the fireplace
having been the cooking hearth for Bland. Humphreys
painted a faux marble finish over the masonry that took
up space between the hearth and mantle. The third sec-tion
and final addition to the house came about in 1844,
with another shift in the role of the lady of the house-hold.
Antebellum Homes and the Great Entertainer
Antebellum homes were large structures designed to
reflect the grandeur of the South. They were mansions
that were typically fashioned in the Classical Revival
style of architecture. The large rooms allowed for mul-tiple
guests and lavish parties. Women were seen as
hostesses, managing a household while entertaining the
aristocratic masses. Other styles of antebellum homes
included the Georgian style, the Greek Revival style, and
the Italianate style.
Blandwood’s third section and final addition added in
1844 was created as an Italianate villa. A.J. Davis added
over 2,000 square feet to the farmhouse, creating a large
space for Governor Morehead to accept callers. The main
entrance to the 1844 addition created a hallway between
the east and west parlors, making the front three rooms
the public areas. These rooms acted as entertaining
spaces where the Morehead family hosted musicales,
where courting took place, and where the Governor
conducted meetings.
The front three rooms are separated by walls and a door
to the rest of the house, which was where the family re-sided.
Mrs. Morehead and her five daughters spent time
in the ladies’ parlor on the second floor, embroidering,
reading, and writing. The woman was seen as someone
who would host parties and instill virtues in her chil-dren
as they grew up, so that they all were accepted in
society. The kitchen work was left to the slaves, as well
as watching over the children’s day-to-day activities.
Governor Morehead’s law office was a dependency built
by A.J. Davis and added to the land on the opposite side
of the house from the kitchen. Having his offices outside
of the house reiterated the domestic role of Mrs. More-head
as the manager of the household.
Letitia Morehead, Governor and Mrs. Morehead’s oldest
daughter, was a young woman during the antebellum
Fig. 2: This is the floorplan of Blandwood including the 1844 addition. The first floor shows that the front 3 rooms were
separate from the rest of the house, making them into public entertaining spaces. On the second floor, the room titled
“Office” was actually used by the Morehead women as their ladies’ parlor.
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Fig. 3:This magaizine cover from 1896 shows a picture
of two women taking care of a child during tea time, em-phasizing
the importance of women’s role in the home
during the Victoria era.
Fig. 4: One of the famous pattern books by A. J. Down-ing.
period and serves as an example of an ideal antebellum
woman. Following her husband’s death in 1855, Letitia
moved back into Blandwood with her children to care
for her aging parents. Like most upper-class antebellum
women of her time, Letitia focused on studying history
and the arts. Letitia’s role in society, as well as her con-tributions
as an artist, illustrate the characteristics most
valued in upper-class women at the time, which trans-lated
into the need for large entertaining spaces during
this period.
Victorian Homes and the Virtuous Woman
The Victorian Era saw the woman as being the symbol
of purity and grace in the home. After the Civil War,
industrialization enveloped cities, making city centers
dark, dirty, and depressing. In order to combat this,
women were to provide safe havens for their husbands
to come home to at the end of a long day. Women were
the model of morality for their children, and the loving
source of peace for their husbands. The role of middle-class
women during the Victorian Era was managing the
home and entertaining guests. This role was reflected
in the layout of the Victorian home. There was a clear
separation of public rooms and private spaces. Hallways
allowed a smooth entrance as guests came for a visit.
There was usually a hall stand that acted as a place to
set hats as well as drop calling cards. Branched off the
hallway were the public rooms: the parlor and the din-ing
room. The parlor served as a space for conversation,
games, and musical performances. The dining room
was a place the women used to show off their hostess
skills as they served their husband’s coworkers or family
friends. The back section of the house was devoted to the
kitchen and working rooms, while the upstairs corridors
were bedrooms and areas for children.
During the Victorian Era, Gothic Revival house plans
were introduced. The elements of these houses reflected
the ornamentation of churches, reiterating the woman’s
role as the model of virtue. Queen Anne style homes
were a style of Gothic Revival structures. The Queen
Anne style implemented distinct ornamentation, carved
out of wood and added to the structure of the house.
Built in 1887, Harper House of Hickory, North Caro-lina,
is an example of Queen Anne style, with its carved
spindles and columns on the front porch, as well as its
intricate mantels on the interior. The rooms in Harper
House also reflect the ideals of separation of public
rooms from private rooms. The parlor and dining room
were in the front of the house, while the kitchen was in
the back, along with bedrooms upstairs.
Pattern books were created as more and more families
decided to build houses. Popular among the pattern
books were A.J. Downing’s The Architecture of Country
Houses, Samuel Sloane’s The Model Architect: A Series of
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Original Designs for Cottages, Villas, Suburban Residence,
Etc., and C.C. Miller and M.F. Cummings’s Architecture:
Designs for Street Fronts, Suburban Houses, and Cottages.
While these pattern books helped architects, Miller and
Cummings’s pattern book was designed to allow fami-lies
the ability to go straight to a builder with a plan. All
the designs contained in the pattern books, especially in
Sloane’s book, reflected the “Cult of Domesticity.”
Smaller Homes and the Progressive Woman
As industrialization had brought about more and
more factories, consumerism was at a high by the early
1900s. Immigrants who previously worked as servants
in households gained employment instead in the city
centers, making more money than they did as house-keepers.
This allowed them, as well as others, to buy
their own homes or afford better apartments. As more
families were taking up residence, women started taking
note of issues that needed to be addressed in society,
thus, shifting focus out of the house. House structure
began to change as women’s role continued to evolve.
Suffrage and Prohibition became platforms for women
to exercise their voices among society. Instead of women
only being the models of virtue in the home, they took
their place as models of virtue in society. Virtue, though,
no longer meant silence and deference to men at all
costs, but instead meant voicing moral opinions and
standing up for them. Women became leaders among
temperance movements and worked to gain themselves
the vote. As women took larger roles in society, they
used their houses to hold meetings. They used their
resources to host fundraisers for charities, taking their
domestic role into the public realm.
Spending more time outside of the home meant that the
large Victorian structures provided too much wasted
space. Also, because there were no longer multiple ser-vants,
or in most cases no servant at all, the giant Victo-rian
homes became difficult to maintain. Instead, many
families opted for smaller homes designed in the Arts
and Crafts style, which valued simplicity. Since more
and more items were being made in factories, the Arts
and Crafts Movement encouraged simple, handmade el-ements
being made for homes, bringing a creative outlet
to men who otherwise were stuck in factories.
While the exteriors of houses were changing, the inte-rior
structures were as well. Instead of large parlors and
dining rooms, living areas were scaled down to be more
intimate and less formal, providing a cozy environment.
Kitchens also shrunk, so that they could be managed
by one person, the woman of the house, as opposed to
several servants. Bedrooms and children’s rooms were
still typical on the second floor, but there was no need
for additional servant quarters. The informal layouts of
the new houses were to encourage stronger relationships
between family members.
Kits for homes became increasingly popular, as they
were supposed to be efficient and economical. The bun-galow
style homes were the most used style during the
early 1900s. The company Aladdin sold kits to individu-als
as well as corporations during the 1920s and 1930s.
Some companies used Aladdin kits to develop company
towns. Aladdin advertised their houses as “Built in a
day!” The Plaza and the Sunshine were the most popular
of their kits during the 1920s, with their large porches.
Fig. 6: The Plaza plan is similar to the Sunshine plan, ex-cept
it boasts a larger porch and an extra bedroom. The
informal layout of the house allows for family members
to flow easily from one room to the other.
Fig. 5: The Sunshine houseplan provides 2 bedrooms, 1
bath, a kitchen, dining room, living room, and den. There
are much fewer rooms than in the Victorian styles from
the previous era.
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During the progressive era, kitchen-less apartments
were created and some even tried the kitchen-less house.
The concept of having a house without a kitchen was to
encourage women to have more of a role outside of the
home. Additionally, dining clubs and prepared meals
were gaining popularity so that the kitchen was not
necessary for those who could afford to purchase mem-berships
or meals. Kitchen-less apartments, however,
were created as a practical and economic alternative for
poorer tenants. Apartment buildings would have central
kitchens and laundry areas so that all tenants would
have access to cooking and cleaning.
Ranch-style Homes and the Modern Mom
During World War II, women were needed in factories
and other areas of work more than ever before in the his-tory
of the United States. But as the war ended and the
men came home from Europe and Asia, women were
pushed out of the workplace and told they needed to be
back at home. Homeownership was said to be the ideal
for every American. Middle-class couples flooded the
suburbs, and developers created more neighborhoods to
house the masses.
The ranch style house became the most popular style
during the 1950s and 1960s. Fewer rooms meant fewer
walls, creating a living space which seemed to flow
seamlessly from one room to the next. Typically, the
floorplans for the ranch style homes included a living
room, kitchen with an attached dining area, bedrooms,
a bathroom, and a garage. Some house plans included a
formal dining room. Many house plans in the late 1950s
and through the 1960s began to include family rooms, as
well as basements.
As air conditioning and central heat became available
to homeowners, basements were converted into livable
spaces. Basements became family spaces, also making
laundry more enjoyable for the mom having to retreat
downstairs to the washer.
Family rooms became all-purpose rooms and centers of
entertainment. By the end of the 1950s, almost ninety
percent of households owned a television set. Family
rooms became the prime location for TVs. The idea was
for the family to spend time together in these rooms,
while the mom promoted the accepted ideals of the day.
The mother became the figure of morality again, just as
she was during the Victorian Era. Except this time, her
role was more hands-on with raising her children.
The open kitchens in many ranch style homes allowed
mom to be present among the family as she completed
her daily tasks. She could cook dinner while overseeing
her children do their homework at the table, or while
they were playing nearby. The kitchens were placed
with easy access to living spaces, so that a woman could
make snacks and easily carry them to the entertainment
space. Having fewer rooms meant fewer walls to sepa-rate
the mother from the rest of the family. The mom
was a significant figure of the home and providing a
place that worked for her was important.
Conclusion
The American family home has reflected the role of
women from colonial times through the present. Women
Fig. 8: This photo taken in the 1950s shows the life of
the family in this ranch-style home. The mother is able to
cook and still engage with her sons.
Fig. 7: This ranch-style plan allows for a basement to
give more space for the family.
UNCG The Historic Dimension Series: 6
have changed from being silent partners in the farm-house,
to great entertainers in the antebellum mansions;
from being virtuous idols in the Victorian home, to the
progressive woman living out of a smaller abode, and to
the model mother in the ranch style house. The roles of
women have not simply changed, but are constantly be-ing
expanded, and similarly, while certain house plans
may be in style, it is commonly accepted that homes are
not a one style fits all structure.
Bibliography
Aladdin Kit Homes. (2015). Antique Home Style. Re-trieved
from antiquehomestyle.com/plans/Aladdin/
index.htm.
Clark, C. E. (1986). The American Family Home, 1800-1960.
UNC Press Books.
Hayden, Dolores (2002). Redesigning the American Dream:
The Future of Housing, Work and Family Life (2 edition).
New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Floyd, Barbara. (2016-2017). House and Home: The Intersec-tion
of Domestic Architecture and Social History, 1870-1970.
The University of Toledo.
Isenstadt, S. (2014). The Modern American House : Spa-ciousness
and Middle-Class Identity. Cambridge: Cam-bridge
University Press.
Jacobs, J. A. (2006). Social and Spatial Change in the Post-war
Family Room. Perspectives in Vernacular Architec-ture,
13(1), 70–85.
Jacobs, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Casual Living in Detached Amer-ica
(pp. 133–168). University of Virginia Press. Retrieved
from https://www.jstor.org/stablej.ctt166gr82.8
Preservation Greensboro. (2018). Blandwood: A National
Historic Landmark. Docent Manual.
Wright, Gwendolyn. (1981). Building the Dream: A Social
History of Housing in American. New York: Pantheon
Books.
Image Credits
Figure #1: Abell, L. G. (1853). The Skillful Housewife’s
Book, or, Complete Guide to Domestic Cookery, Taste,
Comfort and Economy : Embracing 659 Receipts Pertain-ing
to Household Duties, the Care of Health, Garden-ing
..., Education of Children, Etc, Etc. New York: R.T.
Young Publisher.
Figure #2: Courtesy of North Carolina State University
Archives.
Figure #3: Courtesy of The Ladies’ Home Journal archives.
Figure #4: Courtesy of Amazon.com.
Figures #5 and #6: Courtesy of an Aladdin catalogue, c.
1920.
Figure #7: Courtesy of dfwcustoms.com.
Figure #8: Courtesy of blogger Atomic Splendor. Pho-tographer
unknown.
Figure #9: Courtesy of House Beautiful Magazine, 1966.
Figure #10: Courtesy of Christian Montone. Photogra-pher
unknown. c. 1950s.
The Historic Dimension Series is a collection of briefs prepared
by UNCG students under the direction of Professor Jo Ramsay
Leimenstoll. For information on other topics in the series please
visit the website at go.uncg.edu/hds
Fig. 10:1950s Family Room. The space can be used
for multiple activities so that many family members can
enjoy the room together.
Fig. 9: Picture of ranch-style house kitchen from 1966.
The kitchen opens straight into the living room so that
the mother of the house can cook/clean while still being
able to see what is going on elsewhere in the house.
