734 Richmond Avenue
Northwest corner at Dorchester, Buffalo, New York

The Magnolia 1915-1920 ($5,140 to $5,972) Source: USA House and Garden (online August 2015)

2015 photos Built in 1909, according to the permit published in the 1909 Buffalo Common Council Proceedings. It appears that this 1909 house went up before Sears published the design in 1915-1920 ($5,140 to $5,972).  If so, perhaps Sears licensed it from the firm who designed it. Transom light and side lights Roman smooth shaft Ionic pilaster ... Roman engaged smooth shaft Ionic column Turned balusters ... Newel post with ball finial Turned balusters ... Newel post with ball finial Side (south) elevation (Detail below:) Roman smooth shaft Ionic column

What is a Sears Modern Home? From 1908–1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company sold more than 100,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program. Over that time Sears designed 447 different housing styles, from the elaborate multistory Ivanhoe, with its elegant French doors and art glass windows, to the simpler Goldenrod, which served as a quaint, three-room and no-bath cottage for summer vacationers. (An outhouse could be purchased separately for Goldenrod and similar cottage dwellers.) Customers could choose a house to suit their individual tastes and budgets. Sears was not an innovative home designer. Sears was instead a very able follower of popular home designs but with the added advantage of modifying houses and hardware according to buyer tastes. Individuals could even design their own homes and submit the blueprints to Sears, which would then ship off the appropriate precut and fitted materials, putting the home owner in full creative control. Modern Home customers had the freedom to build their own dream houses, and Sears helped realize these dreams through quality custom design and favorable financing. - Source: USA House and Garden (online August 2015)