Lustron houses are prefabricated enameled steel houses developed in the post-World War II era United States in response to the shortage of homes for returning G.I.s by Lustron Corporation and Chicago industrialist and inventor Carl Strandlund. Considered low-maintenance and extremely durable, they were expected to attract modern families who might not have the time for, or interest in, repairing and painting conventional wood and plaster houses. Lustron production ceased in 1950 due to the company's inability to pay back the startup loans it had received from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Over 2,000 homes were constructed during the Lustron's brief production period, and many remain in use today. Several have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In January 1947, the newly formed Lustron Corporation announced that it had received a $12.5-million Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan to manufacture mass-produced prefabricated homes that featured vitreous enamel-coated steel panels (U.S. patent 2,416,240). Led by Chicago industrialist and inventor Carl Strandlund, who had worked with constructing prefabricated gas stations, Lustron offered a home that would "defy weather, wear, and time."

Strandlund's Lustron Corporation, a division of the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Corporation, set out to construct 15,000 homes in 1947 and 30,000 in 1948. From its plant in Columbus, Ohio (the former Curtiss-Wright factory), the corporation eventually constructed 2,498 Lustron homes between 1948 and 1950. The houses sold for between $8,500 and $9,500, according to a March 1949 article in the Columbus Dispatch—about 25 percent less than comparable conventional housing. By November 1949, however, a Lustron's average selling price had come up to $10,500.

Most of the known Lustron houses were constructed in 36 of the United States, including Alaska. However, some were constructed in Venezuela for families of oil industry employees.

Billed as a way to maximize pleasure and minimize work, Lustron advertising contended that the Lustron home would create a "new and richer experience for the entire family," where "Mother...has far more hours," the "youngsters...have fewer worries," and there would be "far more leisure for Dad." How this would be accomplished with just a choice of housing was not clarified, although presumably, it was through enameled-steel design that would not need painting.

The Lustron design was created to adapt it to mass production. A steel framing system was devised consisting of vertical steel studs and roof-ceiling trusses to which all interior and exterior panels were attached. The concept of prefabricated housing was well established by firms such as The Aladdin Company, Gordon-Van Tine Company, Montgomery Ward, and Sears in the early 1900s. These companies, however, used conventional balloon-framing techniques and materials in their kits. After World War II, the domestic demand for steel exceeded production and the federal government exercised control over its allocation. Strandlund had orders for his porcelain-enameled panels for use in construction for new gas stations for Standard Oil. He made a request for allocation of steel but was denied. However, he was advised by Wilson W. Wyatt, Housing Expediter during the Truman administration, that steel would be available if Strandlund produced steel houses instead of gas stations.

Wyatt endorsed the idea but was unable to convince Congressional members to appropriate funds for Strandlund. In turn, Wyatt resigned his post, but other influential members of Congress were successful in getting support to finance the production of Lustron homes. Through the government agency, Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), Strandlund ultimately received over $37 million in loans plus a leased war surplus plant in Columbus, Ohio. This was the first venture capital loan made by the federal government. Initially, Strandlund was provided the availability of a war surplus plant in Chicago. However, due to the political intrigue in government, Preston Tucker, who proposed to produce a radical new automobile, acquired the plant. In turn, Tucker shortly failed in his business operation. The political ramifications are as fascinating as the engineering of the Lustron homes. The Lustron factory had approximately eight miles of automated conveyor lines and included 11 enameling furnaces, each of which was more than 180 feet long. The plant equipment included presses for tubs and sinks. The bathtub press could stamp a tub in one draw and could produce 1000 tubs a day at capacity. Specially designed trailer trucks were used as the final assembling point where the manufactured parts came off the assembly line. There were approximately 3300 individual parts in a complete house loaded on a single trailer. The trucks then delivered the house package to the building site.

Lustron established builder-dealers, which in turn sold and erected the house package on a concrete foundation. In 20 months of production and sales, Lustron lost money on each house, and in turn, was not able to repay the RFC loan. RFC foreclosed on Lustron and production stopped on June 6, 1950. On the Lustron order book were contracts for more than 8000 housing units, which were never shipped.