Building your first new home doesn’t have to be difficult, and with the new Excel Homes Starting Lineup series, it isn’t. The Starting Lineup series features smaller homes with all the style of what is typically found in a larger floor plan and is designed specifically with the first-time homebuyer in mind. These basic homes can be shipped on a single carrier and the completion of the home is simple enough that in most cases, it can be finished by the set crew.
All renderings are for illustration purposes only. See engineering documentation for specific configuration.
Inspired by the prairie style designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Prairie View is an open plan with spaces defined by the manipulation of the floor and ceiling rather than walls in most cases. This modern design gives the impression that the lower unit is connected to the upper unit by only a ribbon of glass. When combined with builder constructed leveled decks, the lines between indoors and outside are blurred, creating larger space that makes the home a part of nature. This home is perfect for locations such as waterfront property or sites with grand views.
The Prairie View uses large windows and lots of glass to bring the outdoors inside. Murphy beds and hideaways could sleep six to eight adults comfortably.
SPECIFICATIONS:
SQ FOOTAGE: 945 sq. ft.
# BEDROOMS: 1
# BATHROOMS: 1
SPECIAL FEATURES: Designed to accommodate one to eight adults; modern design with long, low features help it blend with the natural environment, weather-tight set service included in standard cost
MISC: Inspired by the prairie style designs of Frank Lloyd Wright. Home is shipped ENERGY STAR and green ready.
Like it? Don’t like it? Think something should be changed or added?
Please feel free to comment on this design by leaving a comment below.
Tags: excel homes, modular, starter home, starting line up
This is interesting. What kind of cost of construction do you estimate with something like this? Start to finish, about how long does it take to get one done? And any specifics on planned green aspects of these homes other than Energy Star?
The goal with this series was to provide a high quality home, complete on your foundation, for under $100,000. Local codes and building costs can impact this number however. (For a more exact number please see your local builder.) From the time you order the home it will take about 6 to 8 weeks to arrive on site given our current backlog. Actual construction time is only about 4 days in the facility however. Once on site your local builder will need another 30 days or so to complete the finish work. Also remember, this cost is not for a stripped base model, we’ve included many upgrades like hard wood floors, solid surface countertops and a whole house fan as standard.
As for “Green”, this series was designed with both Energy Star and Green in mind. Using the NGBS to score the home our base specification will provide you near emerald points for “Resource Efficiency”, a solid gold in “Indoor Environmental” and bronze in “Energy Efficiency”. This is before you take into account anything the builder will add.
Beautiful home, but I would love to see an additional bedroom and master bedroom added. It doesn’t have to be anything large. An expanded 3 bedroom, 2 bath low profile home would be an instant buy by me.
Nice home. I agree with Kyle in that I think it would be great if you could make it a 3 bedroom 2 bath home. Additionally, would be nice to have a laundry room. Keep up the good work!
I too agree with Kyle and Louie that a 3 bedroom 2 bath home would be much more interesting. While I love what this model represents and includes, it just doesn’t quite fit the bill for the average person/family. Too many of these green pre-fab house cost a lot for not a lot of house. Thats not to say that I don’t think this is an extremely good, well thought out offering, but I think if you can get a green 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for under 200k all in, you could have a really amazing, attainable and applicable product. Nevertheless, great work and good luck!
Thanks for the great input! The Starting Line Up Series, for which the Prairie View is a part, had a targeted consumer group and specification when developed. It was primarily intended for individuals and couples needing a high quality homes at a price point of less than $100K on their foundation. As the name indicates we consider the plans to be starter homes; but we already have designed additions for many of the homes in the series including bedrooms and public spaces in anticipating of future needs. With that said, Excel Homes is a customer builder and we will design and build a home to fit your needs in whatever style you like.
I love the ideas in this house and think you are on the right track. I would like to let you know that I actually appreciate the lack of three bedrooms. While three bedrooms are good for certain segments, they are quite ubiquitous. I belong to the rapidly growing “no-kids” family type and am always looking to see innovation that does not include two extra bedrooms. As notes for possible improvement, it would be nice to have a five point bath (keep the tub clean from shower use) or second toilet in case the first one is busy an an inopportune time. Also, I’m pretty sure, unless you have glass in that railing, it is not up to code in most American locations.
Thanks for the extra visuals for this entry!
I agree with Larry. There are lots of empty-nesters for whom this floorplan is on the mark (once you figure out where to add in a laundry area
I own land on the Jersey Shore (not far from where the TV show was taped), I would love this style of house to see the awesome view of the ocean and the ladies on the beach. A local contractor was telling me how hard it is to build in costal regions and have a large amount of glass becuase the house lacks braced walls (not sure what he is talking about). Do you know if this style of house as presented would have trouble qualifying for braced walls in high wind areas?
Brace walls are basically structural walls designed to prevent the home from falling down when forces like wind push against it. It is true that the more glass you have the more difficult these become to design and build. Additionally, areas that must deal with high winds often have to look at the window construction types also to make sure they meet the local requirements for impact resistance and design pressure. All of these items can add additional cost to any type of construction in these areas. As the requirements vary by location we would have to evaluate your local conditions specifically. I would encourage you to contact one of our dealers and they can give you more specific information.
My husband & I live in a 1-bedroom urban condo, so we are accustomed to smaller spaces. However, we need alittle more space now that we have baby #2 on the way. We love this design concept with the split level, yet contemporary feel. Unfortunately, without the option to add an extra room or 2, you have knocked us out as a potential customer.
Very cool. I somewhat agree with the other feedback about a larger footprint, more bedrooms, etc.
Though going to 3/2 with laundry, etc might be pushing it too far; in other words defeating the whole idea behind “starter” and “green” (modest footprint).
My vote is for 2/1.5 with laundry hookups; perhaps a closet with a stackable washer/dryer.
2 beds works well for a small family or the 2nd bedroom comes in handy as an office space (telecommuting contributes to green too).
The extra 1/2 bath is useful so that the wife has her own, private bathroom space to do her thing while keeping the main bath available for showering, etc. This helps relieve bathroom “traffic jams” and gives another space to prep that doesn’t get inundated with condensation when showering or odors when heeding nature’s call.
These extra bits of space and functionality can make a real difference without blowing out the GLA (gross living area) too much and compromising the intent of the design.
Less is more to a point – that’s my compromise here.
Great concept! I would like to see the ideas for adding add’l bedroom(s) and at least 1.5 bath and laundry. How is this innovative home heated? Can it be placed on a full basement foundation?
We have already started to play with the idea of a larger home with this same style and open concept. Watch for it in further postings.
The Starting Line Up series comes standard with base board hot water heat, but it can be optioned to electric base board heat or even have a forced air system installed on site. In some cases the home can actually be heated with nothing more than the hot water heater. Most locations will install a heating system in the crawl space under the bathroom half of the home. Although the Starting Line Up cannot be modified, we can develop custom plans very competitively and a basement version is possible. My plan for the future design based on this concept will include two or three bedrooms, at least 1 ½ baths, a laundry and a basement option.
Thanks again for all the great responses to the design.
I think it needs more windows/daylighting. I would hate a bathroom with absolutely no windows, and the bedroom could at least have a high window over the bed area, that would allow light without loss of privacy. I also don’t like ranges facing the wall. It’s much nicer when they face the room in a peninsula or something so you can interact while cooking. Other than that, it’s pretty cool and a good size for loners.
Are curtains and funiture included? I am not familiar with the modular concept. Is it just like a double wide where you can move in a couple days ater setting it on the piers and adding the skirting to close off the underside?
I’ll respond to Marianne’s comment about windows first. This particular plan has the tall windows in the corners, but also has a series of high transom windows on the same wall the full length of the home. (See the perspective view.) It is difficult to show the high windows in plan however. I hope this clarifies the window locations. I’m with you though, let the sun shine in!
Shane, double wide, or HUD code homes as they are now known, are built in a factory similar to a modular home. The primary difference is that a HUD code home is built to a federal building code and have an integrated steel frame allowing for transportation. These homes are designed for easy transportation to the site and for possible future relocations. HUD code homes are rarely placed on a Permanente foundation and are actually treated more like a vehicle by the government when it comes to ownerships and taxes than a typical home. These homes do a great job of filling a market need for entry level housing, but generally are not considered to be of the same quality level as a site built or a modular constructed home. Comparing a HUD code home to a quality modular home is like comparing a lawn tractor to a fine tuned sports car. You can drive both to the mall, but the experience is just not the same.
Modular homes are built to the exact same code as a traditional site built home. This means they must meet every quality standard and legal requirement as the homes being built using the old methods on site. The Modular home however takes advantage of an assembly line process to save time, reduce waste and increase quality. Once on site the homes are set on a permanent foundation and from that point forward are virtually indistinguishable from a site built home. A humorous way to think of the comparison between a HUD code home and a modular home. “Comparing a HUD code home to a quality modular home is like comparing a lawn tractor to a fine tuned sports car. You can drive both to the mall, but the experience is just not the same.” I hope this helps.
I also vote for a 2nd BR and in-unit Laundry. This house a lot of sq ft for only having 1 BR. Also, I can’t help but wonder whether all of those levels would make selection of this model cost prohibitive.