Adding Architectural Interest
Introduction
Have you ever wondered what made the difference between an
exciting home and an otherwise plain home? Have you ever wanted to make your
home something special, but resigned yourself to the realization that your home
just was not the caliber to ever be special? While it is true that a simple
single story home will never be an imposing mansion, the difference between a
simple, plain house and an exciting home with architectural interest often
comes down to the final details. Details transform a house by adding depth and
intrigue.
Next time you take a ride through the countryside, stop the
car and take note of the homes that you like, and dislike. A good place to
start is with an older neighborhood.
These older neighborhoods always seem to have the more interesting
homes. Now take a closer look. Notice
the added trim around the windows. Count
the roof lines. Is there a porch? How
about a sunroom. And the list goes on and on.
Now let's move on to a newer neighborhood. They all look the
same. Square, plain boxes. Take a look at the trim around the windows.
See any? Count the roof lines. Just one? Is there a porch? How about any other
special items. OK. Details. Each of the homes we really liked was packed full
of endless details. Trim on the windows, dormers on the roof, trim under the
roof line, box windows, multiple roof lines, etc. But if the details are so
important, why are they left off of the newer homes? Good question. Unfortunately, while the
finishing details add considerably to the aesthetic appeal of a home, for many
homeowners, the cost to add these final touches is just too costly.
Starter homes suffer the most from the lack of details. First time home buyers often want the most
space they can afford. Few intend to stay in the home more than a handful of
years. Location and ample space drive
their decision to buy a home. Naturally,
they would like to have their homes detailed out, but when the final selection
is made, a less expensive home with fewer details wins out. As they move up, and after the kids move out,
space is less of a concern.
But what does this have to do with modular homes? Plenty.
Despite their lower cost and higher quality, or perhaps because of it, a
large percentage of the modular homes built went to meet the growing starter
home market. The stick builders long ago
recognized that the high-end, custom built segment of the housing market
offered the greatest profit potential.
To fill the void, many of the first time home buyers who wanted a new
home turned to modular construction to get the best construction and largest
home for the lowest price. While the new
home buyer benefited, the modular homes earned a reputation for being
"plain." True the ones built
were often plain, but this was a result of what the buyers wanted.
As we saw in the previous chapters, modular homes come in
various shapes and sizes. In this
chapter we will explore how to make your new modular home special, or for that
matter, any home new, old, stick built or modular. Everyone wants their house to be special and
there is no reason if cannot be very unique.
All it takes is a little planning to turn your house into an exciting
show piece.
All The Housing World is Square
Sad, but true. With
rare exception, the houses we live in are square and rectangular. But living in
a basic, rectangular home just does not sound appealing. And with our drive in the countryside
completed, it's become clear that the difference between an exciting home and a
plain house is the added detailing.
Detail fills our senses and keeps our eyes wandering in search of new
and undiscovered architectural interest.
For without that interest, underneath the gingerbread and trim work
hides an otherwise plain, rectangular, boxy home with square walls and endless
supply of right angles.
Walk around and virtually everything in your home ends at a
right angle. In our kitchens, the cabinets are rectangle, while the sink is
square. The living room, bedrooms and den all consist of rectangular living
space. And surrounding our world of rectangular space is a larger form we call
the house. Your house and my house are
merely packages of several rectangular rooms nailed together to form a home.
To escape this world of plain, square houses, you and I
embark on an aggressive program of adding detail. Detail comes in all shapes and
sizes. One of the most popular
approaches to detailing our homes begins with landscaping. Trees, bushes, and flowers round out our
house. It all adds to the feeling that this is more than just an ordinary,
plain-Jane, boxy house in an otherwise average neighborhood. Far from it. Our
home has moved from a house on a barren lot to a castle in the woods. By adding
finishing details, our home is transformed into a unique and personalized
retreat.
Whether you are building a new home, or buying an old one,
the amount of detailing greatly affects how people react to a house. Houses with well appointed details stand out
as architecturally interesting while those with little or no detailing can
suffer from extreme dullness.
The problem is that architecturally interesting details add
to the cost of construction of a home.
And, as we noted above, if your objective is to get the most square
footage for the money, then details just may not be important. The biggest problem is that the little
details, the ones that really get noticed, are manually intensive. And in this
era of high housing costs, detailing is often a luxury that gets pushed to the
back. Leading us back to a sea of new
developments of functional, often spacious, but otherwise boring, look-alike
homes.
Modular homes especially suffer from this ailment. Buyers in search of quality housing turned to
the modular industry for a well built, affordable house. Modular home buyers were often both savvy and
frugal. They knew that the quality of
construction could not be added on later.
The details could be added. As
the buyers gained in prosperity, they began to add the details and luxuries
left out when they first purchased their home.
Instant Home: Just Add Style
As a sophisticated home buyer, this places you in an ideal
situation. Whether you are building or
buying a new home, you can now plan and evaluate how your new home will look
once the architectural detailing has been added for interest. And if you are building using the latest
modular techniques, it is a simple matter of adding those items that will
transform your new modular home into the envy of the neighborhood.
For many people, the best place to start is by consulting an
architect or home designer. Architects
and home designers are trained to pull the basic building blocks of home
construction into an artistic, visually pleasing masterpiece. And, as masters of the building blocks, they
know how to meet most any budget.
If you are considering a modular home, you have another,
less expensive alternative. Virtually
every modular home manufacturer has on staff well trained house designers. In fact, the design departments of the modular
home companies are often one of the most underutilized resources of the
company. Most modular home companies
have fully automated CAD design centers ready to make your changes at a moment's
notice.
Competition is fierce among modular home builders, and to
get your order, most of the modular home companies are more than willing to
spend time with you to get that special home.
The price is equally good. Many
modular home companies charge very little for custom assistance. I have seen charges as low as
$550-$1,000. In fact, some companies
offer it for free. They consider it as
part of the base price. Compare that to
architectural fees which average 15%.
There is a down side to relying on the design department of
a modular home company. When you hire an
architect, the architect has been hired by you to meet your specific goals.
With their emphasis on aesthetics, your architect will strongly steer you away
from requests that they believe will not look appropriate.
The designers at the modular home companies are very good,
and will go out of their way to deliver a design that meets your request. But they will not be able to take the time to
fully understand your needs. If you suggest
or request designs that are structurally sound but inappropriate aesthetically,
they will not fight your suggestion the way an architect will. Remember, the designers goal is to sell you a
house. Whatever it is that you want,
they will design it for you. If you have
an excellent talent for home design, the modular home systems provide you with
an in-house, low cost design support staff.
On the other hand, if your skills at design are no up to the challenge,
the modular home companies will be more than willing to build your home so that
you can broadcast your "style" to the neighbors.
Evolution of Housing Components
One of the great mysteries of housing is just what items are
considered "upscale." Flip through the real estate section of the
Sunday paper and you see advertisements for "luxury homes with upscale
amenities." It is all quite
confusing. They all have kitchens. They have bathrooms, carpeting, perhaps
hardwood floors, and a garage. So what
is upscale and luxurious about all that? Regretfully, we live in a world of media
hype, so expect the advertisement to
tell you that it is.
So how do we tell whether the home is truly
"luxurious" or just media bravado?
Strangely enough, you just might check the calendar. It seems that in the ever changing world,
what was yesterday's upscale is today's average or pedestrian. Let's take a look
at how the window has evolved to get a clearer picture of how things
change.
Years ago, the process of glass making was a difficult and
costly process. To lower the cost of
windows, glass was produced in small sizes.
A typical size might have been 8 inches by 10 inches. To build the window, window manufacturers
utilized wood dividers to hold each of the small glass sections. If money was no object, upscale home buyers
insisted on the largest undivided light possible. Large picture windows were introduced to meet
their demands while providing a truly upscale, luxury window of choice. So years ago, a large picture window was the ultimate in upscale.
Fast forward to today.
Technological advances have progressed to where large picture windows
are commonplace. Many homes, from the
smallest cape cod to the largest colonial may have a picture window. Indeed, for every window size, single
sections are the most economical window choice.
And, now that large, single section glass windows are common place, what
is upscale? Well, for some, today's
upscale window is the old fashioned. labor intensive divided light. Windows manufactured with true divided light
glass sections are more costly to produce.
Because they are more expensive, there are fewer true-divided light windows
made. Aesthetically, both the divided
light and the single section window have their followers, but in this case, the
upscale product is the item that costs the most.
So, what was
yesterday's upscale amenity is today's common feature. And conversely, what was
yesterday's necessity is today's status symbol.
What will be tomorrow's status symbol.
Who knows? Construction practices
over the ages have changed as the economics of a method change. But if the item
is uncommon, expensive, and aesthetically pleasing, most likely it will become
upscale.
Siding represents another evolution in house
construction. For most of us, the
primary function of siding is to keep the elements on the outside, away from
the wood framing. Water can be a house's
worst enemy. Today, the most economical,
effective, and practical siding available is without a doubt vinyl siding. While practical, vinyl siding is held with
great dislike by most people who want an upscale home. Vinyl siding is the least expensive form of
siding available and is widely used on entry level homes. It also suffers from a bad reputation. The first products offered into the market
were plain, and looked like plastic. The latest siding models provide the same
level of protection, but look far more natural.
And today's upscale siding of choice. For the truly affluent, brick and stone are
the best choice. Both brick and stone
have a costly, but low maintenance approach to protecting from the
elements. The semi-upscale, and costly
alternative is wood siding. Wood siding
has that natural look, is more expensive that vinyl, and every five years,
requires a costly paint or stain job.
So, as with windows, that which is both practical and economical becomes
pedestrian while the costly and sometimes less effective alternative becomes
upscale.
Keeping Costs Down
For most of us, when it comes time to build a new house, we
find that the house we want costs far more than our budget allows. Now comes
the time where we have to take things out of the total price. Do we make the
house smaller? Do we eliminate one of the bathrooms and instead make it a
temporary closet until we have the funds to finish it? Or perhaps we take out
some of the windows. Ultimately, the final solution must be made by you. Before
you make any decisions, you have to consider how long you plan to live in the
house, and what aspects are most important to you. Another consideration is
that if you make a compromise, can it be upgraded easily and inexpensively or
is it a compromise that is nearly impossible to fix once you make the final
decision.
A good example of these two choices is the omission of a
bathroom, and the omission of exterior window trim. Recent housing construction
often omits the exterior window trim commonly found on older homes. While the
trim is very inexpensive, when the labor for every window is added in, for an
entire home, the added cost can run anywhere from $500 to $1,500. Most people
on a budget have simply omitted the trim. But once this decision is made, to go
back and add trim to the house in a few years costs twice as much as when the
house is first built. Clearly this is a decision that is costly to upgrade in
later years.
Omitting a bathroom, if set up properly, can be added fairly
easily in the future. When the house is under design, set up the room, and the
rough plumbing. One of the biggest costs of bathroom remodeling comes from
making the rough plumbing connections. If they are already there, a skilled
homeowner could even install the bathroom themselves. The difference between the
two examples comes from whether the omitted option can be easily and
inexpensively added later. Let's take a look at some of the features and options
that you as a new home builder can consider when it comes to scaling back the
costs.
The following is a list of areas where you or the builder
may look to reduce the total cost of your new home. Some of these areas may
appeal to you, while others may be an unwise alternative. This list works best
if you want to build your dream home, but your budget falls short. By taking a
long term approach, over the course of a few years, you can end up with the
house of your dreams.
This list can also help you look for ways to lower the cost
(and quality) of the house without giving up any of the functionality.
Unfortunately, in a few years, the lower quality will increase your maintenance
costs.
