Extreme Makeover modular McMansion spawns 782 sq. ft. knockoff

Capitalizing on their success of building an elementary school -- I mean modular single family residence -- for the Williams family, on the popular TV show EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION, Palm Harbor/Nationwide Homes is coming out with a model line based on the show home and hurray, they start at 782 sq. ft.!

The “Extreme I” as shown above, has a recessed entry, split floor plan with two bedrooms and two baths. The Extreme II, at 1501 sq. ft., looks much the same in the front but is a double-wide.




The Palm Harbor “Extreme” series ends in the Extreme Home III which is over 2000 sq. ft. I won’t link to a home that big since it's against my religion; smaller is greener.

My first impression of this design is it looks nice! From the front, no one would ever think this “Extreme I” was an 782 sq. ft home. This home is currently available only in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

It’s a great retro modern design reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s prairie style. I’ll reserve final judgment until they start building and selling them, or at least until they have some full exterior and interior photos.

Ever watch that show? I used to watch the whole thing, until they started showing them on the internet. Now I just skip to the unveiling. When watching the full length episodes, a few times I got tears in my eyes at the pathos of the stories, like the Dad who is going to die, probably within a year, but wants to leave his family a wonderful new 4500 sq. foot house they’ll have to sell when they can’t afford the taxes or energy bills. At least they’ll always have “move that bus,” and a pile of money to spend on something more easy to maintain.

I picture the director of the show getting the crowd running toward something by saying: “Run like you’re being chased by the blob, but look happy!”

What about the nine year old who has his bedroom decorated as a giant pinball machine. I’m curious as to how long they keep it that way.

The show is getting the message, both from viewers and the experiences of past families who have sold their homes, that people’s dream should be something they can afford to maintain easily, and that smaller means more energy efficient too, so they announced they will be building many smaller homes, in the 2000 to 3000 sq. ft range, instead of the larger ones.

So far, the show does a good job at creating drama, raising awareness of often obscure and under-funded diseases, and showcasing builders and the monster homes they can build.

They are going in the right direction with smaller homes though, and I applaud Palm Harbor for translating that that over-the-top show home into something many people can afford.

I will post more on this home as new information becomes available. My next post will be about another nice small modern Palm Harbor home, this one with a flex room option.