Someone needed to bring the humble single-wide manufactured
home into this century and a young architect in Poland, Lech Włoskowski, may have
accomplished this with considerable style in his modern, minimalist design of
the JB “Silver Moon,” a 581 sq. ft. singlewide.
I’ve teleported it via PhotoShop from Poland to my
neighborhood, and also added some quick skirting in Photoshop, because I think
it is hard to visualize how good a mobile home can look when there is space
underneath. In the video by the manufacturer you can see the original image I
captured the still from.
Unless you speak Polish, if subtitles aren’t showing, click
on the CC in the lower right corner after making the video above full size.
Don’t expect these to be shipped to the US or appearing here
anytime soon. It is made in Northern Poland and can probably be shipped to neighboring
countries within a reasonable distance. That would cost extra, of course,
depending on how much distance. Here is the JB Homes company's website.
Clad from roof to sides with unique aluminum “slates” (by
PREFA Italia), they remind me of armadillo armor, and give the home a modern,
unique look, but also reflect the slate roof tile which has been used for
centuries in Europe.
This small manufactured home has style inside and out, and some
flash with the creative use of LED lighting, both direct and indirect. But it’s
the simplicity and beauty of the modern interior which make it a special
standout to me.
The windows are all energy efficient triple-glazed. Except
for some high-priced (over $90,000) small manufactured homes in Canada, triple-glazed windows
in North America would be a costly extra in a manufactured home, if it were
even an option.
And these windows are not cheap looking, but instead the
size and placement one might find on a custom home, especially the
floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows which cover an entire end of the house. Ordering
a custom window like that from the Home Depot would cost a fortune.
The video tour of the inside, given by the architect,
reveals that it is clean, sleek and modern, with enough warmth from real wood
in the ceiling and the tasteful wood pattern in the vinyl floor to give it a
cabin feel, but a modern, stylish cabin.
For a compact home, the use of space is excellent. Even
where the materials are not expensive, like the Kerradeco wall system, which is
PVC, it is aesthetically pleasing in a way which most drywall alternatives
aren’t. For one thing it needs no batten strips. For an added cost, the walls
can be done with natural wood paneling, as they are in this more conventional model by the same architect:
Back to the Silver Moon…The bathroom is small but stylish.
The vanity, with the subtle indirect lighting under the top, is a gem of
understated elegance. I see some things in this little home which are more
aesthetically pleasing than the modern décor done in some $10M+ Manhattan
apartments.
There are two minor things which I could complain about. One
is the curtain on the end wall window. That would be a challenging window to
cover, but a curtain somehow doesn’t go with the modern look of the rest of the
house.
Another small flaw is having the toilet next to a secondary glass
entrance door, which in itself is a little unusual since a home’s second door
is rarely in the bathroom. But that window in the door could be frosted or
covered with a pleated shade, like a Roman shade.
The pleasing interior design is no one-off happy accident.
Before designing this home, Lech W. (architect) did more conventional-looking
small manufactured homes you can see here at the Letniskowo YouTube site, and they all have beautifully
designed interiors as well. The kitchen in each home is different, and I like
them all.
Major manufacturers in the US like Clayton and Cavco need a
talented architect/designer like this to get the kitsch out of their manufactured
home designs. A clean, modern design goes well with smaller manufactured homes
in particular. This Silver Moon is not a home that would appeal to people
looking for the most space for the least money.
Several years ago, when I first started blogging about
manufactured homes, the Clayton i-house was a good attempt at updating the
single-wide. It had a nice modern interior and the unique roof line made it
open and airy inside. But the water-catchment roof and some other design
features, like bamboo floors and Andersen double-glazed windows, drove the price too high for most manufactured home
buyers to consider. For those reasons, along with it being introduced during
the real estate meltdown, it flopped. Not having a 2nd bathroom, except if you
had enough money to splurge on the guest house, also contributed to its
abysmally low sales.
Before LED lights started becoming standard in this decade, the
architect’s use of lighting in the Silver Moon would be considered
over-the-top, but LED makes it possible to do elaborate lighting without the
high cost, so why not?
The building envelope is different from most US manufactured
homes, as I believe the framing is steel, and it has about 7 inches of
spray-foam insulation in the roof and walls. You can tell by the thickness of
the window frames that the walls are nice and thick. Spray foam is better done
the way this company does it, which is to spray the cavity before applying the
cladding. That way there are no hidden gaps.
Although this home has two bedrooms, it’s in the overall size
category of a lot of one-bedroom manufactured homes in the US. The smaller
bedroom has two narrow beds, like you will find in Europe, but it could fit a
standard single bed, and a small desk.
The Silver Moon is priced at $67,300. When you consider that tiny homes
with 200 square feet less, and thin walls and double pane windows can easily
run nearly this much, that makes this reasonable. The similarly sized, more conventional looking homes by Letniskowo, with double-glazed windows and less expensive heating systems are substantially lower priced.
In the UK, this home would be considered a "static caravan," meaning it is meant to be towed to a property and placed like a manufactured home would be. It is not an RV or meant to be towed from place to place. However, if it had to be moved, it would be easier to move than a large single-wide.
In the UK, this home would be considered a "static caravan," meaning it is meant to be towed to a property and placed like a manufactured home would be. It is not an RV or meant to be towed from place to place. However, if it had to be moved, it would be easier to move than a large single-wide.
In the US, you can get a cheap park model home which is
smaller, only 400 square feet, like an inexpensive model without a loft, for
around $25,000, but it’s going to be very cheaply made. This home is priced about like a higher quality one-bedroom manufactured home of a similar
size in the US but has a lot more style and better energy efficiency.
It seems like it would make the perfect cottage or primary
home for those looking for something about twice the size of many tiny homes.
What do you think of the design, exterior and interior?
Very cool post! I'm glad I stumbled upon your great blog. Your P.Shopped pix of this home does lend a more settled look to this fine, even if somewhat obvious, yet excellent "big wall end window" design idea. Also, just love all the amazing work he did.
ReplyDeleteCheers to you as I explore more of your excellent commentary and information here!
Enjoyed running into your blog. There are some exciting new models I hope you feel more soon! Especially like your video links and design opinions.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, a lot of mobile home are pretty blah looking, or downright funky. We're remodeling one with those funky aluminum shutters, our solution was to paint right over them. Here's a video: https://youtu.be/0XYDhFWC3CE
Hi Blake! Yeah, I've kind of lost interest in manufactured homes, except for maybe the Boxabl Casita, which is going from prototype into manufacture right now with a military contract for a few hundred, from their new factory in Las Vegas. How it will work in real life remains to be seen, but it is pretty radical and innovative. It's the first unfolding home I've read about which makes sense.
DeleteI like renovation videos and the blue trailer you're working on looks great. That light-colored spalted pattern vinyl plank flooring is exactly what I would use if I were doing a floor in my house today. Vinyl plank, along with cork probably, is the best floor for the sound it makes and the comfort on the feet. Cork can be absurdly expensive and depending on how it is finished, a lot of dirt can collect in the fibers. The last floor I did is vinyl plank but it was years ago when the home store near me had only three choices,as it was just coming out then.
Your two wallpaper choices are striking and look beautiful in the bathrooms. I look forward to seeing it finished.