Prefabulous Small Houses

Not just a coffee table book. Sure, Taunton Press reliably publishes the most beautiful house books on this side of the Atlantic but what makes this book special is the content (which admittedly includes abundant mouth-watering photos). Sheri Koones has been writing about factory delivered homes for over a decade and in that time everything has changed (and her books have kept up with those changes). Prefab is no longer about fast and cheap. Now it's about energy efficiency, superior quality, high design, innovation AND affordability. Koones is a master of this subject having studied big houses and small houses from coast to coast in this country as well as the best prefabs from abroad. In this, her eighth title, she delves into how prefabrication is enabling the growing trend in smaller homes. People across the country are now embracing Sarah Susanka's advice to make houses that are "not so big" - but still incredibly well designed. In this book Koones collects the best of the best and shows how prefabrication has made small architecture possible, Each is different but all are successful in their "small" way. The characteristic Taunton diagrams and the glossary of resources alone would be worth the book price. I look forward to using this book with my online students at the Yestermorrow School. Pure inspiration!

Due to a learning disorder, I have always been marginally employed, so I was looking to build an energy efficient house, that I could afford, that would be similar in design to a a higher quality Habitat for Humanity home. It was hard to tell from this book if any of these homes with their energy efficient features, could even be built for less than a $100,000. and remember you still have to get the land. I loved the book, the designs were wonderful, but as a regular person, not involved in construction, I found it hard to calculate a cost per square foot, or if I could design a house and use more than 1 major technology, ie. solar or geothermal, for the house design to stay under my target budget. That being said, This is the second book I have purchased from this author. The books are gorgeously photographed, with great detail and instruction about the materials used.

Again, Sheri Koones hits another home run for anyone interested in great design, techniques and resources with pre-fab houses! Not only am I finding great inspirations for my own designs, but especially handy is the Source Guide in the back of the book. I'm using it to death already. I would recommend this book to anyone that is planning to design and build a custom home. Pre-fab is the way to go (saves cost and time, increases quality!), and Sheri Koones' book is one of the best references I've seen!

I was looking forward to this book as it covers two subjects that are of great interest to me, prefab and reasonably-sized dwellings.I have to say that I found it slightly lacking in substance. I've been following the industry for quite awhile and found a few technical errors in the text and upon reading it cover to cover, I was left underwhelmed.Visually, it's a nicely presented book, but it's definitely more of a coffee table book than one of substance except to an absolute novice. Perhaps that is the target audience and if so, then the book delivered well.I feel a bit bad about only giving it 3 stars as I think that for an absolute novice, it is a nice book; I just wish that there was more substance to it for those of us who are interested in more technical details.

My wife and I are enjoying this book tremendously. After years of living in residences that are not prefabricated we are now researching and embarking on a new adventure that will rely on custom prefabrication. This book is, like the other books about prefab this author has written, not only a great inspiration and wellspring of knowledge/resources it is also a beautiful presentation. Everytime I pick it up I discover something new and wonderful about prefab architecture and construction techniques. Recommend it highly for anyone who is thinking about or planning to build a new home. 5 stars

This book is more than just a coffee table book. It's part art, part How-To. The pics are amazing and the info is enough to lead you to learn more. Very inspirational to the art of the possible.

This book has a great sampling of alternative costuction techniques that will speed construction and result in a sturdier, more energy efficient home. It contains examples of prefab panels, modular, shipping crates, metal framing, and SIPS. It was a good introduction as I plan building my second home. It was not too technical for me and gave me a good foundation to use when choosing a contractor experienced with unconventional construction. I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 because most of the houses are very modern and boxy and her definition of “small” is different from my own- some of the examples are over 2000 sq ft. I liked her other book, “prefabulous and almost off the grid”, better, as it contained more examples of homes that are appealing to my vision of a cape cod type design as a “ normal” house, not something weird that looks like a space ship. Of course, if you like modern home design, this would be a perfect book.

Great book on state of the art in what’s happening in the prefab industry. Great photo references.