Simple Cottage Sampler
Builders—especially the big ones—and architects, says architect Russell Versaci, have done a disservice to the American home buyer. “I’m just horrified by the monoculture of home building in this country,” he once told the McClatchy-Tribune. “Basically, it’s like big-box shopping malls–no matter where you go, they’re all the same.”
The Middleburg, Va.-based Versaci specializes in high-end custom homes, but he’s also on a quest to make traditional design (especially regionally appropriate vernacular work) more affordable. Using the successful Sears Home model, Versaci has formed a partnership with Haven Custom Homes in Linthicum to design kit houses that are affordable and better designed, he says. “I saw prefab as a solution for getting better design into the marketplace, a solution for the cost problem, and a way to diversify my practice.”
The recently introduced Simple Cottage Sampler is a new collection of small homes designed specifically for modular building. Ranging in size from 450 square feet to 900 square feet (they can be increased in size by adding modular units), the line features 10 authentic vernacular architectural styles such as Chesapeake Tidewater and Louisiana Creole and will possess architectural features usually found only in higher-end homes.
Houses will be delivered to the site 90% complete. www.havenhomes.com.
