Guest post by Alia Haley
Small homes may not exude grandeur but they sure are full of warmth and smartness. The compact structure of small houses looks very sleek and contemporary. When it comes to setting up a style statement, small homes can never let you down. Karoleena Homes, the well known home designers have come up with the concept of ‘Karo Cabin’. These eco friendly houses are fully modular and movable, which means that all your dreams of having a vacation home or a secondary suite can now come alive. Also, the houses are built with green eco-friendly products, in a climate controlled environment and can be delivered anywhere in the North America accessible by roads or ferry routes.
These homes are Karoleena’s first move into prefab modular housing. The company has advertised it as a holiday home, a backyard studio or a laneway house. A ‘laneway house’ is a dwelling in the service lanes, parallel to the actual streets. In countries like Canada, these are of high importance. In the crowded areas of Vancouver and the west coast, the Eco-density movement is trying to increase the population per square mile. This is being done to reduce the city’s ecological footprint. One of the main aims of this Eco-density mission statement is to encourage the builders and designers to build houses in the open areas. This is where ‘laneway houses’ are looking promising. The idea has further spread to other high density cities like Toronto and the towns on the US Canadian border. It is becoming common now to see secondary structures instead of extensive backyards. With people becoming more aware that instead of growing a small green patch, it is better to house a family in their backyard, the whole culture of growing few plants in the backyard is slowly disappearing.
The houses are advertised as ‘future ready’. The basic unit known as Module A will cost you $129,000. This is excluding the transportation and site work. It includes the home, design and engineering and elements like on-demand hot water, a cantilevered deck, a $5,000 appliance package, Hardie board exterior, a gas fireplace, interior walls which can be moved, double pane windows for efficient use, a modular kitchen and island, low-flow fixtures, and a high efficiency furnace. The module will have 630 square feet including a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, living room a large cedar overhang and wraparound deck.
The company has several other units too. Some of them being Module B which is 30 x 14 feet, Module C: 20 x 14 feet, and Module X: 10 x 14 feet. You can even expand an existing Karo if needed.
About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger whose favorite portals are of luxury and home décor. Recently she got really impressed with some innovative lamps that she encountered at an exhibition. Her recent work is on home automation and unique house plans.