The i-house is out!
Thanks to Clayton Homes, the “i” prefix has finally made its way into the small house market. After 75 years of mobile home manufacturing, the i-house is Clayton’s first big stab at green building. On the swankier end of things, the i-house is super stylish and slightly more expensive than some of the minimalist exemplars featured here at Small House Style, but Clayton’s new invention might yet be considered a steal.
On the inside, the i-house has all the amenities of the trendiest of contemporary homes: from flooring to faucets to light fixtures, everything looks snappy and up-to-date. On the exterior, butterfly-style roofing enables rain collection, optional solar panels account for about half of the house’s energy needs, and low-e windows contribute to making the i-house Energy Star® approved. In short, once you factor in stylishness and energy savings (according to Clayton, about $1/day can cover all electricity and heating costs), the i-house seems like a pretty good deal, all things considered. Comments on various blogs and websites suggest that the i-house might be too “Ikea” for some, but it’s definitely an exciting green prefab model, and it can’t hurt to throw it into the mix. For more on i-house configurations, square footage options, and prices, look here.
Via Clayton Homes and Jetson Green
Images courtesy of Clayton Homes
Very cool, I like it! 😉
Very nicely done! I would love to live in a creatively laid out and landscaped community of these! A very refreshing design break from the typical, awful looking manufactured-home styles I see in most pre-fab communities in my state of Florida. My parents retired in one and it was like being in a giant Tupperware container. I can see how the furniture, finishes and fixtures may not be to everyones taste, but easily changed to customers wishes. Its probably not going to attract the buyer who likes colonial plaid sofas and doesn’t own any i-things… Real soon that demographic will be the minority.
Just visited iHouse in Mesa, AZ. Has been on display one week, sold three units already (so they tell us, anyway).
Our second such visit — other one in Everett, WA. Slight changes in six months between production of two units, but concept and execution almost identical. Visited IKEA today to see first-hand the casework and accessories options — very helpful. Now to get a dimensioned iHouse plan to play with layouts.
We like it — but where to place it? So many places, and no one place calls out sufficiently. Okay, we have time. Hope they sell a lot of these.