Classifieds

DESIGN VERSATILITY ==;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;~~---------

Today's kit homes are of post-and-beam construction, leaving the interior walls non-structural and thus movable. Even if you order a pre-planned home, there is a lot of latitude for customization. Lindal Cedar Homes, based in Seattle, Washington, with an office in Kennebunkport, boasts of its Computer Assisted Design System, which can take one of a myriad existing floorplans and quickly modify it to your '. personal specifications. Lindal has been in the business since the late 1940s, when the industry began. (The Kennebunkport Lindal office is the number two dealership in the nation, with 42 cedar homes sold in the area last year.) They've successfully turned away from the industry's boxy beginnings and n~w offer very contemporary designs, which include urban models designed narrower to fit into smaller lots, and which have a more "cooled down" and less woodsy feeling than their chalet-like cousins. Pictured here is a "Modified Cascade" Lindal Cedar Home under construction in New Harbor, Maine. The owner is a merchant-marine officer who's currently at sea. With this bold oceanfront setting atop a unique rocky formation, he has a lot to look forward to when he gets home. . Kit cost is less than $60,000, with total construction (including ki~ approximately $164,000 - just add water! ENERGY EFFICIENCY

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Since the oil crutl~h of the 1970s, no one has forgotten about the importance of energy efficiency. Deck House, of Acton, Massachusetts, specializes in passive-solar kit homes, complete with in-house monitoring systems to maximize efficiency. This efficiency is only one way that Deck House expresses its organic philosophy of fusing form to function and house to site. The designs are impressively executed in mahogany and Douglas fir and carry with them a highly evolved modern style that's still evocative of the 1960s desig.n flavor that reflects the company's beginnings. Pictured here is Deck House's popular Linder model, popular for its ability to bring the ocean to your living room. To begin your Kit adventure, contact Deckhouse directly at 1-800- 225 -57 55. ARCHITECTURAL SUPERIORITY

Design used to be the downfall of pre-manufactured homes, but not anymore. In fact, it's one of the trump cards! Instant, Ruskin-pleasing variety is possible, because all of these companies have resident, national-class architects who put contemporary, quality plans within reach. Acorn Structures, of Concord, Massachusetts, is a breath of fresh air to,consumers looking for that post-modern look that links antiquity to. clean, contemporary aesthetics. The Venetian window seems to be Acorn's trademark, present in almost all designs. Acorn is also a pioneer in manufactured commercial structures, such as schools, offices, and even condominiums, such as those at Sugarloaf U.S.A. (the ones right behind the gondola).

Pictured here is Acorn's Customized Country House, which is being built at Sebago Lake.

Acorn luxury kits cost roughly $100 per square foot to build, excluding land. Lindals are slightly less expensive at $88 per square foot, and Deck is a bargain at only $70 per square foot.

Your purchase of a luxury kit leads you into a design philosophy which, in turn, might dictate lifestyle. Deck House, for instance, offers interior decorating suggestions with pre-made bookcases, cabinets, and bedframes as well as lighting and carpeting schemes. A manufactured home presents itself as a thinking alternative with no unpleasant surprises. So long to Levittown. Say hello to the new kit homes, whose time has come.

Photo courtesy of Deck House, Inc.

Photo courtesy of Linda! Cedar Homes.