Can Prefab Houses Really Be Fabulous?

If, in this time of record home prices, you're looking for a less expensive way to get into (or maybe even build) your own home, then you may be looking into prefab construction.  Prefab houses, which are built in factories and then shipped to your site to be assembled in much less time than a traditional stick-built house, are increasing in popularity.  They take less time to put up, and they usually cost less to build than a similar size and style of stick-built house.  Also prefab construction can be used in order to build additions onto your current home.

But can prefab houses really look good.  Can they be "fabulous"?

Well, pick up a copy of Prefabulous: The House of Your Dreams Delivered Fresh from the Factory from the book store or library, and you might just be wowed.

This glossy coffee-table style book is full of pictures with examples of beautiful houses and additions.  When you look at the finished homes, there's no way you would think they were factory built.  They look just like the real deal. 

The book has a lot of information in between those pictures, too, so if you're on the fence about prefab, this text might help you make a decision.  Reviews at Amazon are quite positive:

"As with all Taunton Press 'coffee-table-quality' books with lots of color photos, the only word to describe this one is 'amazing.' It includes all prefab systems that are used to engineer and assemble homes in factories, then ship them on trucks to the home site. Panelized, log, timber-frame, concrete, hybrids and steel-frame homes are included. As famous author and home designer Sarah Susanka says in her forward to the book, "For some people, words like modular, manufactured, panelized and prefabricated conjure up visions of ticky-tacky subdivisions in which every house looks just the same. But the biggest story in 'Prefabuous' is that just because something is made in a factory doesn't mean it has to be boring or the same as hundreds of other houses.'"

If you decide to buy a copy of the book, you can get it from Amazon for less than $20:

Prefabulous: The House of Your Dreams Delivered Fresh from the Factory