Prefabulous For Everyone | Sheri Koones
Intro: Welcome to the one and only interior design book podcast, Decorating by the Book, hosted by Suzy Chase from her dining room table in New York City. Join Suzy for conversations about the latest and greatest interior design books with the authors who wrote them.
Sheri Koones: My name is Sheri Koones. I'm an author and journalist, and my latest book is Prefabulous for Everyone.
Suzy Chase: I'd love to start things off with the definition of prefab. Now, what exactly does that mean?
Sheri Koones: The term prefab is highly misunderstood. Some people associate it with modular. But the reality is prefab includes any type of construction that is partially or fully built in a factory. That includes modular panelization, structural insulated panels, kit houses, prefabricated, log homes, and many combinations of the two.
Suzy Chase: Prefabricated log home. That sounds really cool.
Sheri Koones: Yeah, well, today the logs are cut in a factory, they're cut much more carefully and they're numbered. And then they're brought on site and put together on site so much more efficiently. And with the modern equipment that's used to cut the logs, it's a much better way of building a log home.
Suzy Chase: So something that interests me is the evolution in housing. You talk about how a big issue in North America is the tremendous shortage in housing. The transformation of suburbs from small bedroom communities to vast sprawling areas has shaped the American landscape, which makes it hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that there is a housing shortage.
Sheri Koones: Unlike in the past when many people who bought homes to bring up their children and then sold them when they were empty nesters are not selling those homes today. It's too expensive for them to find a smaller place to live. So many of my friends own homes. Their mortgages are paid up and their monthly upkeep is low. If they move, they're taking up a larger expense. There is therefore a shortage of housing for younger people starting a family with the massive college loans that young people are having trouble even affording a home. They are getting married later and having fewer children and don't need the sprawling homes that builders are building. There is a shortage of affordable small houses, not mansions.
Suzy Chase: Could you please describe the Raleigh's Simple Home and ADU Cottage as an example of the answer to the housing shortage?
Sheri Koones: This is a great example of what should be done in this country. Generally, when a small house is torn down on the property, the builder is putting up a larger house. Often the zoning is not allowing the builder to put multiple houses on that property, but the builders in this area were allowed to put three houses plus two accessory dwelling units where one house once stood. This added density in an area with a shortage of affordable housing, this was a great example of what should be happening in this country. And Simple Homes is a great company. They do beautiful work and they put together beautiful houses and they are making available three houses that are more affordable to young people than if they put one house, one massive house that probably somebody couldn't afford.
Suzy Chase: You have a new book coming out in March about ADUs, and this home has an ADU cottage with it. What is that?
Sheri Koones: So actually they built two ADUs on this property. An ADU is an accessory, a separate house that's either it can be connected to the main house, but very often it's separated and it's on the property. And it needs to have a sleeping area, kitchen facility and bathroom facility. And people can either rent it out or they can put their elderly parents or their adult children in it. And it's a way for people to make extra income and it adds density. And it's really the most important residential housing that's happening right now in the United States and in Canada because of the shortage of housing. It also keeps the nature of the area much more pleasant and much more residential so that they don't put up high rises.Most of the time they're barely even seen. So it's a win win for the owner of the house.
Suzy Chase: When I think of prefab, my mind immediately goes to the Sears homes, which were kits you could purchase out of the Sears catalog. My favorite is the Magnolia, and it was a ten room colonial in 1921. You could buy this kit for $6,488 and the kit arrived on the train. Could you share a bit about the progression of kit houses?
Sheri Koones: Yeah, actually, kit houses are a great concept. Many of those kit houses, those Sears homes are still in use today. The wonderful thing about kit homes is that they can easily be shipped anywhere. A major kit house manufacturer today is Lindal Cedar Homes. They have been in business for many years and build a beautiful product, way more sophisticated than the early Sears home. Unlike some of the other types of prefab, the entire house is cut into pieces and numbered and they can be shipped anywhere. Lindal has shipped to Japan and years ago, not today, but they used to ship to Russia and they can ship almost any place. And they do all of their own manufacturing windows, everything. They ship an entire package and put it together. So it's a really interesting concept of prefabrication.
Suzy Chase: On page seven, you highlight some reasons why we might want to choose prefab construction. Can you name a couple of those?
Sheri Koones: If you had a couple of hours, I could bore you with all the ways that prefab are better, but they are such a better way of building. There are many reasons why prefab is a better method of construction. For one, it's faster than site building. There are no delays for weather conditions. The house can be built through storms and extremes of heat and cold and places like Colorado, where many of the people ski. It's very difficult sometimes to get workers to come in and work. And so when you have a factory situation, people are full time employees and they're always there. So regardless of the weather, they're there. The house is built in a protected environment. Therefore the materials are not compromised by inclement weather conditions. Wood that is exposed to rain and snow can later develop mold, twist and turn as it rots. When it is mostly built in a factory, there is a very short opportunity for exposure to the elements. In addition, the houses are built by professionals who do this work every day. The work is generally also checked by supervisors in the factory. And environmentally, this is a much better method. Supplies are recycled, such as wood, drywall and metal. And there's a cost savings. Manufacturers buy materials in bulk and are often located in less expensive locations, where the pay is lower, the cost of living is lower. So I could go on. There are so many advantages. If I was building a house today, there's no way that I'd build it any way but one of the prefab methods.
Suzy Chase: is this a more economical way to build? Is it cheaper?
Sheri Koones: Yeah, it is. There was a study done in Philadelphia because they have a tremendous housing shortage. And I believe they found that building with modular was about 15% less. Again, it depends on where the area is that you're building and who the manufacturer is. But in general, it costs less.
Suzy Chase: With the increase of natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, how are homeowners building or rebuilding to make their homes safer for future disasters?
Sheri Koones: I have actually several examples in my book of houses that were rebuilt after natural disasters. And they're just using materials that are stronger and will hold up against fires. People are also, for example, they know that they need to keep foliage away from the house so that it won't burn. They're using metal roofs, concrete foundations, and sometimes the concrete comes up the side of the house so that it's less likely to catch fire. There's many ways. I also have a house in the Caribbean that was built after it was destroyed by a hurricane. And again, they used materials that were just stronger and more durable. So people know how to do this today. And it's becoming much more common to build that way.
Suzy Chase: It reminds me of the Malibu wildfire, and they showed that aerial shot and the only home that was standing was one that had a metal roof.
Sheri Koones: Metal roofs are becoming so popular. A good many houses in my book have metal roofs today. Standing seam metal roofs. They're not only more durable, some of them have 100 year warranties. And they're also very attractive, I think. I think they really look good. I have a partial metal roof, and when it rains, I just love the sound of the rain coming down on the metal. And most metal is recycled, so it's also environmentally friendly because you're using a recycled material.
Suzy Chase: Among your many books, you have another one called Prefabulous World. How are homes in, let's say, France, South Africa and Japan different from our homes in the United States?
Sheri Koones: It was so much fun to do that book because to see what people do in other countries is really, really interesting. Most of the areas, energy is much more expensive than it is here. So whereas everybody in this country is used to turning up their thermostats to 70 or even higher, people around the world who pay a lot more for energy, they keep their thermostats much lower, and they put on a sweater. So that's first and foremost, prefab is very, very popular around the world. Japan, I would say most of the houses are probably built prefabricated. The technology in places like Germany are very, very high. So it was really interesting to see what some of the technologies are that are not even being used in this country. I searched after I finished that book for technologies that we share, and some of them are just not available here. And the reason is because they use smaller heating and cooling systems because their expectations for heating and cooling in their homes is far lower. So in that book, I profiled 50 houses and they were just totally fascinating. But I think it was one of my really best books. The technology was really interesting and even the designs were very interesting. Japan, for example, a lot of the areas where housing is are commercial areas and scenery around the houses is not so beautiful. So what they did was they build houses almost like a doughnut, and the open space is in the center of the house where people can go out and sit and relax. So I thought that was kind of fascinating. And I have one example of that in the book. There's a lot of sophistication in building around the world. It was an eye opening experience to see how those houses were being built.
Suzy Chase: The Maynard house on page ten piqued my interest because it's in rural Vermont, sitting next to this old red barn. So you'd think you'd see an old farmhouse sitting there on that piece of land. Could you describe this home?
Sheri Koones: So many years ago when this couple, they had difficulty finding locally grown garlic. This couple, Cindy and Bob Maynard, bought the property and started farming six acres of land with a variety of different types of garlic. They built a barn on the land to store the garlic and equipment and a large house at the other end of the 90 acre lot. When they found the two mile travel back and forth to their garlic business was becoming excessive, they decided to build a house next to the barn and move closer to their business. The couple chose Unity Homes because it is a panelized company that is known for very energy efficient construction. And that was one of their main concerns when they were building that house was that it'd be energy efficient. And they built lots of different aspects into the house to make it efficient, low maintenance.
And I think they wanted something that was a little bit in contrast with the barn. So it's a little bit country and a little bit modern.
Suzy Chase: The Cowboy Modern Desert Eco Retreat. A steel frame minimal contemporary home in Pioneer Town, California. In Southern California's Mojave Desert. Looks like it's always been there. Could you talk a little bit about how this home was inspired by Old West architecture?
Sheri Koones: So the architect, Jeremy Levine, was very conscientious of impacting the land. He worked hard not to disturb any of the boulders and other features of the property.
The design is very stark, mixing Old West design with modern minimalism. Every aspect of the design was planned for energy efficiency and the preservation of the views. So they built it with very natural materials and materials that people might have used years ago, but with a look that fits right in with the land. When you see it in the book, it doesn't stand out as something modern and new. It really stands out as something that blends in with the land. And I love these troughs that were used for bathing outside. They're very cool and they're weathered steel and they just look fantastic. It's a retreat for the architect. I think they rent it out on airbnb. But it's just a whole wonderful experience, I would imagine, to stay in this house, which is so part of the land and the local atmosphere.
Suzy Chase: So he built this on protected land. Was the process different because he was building on protected land?
Sheri Koones: A biological inspection was required before construction could be started to ensure that no desert tortoises or owls would be affected by the site. The Joshua trees also could not be removed. So, yes, he had to do a lot of research and study before he could actually build this house. And the whole metal frame system was assembled in just three days.
There's a lot of machinery today that cuts things very exacting. And then it was just brought to the site and put together very quickly. It's a very good way to build. It's also more fire-resistant metal is a more fire resistant material and very durable. So this is being used more and more as a method of building.
Suzy Chase: Now to my segment called Home, where I ask you to describe one memory of your childhood home. And please start by telling us where it was.
Sheri Koones: That's an interesting question. Actually. I grew up in a very modest house in Queens, New York. I recently looked it up. It was actually 1248 sq feet. I never felt as a child that I was living in a small house. None of my friends lived in bigger houses. That was pretty much the norm. And I went back to see that house, actually recently and it was still in wonderful condition, so that was really kind of fun.
Suzy Chase: Where can we find you on the web and social media?
Sheri Koones: So I have my own website, which is www.sherikoones.com, and I do post on Instagram and Facebook, and my books are available every place that books are sold. We sell a lot to independent bookstores. Plus my books are available online on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and people can check my website. I do some talks around the local area and sometimes around the country.
Suzy Chase: This book is super inspiring. If you want to build in the desert or an urban area or even on the water, there's a home for everyone in this book. Thanks, Sheri, for coming on Decorating by the Book Podcast!
Sheri Koones: Suzy, thank you so much for having me. It's been a delight to chat with you.
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