A Modern Home Designed for Casual Indoor-Outdoor Living

Image by MBR Studios. Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Designed by Glidehouse architect Michelle Kaufmann with Sunset*, the 2-br/2-ba, 1,830 square foot Sunset Breezehouse modular home is a flexible, eco-oriented, light-filled home. A third 248 sf module can be easily added as a third bedroom. This module can either be attached to the second bedroom, or designed as a flexible free-standing pavilion which can be used as a guest bedroom, office, or pool house. 4 bedroom and larger versions are available as well, and the home can be built upon a full foundation, including a walkout basement or garage spaces.

Let the Breeze In

The signature feature is the Breezespace at the center, under a distinctive butterfly-shaped roof.

Image by MBR Studios. Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

This room, which is actually a glass-enclosed breezeway or porch, functions as the main living and dining space between the kitchen and children's bedroom wing on one side, and the flexible, library/guest/office and master suite on the other. Courtyards, terraces, and decks are at the front and rear of the Breezespace.

The width of the Breezespace can be modified depending on your site, lifestyle and budget. There are different exterior finishes (metal, cement board, wood) and different roof configurations (sloped, flat, butterfly) to choose from.

Image by MBR Studios. Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Let the Green In

The Sunset Breezehouse modular home is designed to blur the boundary between the interior and exterior space. By borrowing space from the outdoors, the home feels larger that it is. The home is green in many other ways. All major rooms have a garden view to integrate nature with living. In addition, the home uses off-site construction, low-energy lighting design, eco-friendly materials, and sustainable design layout. All of these elements combine to help increase the overall efficiency of the home.

To further contribute to the green nature of the home, solar panels can be added to the sloped roof. Cross ventilation in all rooms is heightened by the large operable doors in the Breezespace which allow for increased cooling. In cooler months, the stone floor in the Breezespace acts as a thermal agent for heating, in combination with glazing based on solar orientation.

Breezehouse Costs

The costs for the Sunset Breezehouse vary according to the number of bedrooms, size of the Breezespace, and the finish package, but typically range from $155 to $175 per square foot for all factory construction.

For example, an 1,830 square foot, two bedroom, two bath version with large Breezespace, Nanawall doors in the Breezespace and upgraded interior finish package (including fireplace, millwork in library and info center, and stained maple and glass cabinetry in kitchen)—the home that will be displayed at Sunset—would run about $170 per square foot or roughly $310,000.

Additional construction costs include all work done on site, and vary according to location, topography, and site condition: land cost; shipping/setting of modules; foundation (it is not part of the setting); button up work; garages, decks and pools; utility lines to house; and landscaping. Michelle Kaufmann Designs will work with each Breezehouse client to build a budget. You can start by using the MKD Budget Builder.

The Sunset Breezehouse home is available in western US states, including California, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii and Colorado. Your Sunset Breezehouse home will be built to all state and local building codes, for any environment, in any season. Your Sunset Breezehouse home will arrive by flatbed truck, 90% complete, in as little as 8 months after order. Financing is available.

The Breezehouse at Sunset

The first Breezehouse modular home was assembled at Sunset headquarters—fully furnished—to debut at Sunset Magazine's 8th annual Celebration Weekend, May 21-22, 2005 in Menlo Park, CA. Sunset’s article on the Sunset Breezehouse modular home will appear in the August 2005 issue.

The first Sunset Breezehouse modular home, the show home for Sunset's Celebration Weekend, was recently offered for sale on LiveModern, and has been sold. The Breezehouse at Sunset, which is the only one completed to date, is no longer open to the public at Sunset. It is a private residence, and the owner wants to move in as soon as possible. We will work with home owners to open their Breezehouses for tours once they are completed. We will announce on LiveModern (and via the Sunset Breezehouse News, free registration required) the availability of the next Breezehouse to be shown for prospective buyers. Note that all Breezehouse are private residences, and while we are working with owners to show their homes we also respect the owner's privacy.

On the Sunset Breezehouse

• Thanks to walls of glass that fold to one side, the Breezespace completely opens to one or both courtyard gardens, making the Sunset Breezehouse’s flexible living spaces feel twice as large.—Michelle Kaufmann, Architect
• The Sunset Breezehouse represents indoor-outdoor living at its best—a subject that has long been identified with Sunset. The flexible glass walls of the Breezespace can close for an intimate breakfast or open for a grand evening gathering.—Peter Whiteley, Sunset Senior Writer
• Our objective in developing the Sunset Breezehouse with Bay Area architect Michelle Kaufmann is to provide a contemporary, outdoor-oriented, architect-designed modular home with wide market appeal. It’s a reinvented, sustainably built, Gen-X version of the modern Eichler atrium-production-house of the 1960s.—Dan Gregory, Sunset Home Editor

Schematic Floor Plan and Elevations

Image Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Image Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Image Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Image Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Image Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Image Copyright © 2005 Michelle Kaufmann Designs (used with permission, click to enlarge).

Michelle Kaufmann Designs also features the Side Breeze, perfect for more narrow lots or even for lots with a slope, with all the wonderful sustainable design aspects of the original Sunset Breezehouse.

Key Sunset Breezehouse modular home features

• Factory-built for maximum efficiency and quality control—including all cabinetry, counters, floors, windows and doors, plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, roof system, siding
• Breezespace for living and dining
• Entry coat closet
• Library/Guest/Office with fireplace, built-in couch, and storage closet; curtain on a built-in ceiling track for privacy
• Eat-in kitchen with pantry
• Laundry room
  
• Info Center/Homework Station adjacent to kitchen
• Children’s Bath with linen closet
• Children’s Bedroom opens to Breezeway and rear deck
• Master Suite containing headboard/island that doubles as a closet
• Master Bath has double vanities and walk-in shower beside Bath Garden
• Master Bedroom opens to Breezeway and rear garden
• Every major room opens to a garden

Your Next Steps

We are taking orders for the Sunset Breezehouse, available immediately in California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Colorado. Your Sunset Breezehouse will arrive by flatbed truck, 90% complete, in as little as 8 to 9 months after order. To build a Sunset Breezehouse, there are six steps to ownership:

1. Obtain Land—Acquire land prior to purchasing your Sunset Breezehouse;

2. Obtain Financing—We can recommend lenders that specialize in financing your modular building. And we'll work with you to prepare your budget. Once you have land and financing, contact us. You are ready for our services;

3. Discuss and Decide—We'll discuss options with you and help you choose the right solution;
4. Engineering and Permits—MKD will prepare drawings for permits and production;
5. Production and Site Preparation—Your home is built in a modern factory. Your site is prepared for your home; and
6. Delivery and Button Up—Get your camera ready! We prepare your new home for move-in!
   

For Inquiries and Orders

The Sunset Breezehouse Process is detailed here. A budget builder is available here. Complete product and process details are included in the Sunset Breezehouse electronic brochure (it's a 25MB Adobe Reader "pdf" file). A guided video tour of the Sunset Breezehouse by Michelle Kaufmann is here.

To start the process of building your MKD modern modular home, contact Marshall Mayer, marketing and sales representative for Michelle Kaufmann Designs, by providing details about your project.

You may also be interested in the Glidehouse, Michelle Kaufmann Design's most cost effective design. A map of current and completed MKD projects is here.

* Founded in 1898, Sunset is the West's premier lifestyle magazine, with a circulation of 1,450,000 in 13 Western states.