Tuscan is Mediterranean but what is this house?

On this page from FRONTDOOR, click HERE , an HGTV website, you can get a pleasant video education on over twenty different ARCHITECTURAL STYLES.

If you are fuzzy as I was, on the difference between MODERN and CONTEMPORARY, or that what is called TUSCAN style in new homes is MEDITERRANEAN, each of these short videos takes you through the history and characteristics of one style, and how it is reflected inside and outside a house.

If your internet connection isn't fast enough and some of the videos start pausing, I found that if a few seconds after a video starts, if you click on the pause, and give it a minute or two, it may play all the way through without pausing again.

After you've finished the series, you should be able to identify the nine architectural styles used in the Miramont Castle (Photo at top) of Manitou Springs, CO, as: Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, English Tudor, shingle-style Queen Anne, Flemish stepped gables, domestic Elizabethan, Venetian Ogee and half-timber Chateau.

Not all these styles are covered in the videos but Miramont is special to me because I once lived on the other side of the hill from it, and also forever regretted not not buying a house on the steep hill just above the castle which had beautiful views, about like this I clipped from Google maps street view:










Here's another photo of one of the Victorian B&B's just below the castle.








Trailernutz is my blog where I'm going to be posting about anything that pops into my head, not necessary about trailers.

Perfection in a small home by Skyline

Click on any photo to enlarge.

These are photos of a smaller trailer I love, only 475 sq. ft. It's hard to find the specs on these but as far as I can tell it is what is called a HUD-code park model, that is, a park model larger than 400 sq. ft., that conforms to HUD standards instead of ANSI standards, which are lower. It has better insulation in the roof and floor than most park models, but 2 x 4" walls and R-11 insulation which is unacceptable.

Although this home is just a one bedroom, one bath model, it is the interior space and layout that is striking. These little homes can get very elaborate with dormers and cathedral ceilings, but this one maintains the simplicity but has that one peak in the living room that looks so good. Although I like the copper back-splash in the kitchen, the beauty of this home isn't in the details; it is in the interior form. It comes as close to perfection as I've ever seen in a home of this size.


It is made by Skyline of California.



The outside appearance is okay, although I don't like that it doesn't have eaves on the sides. The porch is cute though. It would look better on a foundation, and if had a metal roof and eaves more like this one with wood siding. (Also by Skyline.)



The kitchen might look better with stainless steel or black appliances, better counter tops, without the wood on the base cabinet having a repeating pattern, and the furniture like the dining table, the carpet, the tile could all be improved...but who cares when there are such beautiful shapes in the ceilings and walls. The layout is great and I like the built-ins in the bedroom, the corner sink in the bathroom.

If I lived in a home like this, I don’t think I’d ever get over appreciating all the nice wall shapes and the beautiful ceiling shape over one window (2nd photo) in the living room. It is much more interesting than a flat ceiling or rooms with square walls.

Being so small, it would also be very energy efficient if they could use better insulation and get it up to R20 or so. It has an area for a stack washer/dryer.

The problem is the price, in that this home would probably start edging toward the $52,500 for the 1178 sq. ft. Karsten SF-50 which is very well made, to modular standards, but with less visual excitement inside, but at over twice the size with three bedrooms and two baths. It would be hard to resist going for the larger home.

However, this one bedroom Skyline would be perfect for someone on a property where a larger model wouldn’t fit, cantilevered off a hillside, or for someone who wanted the lower expenses of a smaller home.

I got these photos a few months ago, from a dealer’s site. Some of the more web savvy dealers take photos of the homes on their lots that are for sale. A few even take videos.

All the interior photos are of the same home, the one without the wood siding.