For a moment we considered doing back-to-back trade show duty in Las Vegas by attending this week's International Builder’s Show (we recently returned from Sin City to attend the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show for Unplggd). But then we realized were not masochists like that. Though we're glad we didn't have to brave the crowds and excess of Vegas, we are bummed out we didn't get to see the pint sized Osprey eco-cottage by Nationwide Homes this afternoon at its premiere.
Sized at just 523 square feet, The Osprey was designed as secondary or vacation home, complete with a bedroom, bathroom, sizable deck, galley-style kitchen, and full bathroom. The Osprey is just one of many eco-design, NAHB’s National Green Building Gold certified structures which integrate energy saving measures such as Energy Star appliances, Low E SmartSun Glass windows, tankless water heaters, recycled wood, low or no VOC paints, formaldehyde free insulation and the option for Thin-Film Solar technology integrated into the the roofing panels for off the grid use. No official specific pricing, but Nationwide quotes between $25,000 and $90,000 as the price range of these eco-cottages.
The Osprey is the model house showcase of the full Eco-Cottages line from Nationwide Homes (other models shown above in the slideshow) and will be on display at the International Builders’ Show from today till the 22nd. Further details at Nationwide Homes. We hope to gather several real photos from the show in the coming days as a followup, if only to appease our own curiosities about this promising small space housing option.
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I'll take two, thank you. One for the bay, and one for the prairie.
Very cute. But agree that the bathroom access has to be changed, along with creating some decent closet space in the bedroom.
Nice it's catching on, but I've seen better designs
These designs look like higher end mobile homes. Ladymantle, I agree having to go through the kitchen to go to the restroom is a bit awkward, I would have made it open to the living area or bedroom. But it is divided by a wall and a door. There's nothing unsanitary about it. From a builders perspective, it makes a lot of sense to centralize all that plumbing.
Very appealing and *green* designs. And I've been in (and lived in) 100-plus-year-old houses with the bathroom adjacent to the kitchen. Nothing wrong w/that per se, IMO.
I'm not big on that floorplan with the bath off the kitchen either - There are better ways to do this.
I like that these designs include a lot of outdoor space with their decks and patios, and the windows in some are huge. I'd happily live in one of these.
yeah, they obviously thought this over in the design phase and most likely to save space and centrally locate the plumbing to save money, I think its fine, assuming you don't disgusting bathroom habits.
I wonder if Nationwide Homes has considered donating a hundred of these to some lucky folks in Haiti.
It'd be a nice tax write-off, and imagine the publicity.