When you have chosen the modular home you are most interested in, your dealer will more than likely be happy to accommodate any changes you wish to make. We were given a list of the specifications that were included in the modular home we wished to build. Most prefab home dealers will give you a list of what is SHOWN in the modular show house, and what is actually included! Essentially, we took that list home, crossed off certain inclusions we had no use for, and added features we wanted. We added ideas we had seen in the past, or had seen in other modular show homes. Our dealer then gave us a new price based on our specifications, and he gave us new blueprints reflecting our changes.
Here is a list of SOME of the changes we made. I hope this list might give you some inspiration.
Things we added to our specifications:
-Added a door between laundry room and kitchen. There was an arch way between the two rooms, so to eliminate noise from the laundry, we added a pocket door. (Note: the laundry room is also a "mud room" of sorts, so it's nice to shut the door and not have to look at muddy boots! You know, rather than put the muddy boots away...)
-All rooms wired for ceiling fans. We did not opt for central air, but may add that in the future.
- We had TV jacks put in all rooms. Better to have the TV jacks and outlets there than have to add them at a later date.
-13 course basement. I guess my husband didn’t want to have to duck while he was hiding from me when I ask him to help me in the kitchen...
-TV jack and outlet in cabinet above fridge - we hide a small tv in this cupboard, so that it’s not out on the counter or mounted on the wall. I like having a tv in the kitchen, but I don't want to see it when I have company over! (We wanted the have the cabinet doors slide in, like a tv cabinet, but our dealer couldn't do that - no biggie in the scheme of things).
-Plumbing stubs and conduit chase to 2nd floor for possible later use. Again, better to have this done than have to do this years later when you want to use rooms for something different. (BTW email me if you know what plumbing stubs and conduit chase are!)
-Lights either side of front door and extra external lights. We live in the country and don’t have street lights, so lighting outside was essential.
-Fill in space between bath and shower. There was a gap of about 6” between the tub and shower in our master bath, so we had them fill that with decorative tile - why clean the floor in that tiny space?
-Reversed floor plan so driveway was to the side door.
-Added a 3rd dormer and made the dormers themselves larger. This was my husbands idea, and our dealer showed us what that would look like with a CAD. It just looked so much better, so we went for the extra cost. (There was also additional cost for the freight the extra size).
-Added 2 feet to the living room and dining room area. The dining room really needed the extra room to fit our large table.
-Roof pitch. We changed the roof line to give us more room in the upstairs.
-9 ft ceilings. My husband is tall. I now have my very own step-stool.
-We had the builder add a ½ wall in the master bathroom, next to the toilet, for privacy reasons. (Don't ask, it just works!)
-Had grids put in windows, on the top half only.
-The glass in the front door was too ornate for our taste, we chose a different door.
-Interior doors chosen from another modular show home, we liked the cottage-feel.
-Laminate for kitchen floor. We wanted laminate floors for the entire kitchen, living room and dining room, but cost kept it to kitchen only. However, now I love the carpet throughout the rest of the house. In the winter it was so warm and cozy. It just feels good!
-Dining room tray ceiling. Because of the open floor plan, I think the tray ceiling makes the dining room feel distinct.
- We had a wood shelf put in the in master bedroom closet. It's not as if I can reach it, but it is extra space for jeans that will fit next year!
-Lights in all closets, except... Strangely, we forgot to have a light put in our linen closet, and I think we use that the most! (Eye roll).
-We had pendant lights hung over the island in the kitchen, which look amazing.
-The kitchen had tons of cabinets, but we had them also include a revolving corner cabinet. This is great for large, hard to store items like vases. Furthermore, we had a cabinet included just for cookie sheets, pizza pans and cutting boards. It just makes me happy.
-We chose a kitchen island from a different modular show home, and chose bead board for the island. It is beautiful.
-The house came with some recessed spots, but we doubled up, and added under cabinet lights in the kitchen.
-All of our hardware and cabinetry was different from what was shown in the modular show home.
As you can imagine, with all of these additions, we also got rid of a lot of features that we didn’t feel we needed. I won’t give you a complete list, but for instance:
-We did not keep the wine refrigerator, bar sink and faucet.
-The original specs included a wall stove, and I wanted a free standing stove.
-There was a circle window in one of the peaks, and a half-circle window above one of the windows, that were both omitted.
As you can see the possibilities are endless. If you think of and idea you like or you see something in a magazine, or whatever, just ask your modular home dealer! If you have a good dealer/builder I'm sure they will be happy to help you! And, as usual, if you have any cool features in your home, please comment!
I will post some pictures tomorrow.
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