Method Homes prefab in Venice: Take a look, inside and out

Seattle-based prefab builder Method Homes has installed its first Los Angeles project, a 2,800-square-foot house in Venice Beach, and as owners Noah Craft and Belinda Tan lead a walk-through of the property, it’s clear just how vast an improvement the prefab is over the young couple’s previous dwelling, the garage at the back of a century-old residence.

PHOTO GALLERY: Method Homes prefab in Venice

“Nothing was salvageable in the main house,” Craft says. “It would have cost more to renovate it than to build a new home.”

Craft and Tan turned to a friend, Scott Currie, a trained designer who now runs Sagrada Wellness Yoga Retreat, which appealed to the couple’s love for nature and light. Currie collaborated with Method Homes to devise a design that could be shipped from Method’s factory in Ferndale, Wash.

The four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home feels like a spacious wood and glass cabin, with white walls inside and cedar siding outside. The home’s interior is airy thanks to a hemlock ceiling that rises to a lofty 11.5 feet, then slopes down to 10 feet. Custom maple cabinetry is topped with muted gray recycled concrete countertops; strand woven bamboo flooring and Craft’s self-built furniture add to the home’s laid-back style.

Built with an F-shaped floor plan, the home has multiple outdoor spaces: a central courtyard reached through retractable accordion window walls; a back porch with an adjacent outdoor shower, and second floor patios. Though not LEED-rated because of cost, the home has many eco-features, including LED lighting, a graywater system, rainwater catchment, solar panels and a solar hot water heating. More details and a video of the installation are on the Method Homes site.

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