Illuminating Photographs, but Superficial Text

In MODULAR MANSIONS, author Sheri Koones shatters the prevailing stereotypes of modular housing. Through a number of "case studies," she effectively demonstrates that modular housing has progressed well beyond the boxy, flimsy, unimaginative trailers of yesteryear. Today's modular buildings can be as simple or complex, as unassuming or ornate, and as affordable or luxurious as the owner wants. MODULAR MANSIONS focuses on the latter - modular structures that easily rival traditional, stick-built mansions.

Koones begins by giving a very brief overview of modular home construction. She then looks at twenty modular mansions; the smallest, located in California, is just over 1300 square feet in size, while the largest weighs in at an eye-popping 12700 square feet. The homes featured come in a variety of styles, including Colonial, Federal, Arts & Crafts, modern contemporary, Victorian, Georgian revival, farmhouse, cottage, log cabin, and even eco-friendly. Clearly, these are not your grandmother's single-wide trailers!

By far, the strongest features of MODULAR MANSIONS are the pictures, of which there are many. A few depict the process of setting a modular home, while most show finished mansions. As gorgeous as some of the homes are, I found myself wishing that there were more pictures of the homes' architecture and less of their furnishings. Floor plans, even general ones, would have been nice as well. After all, I picked up MODULAR MANSIONS because I was curious about the modular aspect of the mansions - not their interior decorating! Also, there were a few instances where the author mentioned a particular aspect of a home's construction, but neglected to include a photo for illustration, which was quite frustrating.

As far as the text goes, Koones included a ton of personal details about the homes' owners that were completely irrelevant. Again, I wanted to know about the modular mansions, not the folks who live in them! Do I really need to know that Aleja made her own tapestries? That Bob's wife Gail had trouble climbing the stairs in their old home due to arthritis? That Lori went crazy with the Victorian trimmings because they reminded her of her grandparents' house? Eh, not so much. I'd rather read more about why this builder chose those materials, why the home was situated on the site in that manner, etc., etc., etc.

Overall, MODULAR MANSIONS is an interesting book, if only to convince the wary that modular homes need not be tiny, unattractive steel structures. It makes a decent coffee table book, but isn't very helpful for readers who want to explore the intricacies of designing and building a modular home.

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