Hive Modular B-Line Prefab House

I've really been enjoying Jetson Green's new Flickr Friday. Two weeks ago there were some nice pictures of the ever-lovable LV home by Rocio Romero. And yesterday's feature was a B-Line house from Hive Modular. I hadn't taken a look at Hive Modular in a while, and the Jetson post reminded me what a great house the B-Line is. It's relatively affordable at $140 per square foot (in the Midwest), they have a great floorplan in the 1780 sq-ft B-Line Medium version (just about the right size), and the houses have a freshly modern yet not too intimidating style. I look at the floorplan and just can't find much to fault in it. They've really made a smart house here. Another strong contender for the Commoner Family's future abode. Here are some pics:





One area where a lot of otherwise really nice prefabs fall short is the floor plan. Too often they try to cram too many rooms into a small space, making the house feel cut-up. Or they just eliminate rooms, like a third bedroom that most families need. Or the kitchen is way too small to be practical. The B-Line really shines in this area. It fits all the typically necessary rooms, all nicely sized, into a modest package with a nice, flowing layout. Great job!

Probably the only thing I would change in this house is to flip-flop the master bedroom upstairs with the downstairs bedroom. If you have two kids it is probably better to put their rooms on the same floor, upstairs, and give the master suite a little more privacy downstairs. That looks like it would be easy to do.

I think that's another reason why the Rocio Romero LVL house is so popular. Like the B-Line, it is affordable, modestly sized, and has a very effective floor plan. It's something you have to get right.


By the way, here's another great example of translucent plastic in use on the stairway and as a half-wall upstairs overlooking the kitchen. As I said in a previous post, that's one of my favorite building materials. There are so many ways you can use it. Also note the small window in the kitchen, which, as you can see in the plan view, looks out onto the front step. It lets you see your guests come up the front walk while you are putting the finishing touches on dinner. There's a lot of good storage in this house too, something a lot of smaller homes lack. Very thoughtful details such as these are what make the B-Line such a nice house.

Hives homes are energy efficient in that they are tightly built and well insulated, and they say in their FAQ section that they will work with any customer to build as green as possible with low VOC and sustainable materials.

If you want to see more of this house, look for it on HGTV's show What's With That House, episode HWTH-107. It's airing again on Tuesday, March 6th - just a few days from now - so don't miss it.

This is a great house, one that I think gets overlooked in the exciting market for modern prefab. Looking at it again, I think it may just have jumped up near the top of my list.

Image Credits - Hive Modular site