In a post that seems like forever ago, I shared that our family was planning to put a modular home on 4 acres of land about an hour away from Nashville. Well it is finally here! Week before last, our lake house travelled from near Knoxville, TN to near Carthage, TN where my father has purchased a couple of acres on Cordell Hull lake.

Seeing a house come down the highway is quite spectacular. But even more spectacular is seeing one come down the narrow, winding country roads near the property. The final road that our property is on is in fact so narrow that everyone that lives in front of the house was completely pinned in for the 4 hours it took the house to traverse that short stint. In this part of the world, it’s not unusual for a double-wide to create a traffic jam so luckily no one was upset. The iHouse is much larger than a trailer, however, and has a striking aesthetic. There were lawn chairs lined up for miles to see our house travel the miles. And a few folks even took a vacation day so they wouldn’t miss the sight. Does this sound like a lovely place to vacation or what?

After a few brushes with boulders and more than a few branches that had to be trimmed, the iHouse came to rest at the foot of our property.

From then, it took a couple of days and a variety of heavy machineries to see that iHouse make it’s way up the hill to her final resting place. But she made it!

Now we’re just waiting for the decks to be built before we can really get busy decorating and enjoying. In the meantime, we couldn’t pass up this excellent sofa from Costco. We bought the floor model for just $700 and we think it will seat a crowd.

(Not my photo but stolen with gratitude from windsorpeak.com)

Now Mom and I are hunting rugs and planning lots of thrifting, crafting, and DIYing to make our lake house stylish and special. We’ll be posting lots more in the weeks to come!

May I introduce you to the Clayton iHouse?

Pretty crazy, huh? Who knew Dad was such a cool cat? I know it’s not exactly what you think of when you picture a lake cottage but I think it’s going to be downright fabulous. And when you consider all the reasons it makes sense, well who wouldn’t want one for their vacation home?

Support Local.
Yes Clayton is definitely a TN-based mobile home manufacturer but I’ve got to give them props for entering the green market. Of course, Clayton was purchased by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway several years ago but as Warren is known to do, all of the company leadership is still right here in Tennessee. So’s the manufacturing plant. We like to support local.

Eco-friendly.
This baby has Energy Star appliances, bamboo floors, no VOC paint, compact fluorescent lighting, water saving fixtures, solar panels (an option and I think Pops is going to spring for the wiring and wait for the panels to come down in price – go Dad!), energy efficient windows, sustainable siding and roofing, rain water collection system, and composite decking made from recycled materials. We think if you are adding another whole house to your carbon footprint so you can get out and enjoy Mother Nature then it’s only fair that you treat her with respect when you do it. Hello, iHouse!

Low Maintenance.
It’s virtually maintenance free. Nothing will need painting or replacing for a very long time.

Great Value.
It’s relatively inexpensive! Somewhere between $85-$100/square foot. WOOT!

Hassle-Free.
You pick out your finishes and the the house is built in a plant and delivered to your lot. What does this mean? No surprise costs or going the standard 20% over budget. No running out to Carthage to make sure the electrician showed up. No finishing the place yourself. No more than 4 months from signature on paperwork to walking through the sleek sliding glass doors! Hey, hey! Who wants hassle just to vacation anyway?

I mean this sucker is cool. We love the layout and are especially excited about the idea of adding an observation deck on top of the flex unit like you see in the above picture. Can you imagine looking up at the stars out in the country from that chic perch?

Check out their website to learn more. Right now Dad’s in the process of finding out whether or not this baby will fit on our narrow, hillside lot. Fingers are crossed. We could be lakeside by fall!

A few shots of the spot:

Pretty, huh?

Mom and I are thinking of a mix of modern and vintage for the interior. This is a style that neither of us have attempted before but enough blog surfing and idea thievery and we should be able to pull it off, right?