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Napans Colin Petheram and Karteek Patel (left) chose Stillwater Dwellings for their modern, prefab home.
Stillwater Dwellings created this modern, prefab home for Napans Colin Petheram and Karteek Patel.
The outside of Colin Petheram's and Karteek Patel's prefab Napa home.
Inside a prefab Napa home built by Stillwater Dwellings.
The natural beauty of California’s wine country is a big part of the draw for millions of wine tourists who make the pilgrimage every year.
For those who stay and put down stakes, prefabricated luxury homes by Stillwater Dwellings increasingly are the design of choice.
Expansive window walls and indoor-outdoor living rooms take full advantage of the stunning landscapes in Napa Valley and Sonoma County.
With more than a dozen Stillwater homes dotting the hills and valleys and more under construction, Stillwater has become a wine country signature style.
Manufactured homes, once thought of only as among the lowest of the low-end housing options have gone upscale.
Stillwater Dwellings, a 14-year-old Seattle-based company, is one of the leaders in high-design and luxury in the space.
Long popular throughout the Pacific Northwest, Stillwater Dwellings is making a name for itself and taking orders from homebuyers from Colorado to Hawaii and states in between.
Stillwater pre-fabricates major components of its homes in its climate-controlled manufacturing facility in Reno, Nevada, and shipped sections flat to the home site for assembly by trained general contractors.
Total project costs average $475 to $650 per square foot without landscaping. The price tag - vastly greater than the cost of the traditional rectangular metal box in a mobile home park – is a relative steal in the luxury market.
Stillwater estimates the bill for one of its homes comes in 20-40% less than a custom-designed stick-built home of the same caliber.
Bill Jenkins and Kathy Dennett, owners of Wing Canyon Vineyard on Mt. Veeder Road in Napa, are among many homeowners who chose a Stillwater design to replace a home destroyed by wildfire.
Dennett liked Stillwater’s eco-friendly pre-fabrication method, which was less taxing on the environment and on her psyche as she worked to re-establish her winery.
Stillwater was able to package the factory-made pieces of her home into smaller than usual parcels to fit up her narrow mountainside road for assembly on site.
“Something I found important is you get to pick a plan and then you get to change the plan and make it your own. It made me feel I was designing a house,” Dennett said.
The winery building is attached to the home and is part of the Stillwater plan.
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Dennett and Jenkins chose to add enough solar panels to power their home and winery so they can live and work off the grid. The Stillwater design – the window walls and skylights – means artificial lighting is rarely needed.
“The climate is perfect for living inside and outside. It’s the perfect house for Napa,” Dennett said.
Charlie and Dan Grant also lost their 1970s two-story home in Glen Ellen to the 2017 wildfires that destroyed many of their neighbors’ homes.
The Sonoma couple previously was aware of and interested in prefabricated homes which appealed to their commitment to the environment. Having already researched the major prefab companies, they immediately reached out to Stillwater Dwellings.
“We wanted only a prefab home because it’s quicker and my husband is really interested in cutting down on waste and conservation,” Charlie Grant said.
Stillwater is dedicated to sustainable, healthy and environmentally sound construction. The company says its methods reduce waste up to 50% compared to traditional on-site home construction, and its engineered timber helps protect old-growth trees.
Soon, five of their neighbors chose to rebuild with Stillwater Dwellings, too. Charlie Grant said she can see three Stillwater homes from her property.
“Stillwater Dwellings just ticks all the boxes,” Charlie said. Especially in Napa Valley and Sonoma County.
“I think it’s the views. The homes, the windows, make the most of the views, making sure to put the house in the right place,” Charlie said.
Like Dennett and the Grants, Colin Petheram and Karteek Patel were lovers of architecture with an interest in modern prefab homes.
After stumbling upon Stillwater Dwellings, the couple — who were not burned out in the wildfires — made the decision to raze their old East Napa ranch-style home which was squandering their luscious Napa views.
Their 2019 Stillwater home showcases both the natural landscape and their personal art collection from years of world travel.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Patel.
He would recommend a Stillwater prefab home to others in the market for such a project.
“It is an easier build process, it’s more cost-effective and more efficient.”
Whether a homebuyer comes to Stillwater Dwellings traumatized by wildfire and needing a quick return to normalcy or is rebuilding by choice, Charlie Grant said, “They make it very easy to get a beautiful home.”
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You can reach reporter Jennifer Huffman at 256-2218 or jhuffman@napanews.com
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This collection showcases recently-published business profiles featuring Napa County entrepreneurs.
Stillwater Dwellings built this prefab east Napa home. Stillwater estimates the bill for one of its prefab homes comes in 20-40% less than a c…
Napans Colin Petheram and Karteek Patel (left) chose Stillwater Dwellings for their modern, prefab home.
Stillwater Dwellings created this modern, prefab home for Napans Colin Petheram and Karteek Patel.
The outside of Colin Petheram's and Karteek Patel's prefab Napa home.
Inside a prefab Napa home built by Stillwater Dwellings.
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