MCH Round Prefab Custom Homes Feature – Trillium Series
Every room is integrated into nature. Interconnectedness, wholeness, and sustainability with the MCH Trillium Series.
Mandala Custom Homes (MCH), specializing in round prefab custom homes, aspires to integrate holistic and sacred spaces into everyday living. The MCH team is inspired by nature and our innate connection to round living. Our vision includes the health and wellness of both our homeowners as well as the home's surroundings.
Throughout history, humans understood the inherent benefits of round home building. A round structure offers superior structural integrity, comfort, energy efficiency, and natural disaster resistance. Round homes also required fewer resources to build.
Our mission and the long and storied history of round living are exemplified in luxurious fashion in the MCH Trillium Series. Amplifying all the best of MCH round prefab custom homes design, Trillium is a set of three glorious circles configured to make the most of any property, particularly those that offer dramatic views. Homeowners who choose the MCH Trillium can let their imaginations fly. Leverage round prefab custom homes to create the holistic dwelling of your dreams.
Round prefab custom homes for sustainable, holistic living
The MCH team is passionate about making the world a better place – one beautifully designed and expertly crafted structure at a time. In every home we build, you can see our consistent commitment to the MCH mission statement, “Make Life More Wonderful.”
MCH creates homes that are truly unique. But, it's more than the aesthetics of the distinctive circular design. Our round prefab custom homes contribute to a healthy, meaningful, sustainable, and energy-efficient lifestyle. Always true to our triple bottom line, the health of the Planet, the People, and Sustainability. It is the foundational principle of our business. Every decision brings each of the tenets to bear in equal measure.
Round living offers a holistic balance – looking outward and inward, and integrated into the environment of the natural surroundings. The Trillium Series is truly a 21st-century home. Modern materials and building technologies it is the luxurious and beautiful version of the dwellings our ancestors pioneered.
The epitome of comfort, sustainability, and energy efficiency, the Trillium is a unique collection of round structures to create a distinctively holistic and healthy home – of the future as well as the past.
Take a tour of an MCH round prefab custom home:
Holistic, round building expertise
When you work with Mandala Custom Homes to build a home, you enjoy over 70 years of homebuilding experience and expertise. We provide a complete design and planning service to help you create a fully customized design suited specifically to your lifestyle and needs.
We finalize the design and ship the expertly crafted home package directly to your building site. There, your contractor will assemble and finish it.
Our distinct and innovative building processes define every MCH home package. These include engineered floors, walls, roof system, and pre-cut, panelized components. The MCH state-of-the-art panelized building system leverages quality materials, advanced building technologies, and a controlled work environment. Moreover, we construct panelled walls and other components to build the most cost-effective, energy-efficient, high-performance, and durable homes in far less time than conventional construction.
Modern panelized home building systems – any Mandala Homes home package – preserve the best of “stick” frame construction combined with modern prefab building technologies. The result is the best in uniquely beautiful, customizable, and energy-efficient round homes.
Once complete, you and your family will enjoy it for many generations to come. where it is assembled and finished to rest in place for many generations to come.
In summary, when you purchase a Mandala Custom Home, you choose a more comfortable, healthy, and relaxing lifestyle that feeds the soul. You also enjoy all the cost benefits that come with sustainable, high-performance energy efficiency.
Would you like more information about a luxurious, sustainable, high-performance home? Speak with an MCH expert to learn more!
3 Myths About Building a Custom Home in BC
Want to build a custom home in BC? Let's look at why the home of your dreams might not be as out of reach as you may think.
To many people, the idea of building a custom home in BC – the perfect home for you with all of those ideal finishes and fine details you've dreamt about – can seem quite out of reach. Particularly now.
There's a lot of information out there. Some of it is true, but much of it is hyped about providing clickbait and instilling apprehension. Yes, builders are in short supply and materials are more expensive than ever. But, the alternatives to stick built homes, such as prefab building packages, simply don't get the attention they deserve in this era of supply chain issues and rising inflation.
It doesn't have to be only the select few who enjoy the excitement of planning and building the homes of their dreams. If you are open to the custom home options out there, your forever home is there for the building – in an innovative, temperature-controlled building facility, delivered and ready to construct in weeks, not months.
Let's take a look at a few myths about building a custom home in BC in this climate – dispelling some of the popular narratives around post-pandemic homebuilding. And help you see why your next home, perhaps even an MCH custom prefab round home, may not be as out of reach as you might think.
1. You have to be wealthy to afford a custom home in BC
Certainly, we're not going to deny the challenges a time such as these past couple of surreal years presents and will continue to present for the foreseeable future.
But, that said, many believe that building a custom home in BC right now is only for the supremely well off. We beg to differ. There are still a variety of properties in incredible regions of the province that are not only affordable, but offer access to the best in outdoor recreation, services, and amenities that are truly enviable.
Building a custom home can be an expensive prospect, for sure. But, more and more there are creative and innovative alternatives to conventional stick-built construction. Even if you might pay more in the short-term to construct your home, the modern, sustainable and energy-efficient features make short work of your bills for the life of that home.
For example, when you choose a Mandala Custom Homes prefab round home, you can take advantage of the most modern technologies to ensure a healthier, more durable dwelling with a lower environmental impact, and, ultimately, cost savings long-term.
Consider, too, that a custom home is only as expensive as you make it. Building costs will vary significantly depending on a range of factors that include the size of your home and the finishes and details you choose.
Whether you are limited to a modest budget or can enjoy being freer with your spending, you can find the home that's just right for you, your family, and your lifestyle.
2. We'll have to wait forever to complete a custom home
Yes, admittedly, if you're looking for a custom home that is move-in ready in mere months, you might have to rethink your expectations.
But, again, when you consider alternatives to conventional construction – a custom prefab home, for instance – you open up the options. Options to find an expert builder that can get your project started sooner than the conventional builders in your market and alternative, innovative, and sustainable building materials that might have better availability.
For example, when you work with MCH, our innovative Off-Site Manufacture (OSM) round home construction simplifies and accelerates the building process.
3. I don't know the custom features available – maybe it's not for me?!
We know, you might not know the custom features you'd like in your home, let alone the range of options available to you. But, that shouldn't get in the way of choosing a custom home.
Supporting our MCH clients, with the help of our talented, expert team (including an architect and designer), is how we create custom dwellings to suit. We work closely with our homeowners to create a home that offers the utmost in comfort and harmony, with features that provide for a lifetime, even generations, of enjoyment in the home.
Despite the challenges of homebuilding in today's home market, there are still options to be had! You don't necessarily have to put off building the house of your dreams. With some good planning and working with a great team, the custom home you've been thinking about can become a reality sooner than you think.
If you've been dreaming about your next house, MCH wants to help you make it come true! Speak with an expert at Mandala Homes and find out how easy and fun creating your own custom prefab round home can be!
Spring Cleaning! A Handy Checklist to Freshen Your Home
It's that time of year – spring cleaning! Freshen up your spaces with our handy checklist.
It's been another long winter, but spring is here – even if Mother Nature hasn't quite given the all-clear with the weather! And, as the snow retreats, leaving a long list of visible springtime to-dos, first we feel the need to fling open the doors and windows and welcome fresh spring air indoors.
Even in a high-performance Mandala Custom Round Home, in which we are proud of our "Seal It Tight. Ventilate It Right" approach, when the fresh spring air beckons, we can't help but let it in!
But, along with the fresh air comes spring cleaning. Every year, it seems such a daunting task, no matter how rewarding. This year, we've compiled all the essential must-dos to help make the job more manageable.
Why a spring cleaning checklist?
The simple fact is that all big, challenging tasks require a list of tasks to help focus your attention and get you over the hurdle of starting. Spring cleaning is particularly pesky as it requires a block of time during a season that typically begins a very busy time for many families.
But, setting aside time every year to get into the nooks and crannies and deep clean each room is important to help maintain a healthy and organized space. This is the time to shake off the dust and residue of the long, dark winter days largely spent indoors.
Let's get started!
Deep cleaning – the steps
In the wise words of the great Desmond Tutu, "There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” And likewise, the best way to approach your spring cleaning is one step at a time. Here's how:
Whole-home cleaning checklist
The first step is to begin with those tasks that apply to every room in your home.
- Dust and wipe windowsills and tracks
- Dust and wipe light fixtures and ceiling fans
- Wipe your baseboards and mouldings.
- Dust all the corners for cobwebs
- Vacuum blinds and curtains
- Wipe and disinfect doorknobs, light switches, and cabinet handles
- Test all the batteries in every smoke and carbon monoxide detector
Cleaning checklist for the kitchen
- Thoroughly clean all surfaces and large and small appliances.
- Clean your coffee maker, microwave, etc., inside and out
- Clean your toaster and toaster oven – don't forget to empty the crumb trays!
- Empty your fridge and, if necessary, defrost your freezer
- Clean all refrigerator shelves and drawers
- Vacuum behind and under the fridge – the coils can get quite dusty!
- Scrub the stovetop and clean the oven
- Empty cabinets and wipe down all the shelves and drawers
- Sanitize your sink. Be sure to include the inner rim of your sink guard
Bathroom cleaning
- Scrub and disinfect the toilet and surrounding floor surface
- Empty medicine cabinet – properly dispose of expired medications and toiletries
- Clean and organize drawers and cabinets
- Scrub the bathtub and shower with attention to fixtures – don't forget to wash the floor mat and the shower curtain!
Bedroom cleaning
- Wash all pillows and bedding
- Rotate the mattresses
- Empty closets, cabinets, and drawers
- Set out bins for Keep, Donate, Toss – assign clothing and accessories accordingly!
- Kids' rooms – empty shelves and toy bins. Clean, disinfect, and organize the contents.
Living room cleaning
- Remove furniture cushions and vacuum crevasses
- Empty cabinets, shelves, drawers, and closets – cull and organize
- Wipe down or dust television and electronics
Home office cleaning
- Empty cabinets, shelves, drawers, and closets
- Cull and organize office supplies, documents, and other items that tend to collect
- Spray your keyboard with canned air
- Wipe down or dust your screens
- Disinfect all devices like your phone or tablet and including your computer mouse
Laundry room and mudroom cleaning
- Vacuum and mop behind the washer and dryer
- Thoroughly clean the lint traps in both your washer AND dryer
- Wipe up around and beneath your detergent dispensers
- Empty cabinets, shelves, drawers, and closets – cull and organize. As with the bedroom, set out bins and arrange clothing, shoes, boots, etc. accordingly
- Empty coat hooks – remove and store winter items
Keep your spring cleaning green
As builders of green homes, we are as sensitive to how we maintain our dwellings as we are about building them. When it comes to the indoor air we breathe, we believe that using only non-toxic and natural products is the best way to go.
We recommend a pretty basic toolkit of natural cleaning products – citrus fruit, white vinegar, baking soda, borax, and keep a collection of empty spray bottles on-hand. Other products include cornstarch, hydrogen peroxide, castile soap, tea tree oil and various citrus oils, and other essential oils for scent. Rather than paper towels, we recommend Swedish Cloths – love them! – microfiber cloths, or old, torn up cotton T-shirts.
Happy cleaning!
Custom Home Decor – 2022 Pantone Color of the Year!
Inject a little colour into your life and your custom home! The brand new colour from Pantone for 2022 – Very Peri!
Tone, light, shade, and colour all have a significant effect on our mood and state of mind. In a custom home, chances are, when you choose to decorate colour is probably one of the first choices you make. For your walls, your trim, your furnishings and decor, and even your floors, it's simply innate that we look to colour first to transform our spaces.
Colour in our homes is a means of communication. Think of it as speaking through interior design. And, much like music, it's a way to communicate that transcends language. Think about this: consider the power of nature. Colour, tone, value, light, and shade – it surrounds us. Always.
So, it makes sense that when it comes to the interior design of our homes, colour scheme tops the list of choices we make to create spaces that are uniquely ours; that reflect who we are. Colour is one of the most important components of custom home interior design.
Colour – one of the easiest ways to refresh
Want to refresh and rejuvenate a space? One of the fastest, easiest, and most individual ways to do it is with a coat of new paint. A fresh new colour to inject a sense of vitality and energy or foster relaxation and tranquillity – it's your choice! – into any room.
The beauty of colour is that it's entirely up to you! Paint can completely transform the ambience and atmosphere of the space while reflecting your personality and unique style.
Every tone and shade of colour has an effect on our mood. It has an influence on our state of mind. Colour, even white or grey, has the power to stimulate a feeling. That's why it's important to give the colours you choose a lot of thought.
How do you want to feel within the walls of the rooms of your home – calm, concentration, high-energy, comfort, drama? The colours you choose should help you achieve that.
Panatone Very Peri – carefree, creative and a need for transition
After two years of pandemic and so much more time spent in our homes, it should come as no surprise that a company such as Pantone would want our collective feelings to reflect in their colour of the year.
This year, many design trends and colour experts are calling for colours that foster tranquillity, comfort, and calm, which, by the way, we also love – nature-inspired hues that are warm, soft, and typically green. And yet, Pantone, the company that originated the Color of the Year, has chosen a different path.
Rather than choosing from its existing spectrum of colour, for 2022, the company has created a completely original colour: Very Peri (17-3938). So very novel – and SO purple! – it's a vibrant shade of periwinkle blue with a dynamic violet and red undertone. Pantone describes it as “displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates our creative spirit… a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through.”
Futuristic, promoting creativity and innovation, Very Peri combines the reliability and constancy of blue with the excitement and vibrancy of red. It seems appropriate to help inject some energy into our days, even if you choose it as an arresting decorative accent rather than an immersive experience throughout the entire space.
The first Pantone Color of the Year was 2000’s Cerulean blue – the colour of "the new millennium". The annual selection is a fun way to look at colour, to explore our own attitudes and feelings about colour and how it influences our lives.
With springtime almost upon us, chances are you're looking around your own spaces to see what needs sprucing up. We're there with you! Our first stop? Colour! We may not be jumping in with Very Peri, but we'll be exploring how we want to enjoy our spaces and if the current colour scheme is helping us to do just that.
Happy painting!
MCH Round Prefab Custom Homes Feature – Juniper Series
Connected circles, the MCH Juniper Series prefab round homes support the ultimate balance for living, working, rejuvenating.
A profoundly creative use of space, light, and faceted building technology, the Juniper Series features connected circles. Step into any room of this custom prefab round homes design and experience the ultimate in holistic living and balance.
With a variety of options of square footage, the Juniper, like all of our Mandala Custom Homes (MCH) offers a light-filled sense of spaciousness. But, with more than one faceted circular structure, it doubles down, to create the ultimate in round home living – no matter what room you're in.
See the Juniper Series floor plans.
Building on a long history of circular living
Human beings have been attracted to round living for centuries. We have an innate knowledge and understanding of the advantages of living amidst curved walls rather than exclusively straight. Living within a circle helps inspire ease, relaxation, creativity, and flow.
We understand that we experience enhanced harmony when we live in round spaces. When your home gracefully curves to envelope you, your family, and all of your activities therein, we feel a greater sense of connection and grounding. And when you include more than one circle, as with our Juniper Series, there's a wonderful flow from one curved space to another.
For over a thousand years, cultures have embraced round living. From North American nomadic indigenous peoples of the plains and their tipis, to the Inuit of the far North, who still occasionally construct their domed igloos, to the various Mongolian communities who choose to live in yurts, or “gers”, round homes have historic roots across the globe.
MCH brings millennia of experience to bear in modern, technologically-forward dwellings to both honour the past and supports our natural instincts while providing a home that meets the demands of 21st-century life. When you choose a home from the MCH Juniper series, expect your dwelling to integrate gracefully into the landscape. It draws on the innate nature of the homeowner and our most innate connection to the circle and a strong history of round living.
Light, air, and space – the experience of round living
We flourish in a space that is flooded with fresh air and light. Now, more than ever in our lifetime have we felt a greater need for an airy, inviting space that promotes health and wellbeing. This is what a home should do.
It is, after all, your retreat from the world! An MCH faceted round prefab home such as those in our Juniper Series creates spaces that promote relaxation and rejuvenation. Integrated with nature, based on the concepts of biophilia, an MCH home is where you find refuge from the stresses, demands, and chaos of everyday life.
A prefab custom home with multiple round structures from our Juniper Series is designed to maximize space and light to support all aspects of your health and wellness. It's a tranquil and inviting refuge for you and your family – heal and nurture – amidst curves and nature.
Without compromising functionality. While we tap into our human history, MCH custom homes are beautifully modern and adapted to suit the most demanding lifestyle – work, school, relaxation. Each of our homes in the Juniper Series offers the ultimate versatility and comfort – all the benefits of modern circular living. Remember, these are custom homes. We design each plan to meet your unique needs – for your family, lifestyle, and surroundings.
MCH is ALL about sustainable living. Every MCH home is constructed using energy-efficient, low waste prefabrication methods. We offer non-toxic wood finishes and preservatives and can build with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood upon request. We'll help guide you as you choose sustainable options for finishing your new Mandala Custom Home.
Our triple bottom line – health of the planet, the people, and sustainability – is the foundation of our business. It's a philosophy that guides every decision we make and every structure we build. We believe in the concept of the circle and interconnection between all living things.
See the Juniper Series floor plans.
MCH custom round prefab homes are ENERGY STAR certified
As with all homes in the MCH lineup, every home in the Juniper Series is ENERGY STAR certified. They've achieved an EnerGuide rating of 86 – quite an accomplishment. If you're unfamiliar, an EnerGuide rating is a standard measure of a home's energy performance. For context, a rating of 100 represents a home that is very well insulated, completely airtight, appropriately ventilated and requires no purchased energy.
A rating of 86 reflects how energy-efficient MCH prefab custom round homes are. As a result, our homeowners enjoy significant cost savings and sustainability for the life of the home.
See the Juniper Series floor plans.
Would you like to learn more about Mandala Custom Homes prefab round home design? Get in touch or call 1-866-352‑5503.
Happy New Year! 5 Exciting and Fresh Home Design Trends in 2022
The ongoing global pandemic, with our homes as the centre of our lives, is influencing home design trends in 2022.
After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and so many of us bringing all aspects of our lives home, it should come as no surprise that it's influencing home design trends in 2022. So much time in our homes has inspired serious reflection into how our dwellings serve us, well beyond just eating, sleeping and relaxing on weekends.
As new variants such as Omicron bring everyone back home for work and school, there is a reassessment of life and home that is impacting home design trends in ways big and small. Many homeowners are both ready to break from the past while embracing a future they might have previously been content to put off. There's an urgency – a need to bring dreams to life now as opposed to an arbitrary time at some point in the years to come. The pandemic has provided so many of us a renewed appreciation for where we are now, the future strangely, surreally, uncertain.
With a new year upon us, and with data gathered from other builders, architects, realtors, and contractors, let's take a look at some highlights in home design trends for 2022. Some can be renovations; others require a new build, but each offers ideas you can bring into your existing space to make your home just that much more liveable right now.
1. Home design trends in 2022 – curves!
A primary theme in home design trends in 2022 is one of individuality and creative expression – freedom. Principles of living that are very much aligned and supported by any Mandala Custom Home!
Round is a natural complement to creativity. Circles allude to imagination, magic, and cosmic mystery – the great round Aztec Sun Stone, for example. A circle has no beginning and no end. There are no angles. The circle is powerful, yet safe and gentle. It is a graceful and beautiful shape that fosters much-needed peace, calm, and relaxation.
The circle represents unity and wholeness. Living amidst round elements provides us with a sense of being complete – harmony and confidence.
Home design trends in 2022 include curves. Look for arched doorways and windows, barrel-vault ceilings, and walls that are curved. When done well, curves add character and a sense of mental repose. Inspired by so many shapes in nature, that is innately appealing to us, a round home, including the MCH faceted round design, offers a peaceful and harmonious environment, designed thoughtfully to incorporate cutting edge, energy-efficient materials and construction.
The demands and stresses are significant in 21st-century, pandemic life. It's no surprise that we want to incorporate the circle, curves, and round living and their many benefits into our daily life.
2. Biophilic design – nature indoors
Between our time at home and how much more we've all relied on time outdoors to maintain our mental and physical health, the need to bring natural elements indoors is greater than ever. We have an innate need for the outdoors, and incorporating biophilic design (bringing nature and organic materials indoors) helps foster a connection to the natural world.
Biophilic design maximizes all facets of nature – sunlight, plants, wood, fresh air and other elements – inside our homes. Biophilia includes natural forms and shapes – circular and round, for instance – into the architecture itself.
For we homeowners, this nature-inspired design promotes the sense of peace and freedom of being outdoors while being inside our homes (or offices).
3. Spaces that are flexible
There's nothing like doing everything at home to show you how ill-equipped your house is to accommodate the demands of 24-hour, 7-day-a-week living. The layout of your home becomes vitally important to your productivity, your family time, and your relaxation. Not to mention your state of mind.
Who converted their dining room to a home office AND kids' classroom at home? Flex spaces or flex rooms have very much become a home design trend for 2022 and one that is sure to pick up steam. When you don't have the budget for a dedicated room for each of your activities, spaces that can do double- or triple-duty are essential. Guest room by night, kids rec room by day, or even just an escape to relax and quietly read or binge Netflix!
4. Outdoor living spaces
Over the past couple of years, as the walls of our homes seemed stretched at the seams, we looked outdoors for reprieve. All of a sudden we saw the potential, appreciated our backyards, decks, and porches – spaces to help take off the pressure of our indoors.
Larger, and often more luxurious living spaces outdoors are all the rage for 2022. No more tiny patio or deck with only a BBQ and a couple of chairs. Rather, homeowners are investing in covered or screened porches, outdoor kitchens, and beautifully expanded, comfortably furnished decks. And don't forget the hot tub – in HUGE demand throughout the pandemic!
Outdoor living spaces are so transformed as to make it difficult to decide, indoors or out?!
5. Eco-friendly building
As with the building trends for 2021, environmentally conscious or eco-friendly is big in the home design trends for 2022. To MCH, sustainable and environmentally friendly home building is much more than a trend.
Since our inception, we have not only understood the impact of home-building on the environment. We founded our business on creating dwellings that minimize it. Over these 21 years, MCH has grown significant experience designing and building homes to integrate with its surroundings. Every MCH round home maximizes energy sustainably resulting in overall energy cost savings.
MCH round homes are designed and built to be ENERGY STAR certified. This ensures that our homeowners live comfortably year-round and reduce emissions as you save thousands of kilowatt-hours of electricity.
Interested in exploring a sustainable, prefab MCH custom round home? Speak with an MCH expert to learn more!
The Holiday Home – Hygge and Round Home Living
As the cold settles in for the season and the Holidays fast approach, we seek out the warmth and cosiness of the holiday home.
No matter how you feel about the Holiday Season – how you celebrate or even whether or not you partake at all in the Holiday craziness – it's a time that we seem universally drawn indoors. We crave the holiday home. Give us a cosy fire, warm candlelight, a comfy chair, a cup of tea, and for many of us a good book and, well, we'll see you in March!
Yes, of course, it's the cold weather. But, the ever-shorter days, fresh layers of clean, crisp snow, and the impending winter solstice lend themselves to an innate feeling of festive warmth, rest, and connection – to our loved ones, but also to home.
The holiday home – the hygge home
It's not really that complicated – it's likely encoded in our DNA. Certainly for those of us in the Northern hemisphere! It's the feeling of hygge.
Pronounced "hoo-ga", hygge is a Danish concept that's difficult to define in one word. But, generally speaking, it encompasses a sense or feeling of well-being and cosy contentment and an appreciation of the simple things.
Abundant natural light and materials, simplicity, comfort, cosiness, warmth. It's serene and inviting; an indoor environment that promotes good health and wellness any time of year. But, during the crazy and stressful Holiday Season, it's particularly potent and alluring.
Round home living = hygge
We, at Mandala Custom Homes (MCH), love the concept of hygge. Our business is based on similar principles, after all. But, round home living also supports the hygge lifestyle – they're wonderfully aligned!
As with the Danes and hygge, from the pithouses of the indigenous peoples of North America to the igloos of the Inuit to the gers, or yurts, of the nomads of Mongolia, humans are drawn to circular living. For many of the same reasons as hygge.
Inspired by the simplicity of nature, round home living is peaceful and harmonious and peaceful. MCH round homes incorporate abundant light and panoramic views – a unique connection to the outdoor natural world. We design the space to help the homeowner feel peaceful, safe, nurtured, and rested. The curved walls create an indoor living environment that promotes relaxation, rejuvenation, and inspiration.
Hygge simplicity for the Holidays
No matter how you plan to spend this month or the Holidays, it's easy to enjoy a bit of the hygge lifestyle – we recommend it for your general well-being! Here's how:
- Keep decor simple - neutral, soft, and warm
- Bring in the light - throw open the curtains!
- Add more candles - rather than lights, burn your favourite candles
- Create a cosy space - your favourite chair and blanket
- Surround yourself with things you love - artwork, family photos
- Bring nature indoors - plants, wood, glass
- Focus on simplicity - declutter. Recycle and donate.
- Put your devices aside - take a break from the endless demands of your phone. Even if only for a couple of hours each day!
- Do some baking - 'nuff said!😉
Would you like more information about the many benefits of an MCH round home? Talk to us – we've got so much to tell you!
And so, in the spirit of hygge and all things warm, comfy, cosy, and home... from all of us at Mandala Custom Homes, we wish you all the very best during this Holiday Season and for the New Year!
Panelled Walls – Building Technologies for Sustainable Homes
The magic is in the walls! Faceted, panelled round and factory-built – MCH building technologies for sustainable homes.
We design every Mandala Custom Homes dwelling to meet all the standards of a high-performance home. Simply put, that means superior, sustainable building technologies, including a fully sealed building envelope – it's airtight and well-insulated. This is the foundation of our MCH sustainable homes.
Ultimately, the ability of a home to perform well in relation to energy consumption and thermal comfort for a lifetime comes down to the wall systems that create its shell, or building envelope. The performance of this envelope looks to the quality of building materials and the assembly. A home that has not been assembled well, reduces the structure's ability to conserve heat (or cool) and properly protect the home and its occupants.
A quality, well-built wall system is designed to limit heat, air, and moisture transfer to provide a comfortable indoor environment for years and years to come. Sustainable homes have walls that support performance.
Sustainable homes are air-tight
For most homes, heat loss through uncontrolled air leakage is one of the biggest wastes of energy.
A primary way a wall system provides energy efficiency, sustainability, and comfort is if it is air-tight. An air-tight building envelope, like that of every MCH home, provides adequate fresh air for the occupants and high-efficiency comfort. We achieve this through an efficient wall ventilation system, which uses the warmth of that air on its way out to help heat the fresh air on its way in. Air is unable to penetrate walls, floors, or the roof. This reduces the chances for moisture to collect in or migrate into those spaces, where moulds and bacteria can flourish.
At Mandala Homes, we prioritize an air-tight building envelope. We take the utmost care to detail and design our homes to ensure the tightest seal between the air barrier and the windows and doors. Because a tight seal is so important we go the extra step to provide the necessary detailed instructions to the builder so they can achieve a tight seal between all the building components throughout the off-site installation phase of the building process.
MCH wall system technologies
To achieve the ultimate in air-tight efficiency and comfort we build super-insulated walls. MCH attaches a continuous layer of insulation to the outside of the wall framing, effectively minimizing heat loss through the walls.
Additionally, to prevent moisture, our walls include a rain-screen feature that creates an air-space between the building covering and the siding. This allows the siding or other exterior finish to dry out and the vapour from within the wall to escape.
In the foundation, we recommend homeowners choose ICF (Insulated Concrete Forms) to maximize the thermal performance of the basement.
Off-site, panelled manufacturing (OSM) supports sustainable homes
The Off-Site Manufacturing (OSM) system is very beneficial to the process of building effectively sustainable homes. OSM involves pre-building the wall panels, floor and roof components indoors, in a factory. After pre-assembly, we ship the prefab home to the homeowner's building site as a Home Package for set-up.
There are a variety of benefits to building a home through OSM. For instance, environmentally, there is better quality control during production. There is a much higher degree of precision in the factory with a reduction in materials and resources, resulting in far less waste. In a factory, building materials are protected from the weather. They remain dry and undamaged, retaining their integrity, and result in a higher quality building. An OSM home takes significantly less time to build than a house built on-site.
Once the Home Package arrives at the building site, the pre-built panels and components can be assembled to lock up – weather tight – in only a matter of days. The accelerated construction phase on-site, construction is much faster and has less impact on the surrounding home site environment. MCH’s factory-built construction uses only the finest quality wood products, sourced primarily from forests here in British Columbia. We choose all of our building materials and products based on strength, durability, energy efficiency, non-toxicity, sustainability and beauty.
Questions about the benefits of an MCH custom prefab sustainable home? Speak with an MCH expert to learn more!
MCH Round Prefab Custom Homes Feature – Aspen Series
From cottages to family homes, the MCH Aspen Series prefab custom homes support holistic and harmonious living.
We love all of our home designs in the Mandala Custom Homes (MCH) round prefab custom homes series. But, the Aspen Series, the single round Mandala Home, has a special place in our hearts. From 900 square feet to 3500, the Aspen offers a light-filled sense of spaciousness. It rests on a compact and ecologically sensitive footprint whether you're building a small mountain getaway or a full-time family home.
Each of our homes in the Aspen Series is ENERGY STAR certified. They've achieved an EnerGuide rating of 86 – quite an accomplishment. If you're unfamiliar, an EnerGuide rating is a standard measure of a home's energy performance. For context, a rating of 100 represents a home that is very well insulated, completely airtight, appropriately ventilated and requires no purchased energy.
So, and 86 checks many of the boxes and makes our MCH prefab custom homes remarkably energy-efficient, providing significant cost-savings and fostering sustainability for the life of the home.
See the Aspen Series floor plans.
Loads of light – airy and spacious!
Your home is your peaceful refuge from the world. And never has that felt more important! A round prefab custom home helps create a space that draws on the benefits of nature. It's where you can return after a long day to feel rested and refreshed; rejuvenate to meet the demands of a busy and chaotic life. A prefab custom home from our Aspen Series makes the very most of light, space, and round living to support your health and wellness – an inviting and tranquil retreat to help heal and nurture.
Each MCH prefab custom home is known for a unique sense of spacious comfort. All of the homes in the Aspen Series is thoughtfully created prioritizing beauty and space, with a round design that is inspired by nature. Without compromising practicality and function. An MCH Aspen Series round home is planned specifically to maximize light to create an airy and spacious, harmonious and healthy feeling dwelling.
With a range of sizes available, whether you're building a cabin in the woods or a new family home, the Aspen Series offers versatility and comfort unparalleled – all the benefits of circular living. Each of the designs in the series can be customized to meet the unique needs of your family, lifestyle, and surroundings.
Circular living – proven over centuries
Round living isn't new. For centuries human beings have understood the advantages of living in circular-shaped dwellings. There's simply something soothing about a round space. Curved walls help inspire flow and creativity.
There’s something calming about living in round spaces. Surrounded by curved walls that inspire creativity, the flow is graceful from one area to another. That feeling isn’t new. People have embraced living in round homes for thousands of years. Think of nomadic North American indigenous communities, particularly those of the plains, and their use of the tipi. The Inuit of the far North still occasionally build igloos, solid and naturally well-insulated domed structures built from heavily compacted blocks of snow. A significant number of Mongolia’s population still dwell in yurts, or “gers” – their traditional, portable circular home constructed with layers of animal skin or water-resistant wool felt over a wooden lattice frame.
When you choose an MCH prefab round home, it harkens back to centuries of human history. Gracefully fused into the surrounding landscape, a prefab custom home from the Aspen Series strikes a chord with our innate connection to the circle and a long and storied history of round living.
With no square exterior corners, an Aspen Series home brings together the experience of centuries of human history with the modern conveniences we require for 21st-century life.
See the Aspen Series floor plans.
Round prefab custom homes – an experience
Don't underestimate the influence your home has on your life. If your home is a place that causes you frequent inconveniences, discomfort, or stress, it's not serving your needs. The place you retreat to for relaxation – to fill your cup – is only depleting you further.
Your house is more than just where you take your meals or sleep at night. Rather, it has the power to help heal and replenish. With every MCH home we build, and every space therein, we strive to provide homeowners with an experience that nourishes and rejuvenates.
We create sustainable living. Living in an MCH Aspen Series home envelops you in the unique and holistic benefits of distinctive MCH faceted round living. Every MCH home we build is through low waste prefabrication methods and is energy efficient. We offer non-toxic wood finishes and preservatives and can build with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood upon request. We'll help guide you as you choose sustainable options for finishing your new Mandala Custom Home.
Our triple bottom line – health of the planet, the people, and sustainability – is the foundation of our business. It's a philosophy that guides every decision we make and every structure we build. We believe in the concept of the circle and interconnection between all living things.
See the Aspen Series floor plans.
Are you curious about Mandala Custom Homes round home design? Get in touch or call 1-866-352‑5503.
5 Questions About Building a Custom Prefab Home
When people are looking for sustainability, long-term cost savings, and beauty a custom prefab home is often the best way to go.
Custom prefab home building isn't new. For generations now, there have been prefab home builders offering an alternative to the increased costs and time required for a stick-built home. Whether it was the
From the popular Sears Catalog Homes of the early to mid 20th century to the much-admired and coveted Usonian Automatic concrete homes of Frank Lloyd Wright, prefab homes have a long and rich history. Prefab building made serious gains in the 1970s as architects and builders dialled into the fact they could save building time and materials and labour costs if they took most of the building process into a factory.
The resurgence in demand and popularity of custom prefab homes should come as no surprise. Given the ever-increasing costs of housing and concerns around climate change and how to live more sustainably, prefab home building – assembling a dwelling from components produced entirely off-site – offers a very attractive home-building alternative.
1. What is a custom prefab home?
If you look at conventional residential home-building, you see the home built piece-by-piece – stick-by-stick – on the building site. This wood framing process is referred to as a stick build and is often used in large residential developments.
In contrast, prefab homes are built from components constructed first in a factory and then delivered to the building site where it is then assembled. Custom prefab home designers and manufacturers – yes, like us! – can claim longer-term cost savings, enhanced sustainability and a much shorter building time than traditional homes. And, the claims are spot-on!
To customize a prefab home, there are a variety of different finish packages and upgrades, as well as different layout configurations.
So, if you're looking to build a new home and are reviewing the range of options available, consider how a custom prefab home might better meet your needs (and then some!). Let us answer a few common questions about building prefab:
2. Is there a choice of types and styles
As prefab refers to the building process, not necessarily a single or specific style of home, there are a variety of choices of home styles available. And, they're beautiful!
Yes, when you think of prefab, you probably imagine a basic, boxy structure. And, in the early days, they were. But, over the years, as architects and builders innovated both their designs and building methods, just about any style of home that can be stick-built on-site, can now be pre-built in a factory. Just ask us!
Prefab homes ought not to be confused with manufactured, or often commonly known as mobile, homes. Manufactured homes, while factory-built before delivery tend to be of lower quality and offer fewer design options, so it's an important distinction to make.
Yes! Much more than conventional stick-built construction. For Mandala Custom Homes (MCH), prefab building allows us to design and create beautiful panelized structures. We create beautiful round home designs through an innovative faceted, panelized technique.
A panelized home is constructed with whole wall panels that are delivered to the building site where they are quick to assemble. Far faster, in fact, than conventional stick-built construction on-site.
MCH panelized construction is not only fast but highly exact. The plans for each MCH home are sent directly from the designer’s computer to the panelization shop floor, ensuring that every MCH custom prefab home is built with accuracy and efficiency.
A typical prefab home is often complete in only four to six months. As opposed to a conventional build, which on average, takes about eight months. Keep in mind, depending on the market, a custom home build can sometimes drag on for years.
Each of our home packages begins with the home's essential structural components built in a climate-controlled facility ensuring the quality and integrity of the materials throughout construction. Once delivered to the building lot, assembly is very fast – constructed to lock-up and weather-tight in only a matter of days. A stick build on-site, on the other hand, can be exposed to the elements – sun, heat, rain, snow, and more. A new, prefabricated home is kept safer and dryer, with significantly reduced incidents of damage – warping, mould, mildew, and squeaking – that exposure to adverse weather can cause.
The build can be up to 50 per cent faster. Building most of the home components in a factory limits weather delays and makes construction overall simply more efficient. It also makes the home delivery date very predictable. Order changes and labour schedules are less of a problem, too.
4. Is a prefab home more affordable than a stick-built house?
Generally speaking, prefab construction is less expensive than stick-built construction – as much as 10 to 25 per cent. Why? Factory assembly means reduced construction time and material waste. Prefab homes require far fewer hours on the building site which translates into savings on labour costs.
BONUS: The money saved thanks to factory assembly allows for more resources available to spend on upgraded finishes and fixtures.
5. Why is prefab the more sustainable choice?
Prefab is a more sustainable, environmentally sensitive choice than traditional stick-built homes.
One of the first ways prefab building promotes sustainability is that the process produces less waste. Many people deliver vast amounts of materials to a building site, where excess is inevitable. Factory building is inherently more efficient. Reusing and recycling excess is more likely in a prefab home building facility than on-site.
With greater precision in construction, prefab home parts and components tend to have tighter seams. This helps with efficiency in energy consumption – heating and cooling. In the case of MCH, panelized prefab home construction is an inherently green way to build, recognized in the green building certifications Mandala has achieved, including the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard.
MCH has been building ENERGY STAR certified homes for almost 20 years. Our prefab designs provide an airtight envelope. This wraps the home in a blanket of insulation that creates a very comfortable energy-efficient home. It’s a building system that prevents hot and cold from entering through the framing. As a result, it limits air exchanges to as low as .52 air exchanges per hour.
We can also provide a passive solar design. Solar allows the sun to heat the home in the colder months and shades the sun from entering through the windows in the summer.
Would you like to learn more about building an MCH custom prefab home? Speak with an MCH expert to learn more!