| Builder | Cover |
| Bedrooms | 2 |
| Bathrooms | 2 |
| Location | Pioneertown, California |
Thoughtfully inserted into the desert landscape, a low-impact, 2 bedroom prefab home in California embraces the outdoors in minimalist style.
It was love at first sight for Los Angeles – based writer Leslie Longworth when a friend introduced her to a five-acre lot for sale in Pioneertown, a tiny historic community in Southern California. Surrounded by mountains and otherworldly views of Joshua Tree National Park — and with only a dirt road for access — the remote property was the perfect place for a writer’s retreat.
Intent on preserving the pristine environment as much as possible, Leslie turned away from traditional site building and started researching prefabricated housing as a low-impact alternative. She came across the Los Angeles prefab startup Cover, and although the company had yet to complete their first build at the time, "everything clicked" from the moment she spoke to founder Alexis Rivas.
Spurred by her enthusiasm and vision, the startup made a special exception for Leslie—it usually focuses solely on accessory structures in Los Angeles—and designed and built a two-bedroom, two-bath house in the desert two-and-a-half hours away from the city.
"Once Alexis agreed to come to the desert, I felt confident the land would captivate him…and it did," says Leslie. "The Mojave has a magnetism unlike anywhere I’ve ever been, and our land—which we feel wildly blessed to be the stewards of—has its own powerful vibration and magic. I think he said yes in the first five minutes of being there."
The happy partnership also gave Cover the opportunity to prove the capabilities of their fully integrated panelized building system in a standalone primary house—as well as their system’s performance in a harsh desert landscape.
As a provider of turnkey designs, Cover created a completely custom 2 bedroom prefab house and took care of the permitting, manufacturing, site work, and installation. The 2 bedroom prefab home was delivered complete with fixtures, finishes, Wolf Sub-Zero appliances, and a state-of-the-art radiant heating and cooling system.
The project took about two years to complete, with the majority of the time spent preparing the foundation and utility work—which included connecting the home to the power grid with a new underground service line, drilling a new well for water, and installing a waste management system with a septic tank and leech fields. The manufacture of the panels, which were built in Cover’s factory, and on-site assembly took only six months to complete.
"Designing around the endangered Joshua trees, boulders, and the view was extremely difficult," says Thomas Heyer, lead designer at Cover. "We were able to overcome it through a combination of more rigorous 3D mapping using drone imagery and handheld photos, and by leveraging our panelized building system to modify the design of the home to integrate with the property."
Floor-to-ceiling, low-e windows with automatic integrated shades blur the line between indoors and out and "maximize the potential for awe" of the landscape, per Longworth’s request. In addition to the use of hydronic heating and cooling, the home further reduces its energy footprint with low-e windows, low-flow fixtures, and passive solar orientation that shields the interiors from the harsh desert sun. Longworth plans to add solar panels to her home in the future.
"We are particularly happy with how the floor-to-ceiling windows frame the boulders, especially in the master bathroom," adds Heyer. "The goal of the project was always to use the proximity of the large rocks and elicit a sense of continuity by framing them in the various rooms." - Dwell
Description from Airbnb
Sol to Soul is a luminous, all-white, architectural 2 bedroom prefab home, California, on five-acres in the Gamma Gulch of Pioneertown, fifteen minutes from the famous Pappy + Harriet’s. It’s a seven-minute drive off the pavement of Pipes Canyon Road down a private, well-maintained dirt road. You will pass fields of Joshua Trees -- far as the eye can see -- as well as some of the more beautiful architectural houses in the desert.
Sol to Soul 2 bedroom prefab home, California is high design in the wild desert, a retreat with every amenity for your heart, soul and comfort, surrounded by boulders that are millions of years old, all in harmony with the hawks, lizards, birds and bunnies, as well as the sun, stars and the Milky Way which appears over the house every night.
If ever there was a place tap into what you’re needing or desiring, it’s here. Do as little or as much as you feel moved to… even if you never leave the 5-acre grounds, you will leave recharged with the magic of this very special place. You are surrounded by thousands of boulders, some so large they will fill you with awe.
At Sol to Soul, you can easily spend the entire day just being – watching the sun rise, the clouds drift and the sun set (we’ve done it, it’s awesome). The interior of this 2 bedroom prefab home, California, is warm and elegant. The artwork has been curated from my favorite local and Venice artists. The furniture is predominantly European-designed – from Moroso to Christian Liagre – and has the softest, vintage Moroccan rugs throughout the house. For privacy, there are no windows facing the “street”. But every room has a floor-to-ceiling slider with magical views of the boulders and sky, and a deck to transition you into the wild (except for the bathrooms).
The bedrooms feature king-sized beds with My Green Mattress brand pure Dunlop Latex mattresses and pillow tops (all-natural from trees, no chemicals or metal coils); Egyptian cotton and linen bedding; floor-to-ceiling sliders so that you may sleep with a view of the moon and stars – or black-out curtains if you prefer.
Tucked into the shelter of a giant boulder, there is a deck with a top-of-the-line Hot Springs saltwater hot tub, outdoor shower and cozy seating area with some of the most amazing views at Sol to Soul. There are sun loungers on the master bedroom deck.
On the deck off the kitchen/living room, there is an outdoor sofa, lounge chairs and fire pit, in addition to a teak-dining table with seating for six. There is another teak dining table inside, also with seating for six. These two tables could be combined to entertain larger parties.
This 2 bedroom prefab home in California is equipped with a state-of-the-art radiant heating and A/C system; Wifi; built-in fire sprinkler system; and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
During your stay you may see lizards, cottontail rabbits, jackrabbits, coyote, hawks, bobcats, crows, families of quail, chipmunks, and myriad bird species.
Whatever you are moved to do or not do, let go of or allow to come in while you are here, we wish you a beautiful, enlightening, joyful, magical, transformative and memorable stay at Sol to Soul… where we welcome you to dream, play, burn, be and love.
