Modular construction, in which the house is built off-site in modules, has been around for decades, but it has not been commonly used for custom and high-end homes in our region. With improved technology and attention to detail, a handful of modular home companies are building elegant homes with this technology. To learn what modular building is all about, Southern Living partnered with developer The St. Joe Company and Haven Custom Homes, a modular home construction company, to build our 2007 Florida Idea House at WaterSound in the state's Panhandle.

Tucker Bayou, our 3,544-square-foot shingle-sided, tin-roofed Southern cottage, has all the features you'd expect in a Southern Living Idea House. However, it was built in 16- x 32-foot modules in a Ridgeland, South Carolina, warehouse. Then the modules were trucked to just outside Panama City, Florida, on 10 flatbed trailers. The house, 80% complete upon arrival, was craned into place in one long day.

When using modular building, the finish level of the house depends on the customer. Ours was already finished with drywall, primed and trimmed with cabinets when it arrived in Florida. The Idea House came together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, with only minor touch-ups needed on the wall finishes, connections to utilities, installation of flooring materials, and a handful of other processes.

So far, we've had a good experience with modular construction. It's faster, more material- and energy-efficient, and a nearly complete product is delivered in a fraction of the time it takes to build a home conventionally. Nearly any design can be converted to a modular setup. We worked with architect Carson Looney of Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, Inc., to mask the joints between modules with wonderful architectural details.

As you can see from these pictures, modular construction gives a whole new meaning to watching a house being built.