1978 Double Wide Kitchen Remodel

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This 1978 double wide kitchen remodel is a great example of what opening a wall up can do for your entire home. Until the open floor concept became so popular over a decade ago, most kitchens were walled-in and completely separated from the other rooms. This was true with both stick built homes and manufactured homes.

 

1978 Double Wide Kitchen Remodel

Now, it’s all changed. We want everything open and airy. We want to watch the chef and be able to interact with them while they cook. So, what do you do if you want to open up the kitchen in your 1978 double wide? Well, you simply do it!

It sounds a bit easier than it really is though. Don’t think you can just take a sledgehammer to the wall you no longer want. There are some safety precautions, of course, and some serious issues you need to consider before doing it:

• First, is it a load bearing wall? There is a difference in manufactured homes and stick-built homes when it comes to load bearing walls so definitely, definitely do your homework! Typically, the marriage wall and exterior walls in double wides and the exterior walls in single wides are load-bearing walls. You can still modify a load-bearing wall but it will need to be re-engineered with headers and load-bearing horizontal studs (joists). It’s expensive and complex.

Related:  Questions About Removing Walls in a Mobile Home.

• Second, are there wires or pipes in the wall? If so, you can still remove/modify the wall, you just need to re-route them. I won’t get into all that either.

Let’s start from the beginning: The owner wanted to update their 1978 double wide. At first, they painted the wall that separated the kitchen and living room but didn’t like it (See, it happens to all of us! Don’t let a wrong color discourage you though, keep at it and you’ll find the perfect option. I promise!)

 

Here’s the home (above) and below is the painted wall and original dining room built-ins. The owner painted it back to the original white and began thinking up a way to get the look and style they wanted.

Freshly painted wall and original dining room built-ins.

 

They painted the wall back to the original white.

After trying a new color and deciding it wasn’t for them, they decided to cut a window or pass-thru out of the wall that would allow a new hood to become a feature and give the home an eat-in breakfast bar. The cabinetry, countertop, range and wall oven was on the other side of that wall so all that had to be removed first. All the work was worth it though!

 

 

This is what was on the other side of that wall.

Once the plan was made and the cabinets, stove, and range were removed, they began to slowly remove the sheet-rock. There was wiring because of the stove and oven so they removed one side of the wall and then the other very carefully. Never take a saw and start sawing through the wall, go slowly and in layers.
Once they had the opening, they rerouted the wiring. This should be done by a licensed electrician!

 

 

Once the window was made and the wiring was taken care of, they removed the studs (due diligence is required anytime you modify a home) and sheetrocked the opening to make it one seamless wall. They also installed new cabinets, counter, stove and stainless steel hood and added a bar to the living room side of the wall as well as stools. New flooring was installed in all the rooms, too.

 

 

The bar was added with shelf brackets. The flooring is a great touch, too.

Below is the other side of the wall. The cabinets are gone and the 2 piece oven and countertop range are replaced with a single unit stove. The opening instantly brightens the kitchen and the shiny stainless steel hood provides a modern look to the whole home.

 

 

This remodel also included updating the dining room built-ins. They removed the mirror and the doors and painted everything. The black counter adds a great touch as does the new chandelier. Here’s the photo of the original and the new so you can compare:

 

Here are some more photos of the completed remodel:

 

This is a great remodel that I found on HGTV Rate My Space. They don’t have many manufactured homes but the ones they do have are awesome!

Remodeling a manufactured home is not that different from a stick-built home. You have the exact same options and possibilities but there’s a small difference in how things are done. If you can dream it or imagine it, you absolutely can make it happen in a manufactured home. That’s what makes them such awesome homes!

Related:  Budget-Friendly Mobile Home Kitchen Makeover.