Gorgeous 1997 Clayton Double Wide is Farmhouse Fabulous

Ashley James lives in a small town called Maryville, TN with her husband Austin, and their 8-month-old baby girl, Lainey Drew. The James family owns a 1997 Clayton double wide and Ashley has been busy giving the home a gorgeous farmhouse makeover.

You are going to love this home!

Ashley’s favorite decorating style is a combination of farmhouse and cottage styles.

How to Create Your Own Gorgeous Farmhouse Makeover

As you can see, Ashley knows how to create a gorgeous farmhouse style home. One could even call her an expert. Fortunately for us, she’s shared a few of her best tips to help create your own farmhouse style mobile home.

“I love old junk. I am obsessed with thrifting and getting great deals. Almost everything in our home was found at a yard sale, a thrift store, or on Craigslist.”

Ashley’s Best Tips for a Farmhouse Makeover

Paint will always be the quickest and most affordable method to give your home a new look. That’s why Ashley says it’s one of her favorite farmhouse makeover projects.

“In my opinion, paint is the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to updating your home. It’s easy enough for anyone to do, affordable, and makes a huge change. We painted every room in White Dove by Benjamin Moore,
color matched by Home Depot in Behr Marqee. I also spray painted our doorknobs flat black and painted our kitchen cabinets”

Ashley says the secret to a great painting project is to use high-quality paint along with brushes and rollers.

“After years of painting, I finally learned you need quality paint supplies! It’s worth the investment. Once I tried a higher end paint, I will never go back.”

Contact Paper Countertops

We’ve seen a few homeowners mention using contact paper on their countertops but weren’t so sure it would work, or at least hold-up. Ashley says the newer peel and stick concrete contact paper is stronger and more durable than the older contact paper.

“Why did it take me so long to do this?? …only took a couple of hours to do the entire space and there was no dry time, sanding, construction zone or dust. Also they were only $60 total! I also painted the cabinets white. We don’t get a lot of natural light in here and the white has helped. So how did I do the counters? It’s peel & stick faux concrete contact paper!”

Light Fixtures

Ashley loves fun light fixtures so that’s her second tip to a great farmhouse makeover. You can find good deals on light fixtures at Amazon. Walmart and Lowe’s have also started carrying affordable and trendy lighting.

Replacing Doors and Trim Makes for a Great Farmhouse Makeover

Ashley told us that replacing the interior doors with white hollow doors from Home Depot along with the trim made a huge transformation in their home. The doors were about $25 each at the time (they ’ve gone up a little since then).

“Every couple of weeks we purchased a couple of doors until they were all replaced.”

Faux Wood Beam in 1997 Clayton Double Wide Manufactured Home

The marriage line is one of Ashley’s favorite projects. Like most 1997 Clayton double wides, the marriage line was covered with the POG wallboard covered in fake wood paper. To give it a more legitimate look they covered it with real stained wood. You can see it in the photo below.

Farmhouse Style Bathrooms

Another favorite project of Ashleys is the faux shiplap and beadboard in the dining room and bathroom.

Bathtub Replacement

“We were very nervous taking on the replacement of the bathtub. We went with a mobile home tub which turned out to
be quite easy to replace. I know if you opted for a standard tub from the home improvement store you would run into challenges but luckily the mobile home tub went very smoothly.”

“We watched YouTube videos and read tutorials online to build our confidence before going at it ourselves. If I had to pick a favorite room in our house it would either be this simple tiny bathroom or the nursery.”

See another great farmhouse style mobile home here.

Standing Up Against the Stigma

There is a lot of negativity from people on the outside about buying mobile homes. Ashley says we shouldn’t let that influence us.

“Others may say things like “there’s no equity to be gained” or “you’re throwing money away.” While I hear and respect their opinions, buying a stick-built home isn’t for everyone.”

Ashley says that if you truly value homeownership as a status symbol, by all means, a stick-built may be the best home choice for you.

“For us, we don’t see our home as a business investment. We aren’t investors, just a normal family who sees a home as a place to raise our family and enjoy life. We don’t go into it looking at how much money we can make in 10 years. If we want to invest, we will put that money into actual investments with a higher risk that also turns into a higher return. Real estate doesn’t always appreciate. And if it does, it usually coincides with cost of living increases (but that’s just my personal opinion for another day).”

Why they Chose a Manufactured Home

Ashley and her husband values having more money for experiences. Buying a cheap mobile home and renovating meant they could live debt-free in only a few short years.

Ashley says “All that money we would be throwing into a mortgage every month could be spent on taking our family to Disney World. Multiple times. Or saving for college, or simply peace of mind knowing we have financial breathing room. I could go on forever about the benefits of living in a mobile home. The bottom line is, it comes down to your priorities as a family. It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to have a home you love.”

You may enjoy seeing Melodie’s marvelous manufactured home makeover.

Would She Buy Another Manufactured Home?

Would I do it again? Absolutely! In fact, the James’ are actually looking at buying another double wide (that’s even older!) to purchase and renovate, “With everything we’ve learned during this first remodel, I feel confident we can handle it.”

Last fall Ashley created a blog that focuses on mobile home DIYs and decorating named after her daughter, Lainey Drew Blog. You can follow Ashley on her Instagram here.

And, we’re very happy to announce that Ashley will be our newest decorating and design contributor here at Mobile Home Living. We’re so excited to read more great tips and ideas from Ashley!

As always, thank you for reading Mobile Home Living!