Mobile homes are notorious for their long slender rectangular shapes. The design is necessary for transporting the homes on the highway and makes factory construction easier, keeping the homes affordable and mobile. That shape can be difficult to work with when figuring out landscape designs for mobile homes.
The simple shape of a mobile home can be boring and hard to hide. Those long slender lines beg for some depth and dimension. Most homeowners build decks and porches to add dimension but landscaping is the cheapest and easiest way to get it.
In this article, you’ll find 71 beautiful landscape designs for mobile homes (and, of course, every image is of a mobile or manufactured home).
Each mobile and manufactured homeowner below used plants, shrubs, and trees (along with accents, decks, and pathways) to personalize their homes. It’s amazing what a few well-placed plants and trees can do!
We’ve bundled beautiful landscape designs for mobile homes by topic and added a few tips and ideas throughout the article. Enjoy.
Using Shape in Landscape Designs for Mobile Homes
Landscaping is an art that uses shape, mass, color, form, line or height, and texture to hide or accentuate the space around it.
One of the most common shapes in landscaping is the simple circle. Shrubs and bushes are popular plants in residential landscaping and they are perfect for softening all the horizontal lines on mobile and manufactured homes.
You’ll find several great examples of using circular shapes around mobile homes.
Using Trees in Landscape Designs for Mobile Homes
Planting trees around your mobile home is a great way to add interest because they come in so many shapes and sizes.
Popular tree shapes are pyramidal, oval, columnar, and round. Using the shape and height is important in landscape designs for mobile homes. You can use trees to create a frame around the home or a feature of the home, use trees to create a line to follow toward an areas, or just create privacy and shade.
Trees are also great tools for energy efficiency. Placing trees 10-20 feet away from the home and on the south side can act as a natural winter windbreaker and a shade for a home.
Southern Living published several books about home landscaping. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any landscape designs for mobile homes specifically, but there were several tips a mobile homeowner can use. For example,they claim that landscaping is just like canvas art because it uses rules of 3 in its composition.
Here are a few examples of trees used in mobile home landscaping. Click to see the larger image.
While color and texture add interest and richness to a design, it is mass, form and line that are critical to organizing space and providing structure.
“In terms of dollar amount, the standard suggested is to invest 10 percent of the value of your home in landscaping. That is a general guideline.”
10 Tips for Great Landscape Designs for Mobile Homes
- Don't plant too close to the home.
- Learn which plants are native to your area.
- Invest in good weed control barriers before you plant anything.
- Call your local recycling center to see if they have crushed glass or other kinds of refuse that can be used as mulch.
- Plan your landscaping design to be functional and work with your family's lifestyle.
- Make sure your mobile home has the right grade around it so water doesn't pool. HUD recommends a 6" grade for the first 10' perimeter.
- Limit the number of different plants you use. Repetition is eye-candy and it's easier maintain.
- Space the plants based on their mature growth sizes so they aren't overcrowded.
- Understand your soil type by doing a jar test (explained below).
- Adding pathways, furniture, and garden accents can make a dull space shine.
Unique Landscape Designs for Mobile Homes
Landscaping doesn’t have to be boring or ‘same ole sale ole.’ Adding accents like fire pits, pergolas, and decorative trees to your space is a great way to make the space uniquely yours.
The following homeowners have used unique features to make their outdoor space beautiful. Use the arrows on the sides to see the next image.
These are all beautiful homes that prove manufactured homes have unlimited potential.
Even if you aren’t looking for landscape designs for mobile homes it’s still fun to look at all the beautiful homes. Well, at least I think it is!
Thanks so much for reading Mobile Home Living!
Image sources are mostly from Zillow, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace listings.
