Looking for something different for your mobile or manufactured home? Planning to remodel or update your manufactured home but need some inspiration? We’re here to help with 4 of our favorite decorating trends that work well in mobile homes.
Window Seats
One of the first projects that we did in our 1978 single wide was to build a bench under the window in our dining room. I call it a window seat though it may not meet the professional definition. It was a great way to add out-of-sight storage that is still easy to access and seating for our dining table. You can read about our project here. Five years later and it’s still a perfect place to store our art and craft supplies as well as seasonal decor. For less than a $100 you can’t beat it!
A window seat could be a great addition to a single wide with a large picture window or bay window on one end. The design is popular when the kitchen is at the end of the home (like ours). You’d want to ensure the window was reinforced well, of course.
Below is a popular method to create a built-in window seat:
Barn Doors
Doors are a necessity but they can take up valuable floor space, especially in small bedrooms. I have plans to add a barn door to close off our hallway for easier heating in the winter and to close off the dogs when we have guests.
Unfortunately, complete barn door kits are expensive but you can save money if you just buy the hardware (or if you know a welder you could have it made) and finding or building the door yourself.
Here’s a kit on Amazon that is less than $50 (affiliate link).
The hardware is typically a track and a wheel mechanism that holds the door and rolls along the track. Sometimes a wheel is installed on the bottom of heavy doors to help it along.
Open Shelving
Another of our favorite remodeling and decorating trends for manufactured homes is open shelving. Floating shelves in kitchens and baths have been a huge help in our 696 square foot single wide. We have tried to use as much vertical wall space as possible, making sure we get the most out of our wall space.
The one disadvantage to open shelving is dust. Our shelves in the bathroom hold our towels and have baskets that we take down daily so dust doesn’t have much of a chance to settle. The shelves in the bedroom are a different story but the storage is worth the additional dusting.
Shiplap
Texture is our last and probably favorite decorating trend for mobile homes. Ceilings and walls don’t have to be smooth anymore. A few years ago, the big decor trend was having a red accent wall in your living area. The accent wall is still popular but texture has replaced color. Shiplap walls are a great way to add texture to a room.
Related: Using Accent Walls in your Mobile Home
Hunter’s gorgeous 2007 Fleetwood double wide was featured here on MHL last year and she used a little of both of our favorite remodeling and decorating ideas for manufactured homes. She installed shiplap to a wall in her living room and she used a homemade sliding canvas, similar to a barn door, to cover her television.
Click here to see Hunter’s beautiful home.
Planks and beadboard work well on both walls and ceilings. The contrast between the ceiling, floors, and walls can really make a room stand out.
These are just a few of our favorite remodeling or decorating trends for manufactured homes, there are hundreds of great ideas in the 500 articles we’ve got here on the site. Take a look around, you’ll see some gorgeous homes and ingenious ideas that can inspire you.
More Decorating Ideas for Manufactured Homes
More Mobile Home Remodeling Ideas
If you have any tips or ideas you would like to share with our readers please comment below! We are always looking for great projects and homes to share, too!
Thanks for reading Mobile Home Living!
I love all of these. To get them to work in our tiny modular is another story. I wish we had a single wide. I keep looking for one for us…..
This was so timely. I have a big black TV (that I rarely watch) with black cords mounted above a white fireplace in the living room, and absolutely hate the harsh look. Unfortunately, there isn’t another available wall or area without extreme glare to place it, so I was struggling with a way to cover it up most of the time. The mini “barn door” with artwork is a perfect solution. Thanks so much!
Hi Christina!
Command strips have been the best thing I’ve found so far for placing photos and art exactly where you want (without needing to worry about studs or drywall screws). There’s a hook called Gorilla Hooks (maybe Monkey Hooks?) that I bought for $12 for 25 at Lowe’s and they work great but they leave a decent sized hole in your walls just like the drywall screws but no screwdriver is needed (you just push them through the wall). I only use them if the frame is too heavy for Command Strips or if I can’t afford the Command Strips (cause they are a bit expensive when you need to use 4 sets on one picture).
Thanks for reading!
I agree. I don’t just like the strips either. I’m afraid that our walls will crack if we cast off them because our residence shifts pretty a bit right here. I may also should strive it in one room and see how it works out.
I do have a question for you. ???? I noticed you have some quite massive portions placing on your partitions. It’s tough to dangle things at the walls of cellular homes. What do you use to cling your photos and such with?