Choosing Furniture for Small Mobile Homes

Remember the overstuffed sofas of the 1990’s?  They were not made for a small single wide mobile home!

My first ‘adult’ home was an older single wide that was 14′ wide and probably around 60′ long. It was a cute place with a little pond on the property.

I was so excited to buy furniture for it! I saved up and shopped around for the best deals for weeks. This was in 1996 and the overstuffed furniture trend was in full swing. I eventually settled on a sofa, loveseat, and chair grouping that was off-white and had a thick braiding wrapping around the bottom.  Of course, I had to have the matching coffee table and end tables too. They were beyond overstuffed, they were huge!

I never paid any attention to the size of this gorgeous furniture set. Nor did I think about space or proportion or the fact that I was trying to put all that furniture in a single wide mobile home.

Delivery day was a mess! The men that carried each piece up the porch steps and wrestling to get these monstrous pieces through the front door weren’t pleased with me at all.

I messed up big time. We barely had room to walk!

I should have asked them to return the furniture right then and there but I was young and clueless.

You can’t have large furniture in a small home. Large pieces waste what little space we have in our homes and make it difficult to live comfortably.

I definitely learned a lesson and have purchased properly sized furniture for my home ever since.

Related: Smart Multi-Function Furniture That’s Perfect For A Small Mobile Home.

Ideas for choosing furniture for small mobile homes:

Interior designers have mastered the art of living stylishly and comfortably in every space. They study for years to learn what works and what doesn’t. Learn 5 interior design tricks that will work in your home here. 

The following interior design tips are perfect for small homes such as single wides:

• Round tables work best in small rooms. They work great for dining and for coffee and end tables.
• Ottomans work great as coffee tables because you can use them for seating as well.

• Sofa sizes should be less than 82″ with minimal pattern. Save the patterns for the pillows. If you like a comfy, overstuffed look, apply it to a chair and ottoman and keep your sofa simple or just pick out a fluffy loveseat and skip the sofa altogether.

• Keep symmetry, flow, contrast, and balance in mind. You don’t want all your furniture on one wall.
• You need at least 18 inches between furniture to comfortably walk.

• Use the rule of 3’s to find out how tall your furniture should be. If your mobile home has the standard 7′ side walls you will want your furniture to be around 28″-36″ in height.

Learn more Affordable Single Wide Remodeling Ideas. 

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