Buying an affordable home and turning it into a true dream home is what Mobile Home Living is all about and this manufactured home remodel is a perfect example of that!
The McCormacks bought their 2002 Spirit manufactured home in 2009. The 2200 sq ft home has a great view – it sits on the water of Oklahoma’s Lake Tenkiller.
Rebecca has kindly allowed us full access to every room and shared lots of great advice for our own manufactured home remodeling dreams.
“Most people wouldn’t even consider throwing money into a mobile home, but we’re very happy with our remodel.”
Just like every manufactured home, it had potential and Rebecca was able to see it.
“It was traditional interior with dark green carpet and pink and green stripes and floral vinyl walls. It was terrible. So we began with replacing the carpet, and the bank account began to dwindle at that point.”
The home started out in great condition. The front exterior had already been updated with shingled vinyl siding and a new deck but the couple had a more traditional log cabin vision and they absolutely nailed it!
Here’s what the back of the home looked like before the log cabin remodel.
During the siding remodel.
The exterior was completely wrapped in log siding, the deck was transformed into a covered porch, rock skirting was installed, a garage was added to the side of the home, and lots of beautiful landscaping was added.
It’s amazing!
Rebecca’s husband did the landscaping. He installed a sprinkler system and laid river rock in the circle drives.
The log siding was trimmed in a darker wood that highlights the new windows. It’s a great look!
Porch fans and gorgeous seating areas complete the log cabin exterior remodel.
The back of the home is just as gorgeous as the front.
Looking for more inspiration to remodel the exterior of your manufactured home? Check out this complete double wide transformation.
If you think the exterior remodel was amazing, just wait till you see the interior!
Here’s a photo of the kitchen before the McCormack’s remodeled. It was a fine home but it wasn’t their style. That’s why manufactured homes are so great – you can actually afford to make changes to the home after you buy it!
Rebecca described her vision, “I wanted a rustic log home and the interior is done in wood paneling and lots of glazed walls in earth tones, which I did myself. Of course, we mud, taped and textured all the walls. Big tip: Be sure and seal the texture with Kilz.”
The kitchen was completely gutted and rebuilt. Updates included new engineered flooring, appliances, cabinets, countertops, and backsplash.
– Rebecca McCormack
It’s important to incorporate your personal hobbies and passions into your home. While looking at pretty homes on Pinterest or even here on Mobile Home Living is important you make each space your own.
Related: A Farmhouse Inspired Manufactured Home Makeover for more home decor inspiration.
The McCormack’s home has a bear theme, a subject Rebecca is very passionate about. She lived with them in the mountains of New Mexico for years.
All interior and exterior doors were replaced and stained. All lighting fixtures were replaced.
The den is done in all wood.
They have covered the seams in the walls and ceiling with stained pine and boxed in the seam down the middle of the home.
A stone fireplace anchors the den and provides emergency heat.
Each bedroom was beautifully remodeled in a rustic log cabin theme.
Rebecca replaced all the white wire racks in the closets with wood stained shelves.
The bathroom got a complete overhaul too.
Dark wood trim frames the large mirrors (perfect for making a small room seem larger) and sets a stage for the soaking tub.
Stained wainscoting wraps the bathroom in warmth.
Rebecca gave us some figures on the remodel, “We didn’t keep exact figures on the total remodel, but we estimate between $60-70K. ”
She continued, “We have 166 acres of forest behind us, so the deer and all sorts of wildlife are in the yard every day. It’s a piece of paradise. No one is aware it’s a mobile and the few we have told are shocked. You have to look under the house to find out it’s a mobile. Our local realtor said it’s a show home, and people who visit ask us what it would take to buy it, so I guess we did something right.”
Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing your manufactured home remodel with us! You have proven that anything is possible with a manufactured home and that dreams do come true!
Thank you for reading Mobile Home Living!
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View Comments
You have quite the eye and right now I don't mind saying I think my skin is turning green with envy! LOL! Kidding! What a BEAUTIFUL job, and thank you so much for sharing pics your home as well, the before and after is shocking! Not to mention you get to wake up, have coffee on a gorgeous rustic peace of heaven. I'm with must be worth everything you went thru during the remodel Thanks for sharing!
Absolutely gorgeous!! You have a beautiful home!
Rebecca, what an amazing transformation! The fact that you did so much of it yourselves is fantastic. Well done!
Wood wainscoting in the living room and hall bath are on my list. I see you removed the battens in your bathroom, but I hadn't planned on it because of the extra work taping and mudding. Can I just cut the battens at the top of the wainscoting, or just leave them and nail the boards right over them? One more question: I can't decide whether to attach the boards horizontally or vertically- what was your reasoning for horizontally, was it strictly esthetics or ease of application?
I just love what you've done. I sure wish I could snap my fingers and mine would be finished!
Thanks for any advice. It's appreciated.
Has anyone gotten an estimate for just the siding alone for this remodel. We are looking at doing it to a 2000 ft home.
Hi Latisha,
It will depend on the type of siding. There are calculators at Lowe's and Home Depot's websites that help you add up the square foot, corners, etc and then gives you an estimate on each type of siding/brand.
Best of luck!
I know this is an older post but I hope I can get an answer or two. The logs you used on the exterior are beautiful. Are they manufactured logs or real wood and where did you buy them?
I believe the owner stated that they got them from a local supplier or mill and they are real.
Oh gosh.. I Love the porch on this house (as well as the remodel inside).. I've been looking at porches on your site for a couple of weeks now, keep thinking I've found the perfect one, then I find yet another great idea.. this one is really catching my eye, though, as we have the same kind of peak near the front door.. I just wish there were directions on how to actually build the porch and the best way to attach it (or build it independently). Thank you again for this site. I get so many great ideas from it and love that other people realize the value in mobile/manufactured homes!
Hi Karen!
Thanks so much for the kind words! I think a good porch makes a manufactured home. They make such a huge impact!
You will want to keep your porch or deck completely separate from your home (as far as footers go). It's just 'butted up' against the home. It's not hard at all.
Thanks again for the kind words. Hope you can share your new porch with us - I'm always looking for great projects!
This home is beautiful !! We are looking to remodel our manufactured home at the lake this is exactly what I would want. I would like to know stain colors on knotty pine and doors also what brand of cabinets in the kitchen.Beautiful!!!!
Sorry I'm just now getting around to responding. I haven't opened this site in quite sometime. We used all Sherwin-Williams products on the home. The interior stain on doors and trim is a blend of Chestnut and Fruitwood. The blend is about 40% Chestnut and 60% Fruitwood. The Chestnut is the darker stain and we did our master bath in that entirely. But we wanted to bump the color up just a little bit and it is a beautiful color. Very unique because of the mix.
We had only cabinet fronts remade in kitchen. The cabinets are the same stain of Sherwin-Williams Chestnut and Fruitwood. We had a local cabinet maker do the cabinet fronts for us and we kept the existing frames, sanded and restained those. I sanded and stained the original bathroom cabinet fronts myself and stained as well. Those are all the original cabinets. All of the doors and all woodwork is the Chestnut/Fruitwood blend.
I hope this helps and good luck!
I'm curious where all the products were from, if the work was done by contractors or by the family themselves. The estimated time it took to remodel. Where did she find all her bear product? Did they own the house outright or did they take an additional loan on the home to remodel. How much was the porch itself and the garage itself. we just purchased a 2009 Modular 2 years ago and want to reinvent it's look as well into a rustic look. We reside in Montana and our home overlooks a small lake. We would love to remodel but need details. I'm just starting to look and would love details...this home is my dream look seriously!!!!! Please email with all information please!!!!! Thanks and it your home is absolutely stunning!
Sorry I haven't responded to this. I haven't been on the website in a while. I'll try and answer some of your questions.
All interior wood products were bought at our local town hardware store, just pine and knotty pine. We stained all the wood with Sherwin-Williams Chestnut and Fruitwood. A blend of 40% Chestnut mixed with 60% Fruitwood. Everything is done in that. Only the cabinet fronts in the kitchen were remade by a local cabinet maker and stained in the colors above.
We used local guys here at the lake for everything. We hired no contractors and I did a large part of the interior myself with painting and glazing. The paint is also all Sherwin-Williams. Leatherbound is the main color with accents of of Norman Brown on the ceilings.
We paid cash for the home so no mortgage and we paid for our renovation out of our pocket, so no loans at all. I couldn't tell you what lenders might allow for a remodel like this on a manufactured home. Sorry.
It took about a year to complete in total. As far as the bear products, I ordered a lot of them over the internet, Cabelas, some art sites and I already had a lot of bear prints and paraphernalia I had collected over the years, so it's just a hodgepodge of everything thrown together. There are many art web sites where you can find lots of prints and photos they will frame for you. Just pick the areas of interest, like bears and everything will pop up. That was kind of easy.
One existing garage was already here and we had it enlarged. We built another garage for about $5K. The porch itself to cover it and rock it was about $5K. I can't remember for sure on that one.
I hope this helps a little. Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you. Your remodel may well be underway or finished already. Good luck to you. We love this place and so does everyone else! Thanks again.
Do you know of any companies in Arizona (Show Low area) that do log siding? We have a home on 5 acres and would really like to do this on our home. Thank you.
Hi Denise,
I don't but maybe another reader may be able to help. I would contact a local wood mill or research it online or at a locally owned home improvement store.
Best of luck!
Just curious, it says they purchased the home in 2009. So did it take them 6 years to finish all the renovations or did they do the entire $60k-$70k house remodel pretty quickly? Lovely home! My husband and I are actually in the process of looking for a large piece of land to do this exact same thing.