Modern Manufactured Home Remodel for 1991 Fleetwood Double Wide

In an effort to simplify their lives, Kim Thompson and her husband recently moved into an older double wide and transformed the home with a modern manufactured home remodel. This move allowed the couple to get the beautiful home they wanted without sacrificing style or their environmentally friendly lifestyle. This modern manufactured home remodel is a great example of the beauty and style that factory-built housing can have.

“Less house, more life.”  

In May 2014, the couple sold their large LEED Platinum home in Seattle and settled into a double wide setup in a gated manufactured home community in California’s wine country.

Kim had owned the double wide for more than ten years, using it as an affordable vacation home. When the time came to slow down and enjoy the simpler side of life she chose to make it her permanent home. They moved immediately after selling their Seattle home and hired a contractor a few short months later. Their comprehensive and modern manufactured home remodel lasted approximately 2 months.

Kim admitted that she loved her manufactured home more than the Seattle house, even though that home was brand new and semi-custom built. She has proven that her motto, “Less house, more life,” works beautifully with an older factory-built home.

Related: See another beautiful wine country manufactured home remodel. 

Before the Modern Manufactured Home Remodel 

Cathedral ceilings, ‘oak’ cabinetry, and garden tubs were the most requested features in factory-built homes during the early 1990s and this home has them all. It was well past time for a modern manufactured home remodel.

1991 Fleetwood double wide, before remodel.

After the Modern Manufactured Home Remodel

The twentieth century had a beautiful mid-life crisis.

The term ‘mid-century modern‘, or mod, is defined by Wikipedia as an architectural, interior, product and graphic design that generally describes mid-20th-century developments in modern design, architecture, and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965.

Today, the mod style is revered by both retro and modern design enthusiasts. Infusing sleek lines with bold colors and simple patterns creates a comfortable, clean space.

Related: Why The World Is Obsessed With Midcentury Modern Design

The 1991 Fleetwood double wide received more than just a modern manufactured home remodel. The entire design was updated to meet tough environmental standards that will conserve energy and reserve the homes small footprint.

Kim and her husband replaced and installed the following:

• Foam-core aluminum roof
• Vinyl windows
• Whole-house water filter (Aquasana – read review)
  
• Ipocork cork floors throughout with new baseboards
  
• No-VOC paint 
• Subway tile – both bathrooms and kitchen backsplash
• Ikea kitchen cabinets, dishwasher, and stove hood
• Overhead kitchen lighting
  
• New GE stove, refrigerator, and LG washer/dryer
  
• Ikea bathroom cabinets, mirrors, lighting, and fixtures
• Ikea Besta storage cabinets (installed in the bedroom and living room)
• Ceiling fans (Lamps Plus)
• Closet shelving and miscellaneous small features that make the home more functional

A picture is worth a thousand words…

Manufactured homes have unlimited potential and the following images prove it. This double wide is worthy of a magazine cover! In fact, USA Today featured the home on their website.

With a total remodeling cost of around $80,000, Kim and her husband were able to design the home exactly how they wanted.

While some people would question such an extensive remodel on a factory-built home it makes sense for the area. Home prices are reaching new heights in California’s wine country, with prices at just above the $800,000 mark per Trulia.com. New listings are in short supply so finding an affordable home in the region is difficult. With those prices, it’s easy to see how a manufactured home remodel of this caliber, situated within a gated community, is a smart choice for home buyers.

Choosing tile and grout colors for the kitchen proved to be a difficult decision for Kim to make. She jokes that she may have changed her mind a dozen times.

We wanted to know what advice Kim would give to homeowners about to embark on their own modern manufactured home remodel. She stated that finding a trustworthy and talented contractor made all the difference.

The only way to do this without losing your mind is to have a good contractor.  I fell in love with our contractor, who has worked on mobile homes for over 20 years.  He’s out of Sacramento and will usually travel up to an hour to do work.  He will always have a special place in my heart!

Related: How to Find a Great Contractor for Your Manufactured Home Remodel

Kim loves the look the Ikea curtain panel gives her master bedroom closet. Her contractor also built custom shelving in the closet, adding ease and organization to the space.

You can see more of the closet on Kim’s blog called My Mod, Mod Mobile Home.

We asked Kim which room was her favorite now that the remodel was finished:

It’s truly hard to pick one room because the whole house turned out better than we expected, but if you’re going to make me pick one, then I choose the small bathroom.  It’s so darn cute.  Love the tub.

Kim advises that location is probably the most important aspect of buying a manufactured home. While there are plenty of parks to chose from most residents agree that adult, or over 55, communities are ideal. With aging baby boomers wanting to simplify their lives and live in more affordable housing, the manufactured home sector is looking at a rise in interest.

Kim states, “Owning a mobile home means we don’t have to pay interest on a mortgage, our property taxes are next-to-nothing, and it gives us a lot of freedom because we’re not tied to such instruments. And, it’s a little bit like being a member of a club – we’ve started to make friends with other mobile-homers and it’s fun to compare and contrast our homes to each others.”

Related: See another great California manufactured home.

Manufactured homes are a great choice if you’re ready to embrace the less is more mantra-like Kim and her husband.

With a modern manufactured home remodel you can create a stylish, safe, and environmentally friendly housing at a fraction of the cost of a site-built home. The home’s design and style limitations are only bound by the imagination of the owner. Luckily for us, Kim had a magnificently mod vision for her home and was kind enough to share it with us.

Thanks, Kim, your home is stunning!

You can see more of this beautiful manufactured home remodel on Kim’s blog, My Mod, Mod Mobile Home.

Images courtesy of Achille Bigliardi.

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