Decorating a mobile home or manufactured home can be a challenge. Paneled walls, vinyl wallpaper, odd angles and low ceilings are just a few of the problems home decorators must overcome. But you can have a charming and stylish home, even if it’s a mobile home! Here are some mobile home decorating ideas that are easy and inexpensive.
The most common complaint I hear in decorating a mobile home is what to do about those paneled walls. Mobile homes tend to have strips of vertical “molding” that cover the gap between each panel of wallboard. They scream “mobile home”. There are ways to work around them. First of all, you can remove them and use joint compound and a putty knife to fill the gaps. This works, however, as one of my readers pointed out recently when she tried this method, its difficult to get the gaps as smooth as the wallboard. Her solution was to apply joint compound to the whole wall, then texture and paint. Great idea! A lot of work!
If you don’t want to put the work into the joint compound method, you have options. The first is to simply choose one or two co-coordinating paint colors in a rich hue, then make the color of the walls the star. With a beautiful color as background, especially a rich color, then strips will seem to fade away. How about cranberry and mustard? Or a rich moss green and a golden yellow?
Another option is to make the strips seem deliberate. Get some inexpensive molding the same approximate size as the strips, and glue rectangular panel “frames” onto the walls at regular intervals. Now paint the “frames” the same color as the trim in the room. Hang artwork inside the frames, and the molding becomes a gallery, and the strips look a deliberate part of the style scheme, separating each “frame” from the next.
Another problem with mobile home decorating is the question of architectural details. Mobile homes almost always lack them! So add your own! Frame sunken tubs with wallpaper border, stencil arches over doorways, cut ¼ inch plywood into 4-6 inch wide strips, then add below the ceiling line, use wood putty in the seams, and paint the trim color.
Add charm to a mobile home kitchen by removing the cupboard door below the sink, and add shirred fabric on a rod for a softer look. Cut out the interior of the upper cupboard doors, and replace with glass or fabric. Paint your cabinets. The idea is to create a custom look, and get rid of the cookie cutter mobile home decor.
If your mobile home has paneling, the best thing you can do is to paint it. A good coat of primer and some white semi gloss can take a whole home from blah to fresh and inviting.
Mobile home decorating doesn’t have to be a problem, just keep in mind these ideas, and use creativity to decorate your mobile or manufactured home in a warm and stylish way. Also check out our post on DIY Floors and Stone and Brick Accent Walls!
Image Credits: my-hearts-song, carisma.co.uk
Greetings from a mobile home owner!
I’m so glad that I found your site on Pinterest! I’ve owned my mobile home since 2006 and have recently just started to “rehab” my place – one room at a time! [Long story]. I had my hallway bathroom done by professionals, but I watched everything they did and am redoing my back bathroom the same way…minus the tub & shower! I’ve got about 80% of the back bathroom painted & just finished installing my light fixture on the wall [last weekend] over the vanity location. Everything in this bathroom is being replaced except the bathroom window. You mentioned the “strips” that cover the paneling seams…I’m removing them in each room as I “rehab” it and I’m using ‘self-adhesive drywall tape’ to cover the spaces and then applying the drywall joint compound. I’ve done this in my hallway and just need to sand and then paint the wall. I’m using one paint color throughout the house with an accent color for the trim. I’m decorating in the “Southwest & Native American” theme for the most part. All my interior doors will be painted a “Terracotta” color, with “vintage” looking glass doorknobs. I do have a question maybe you can help me with…I want to put crown molding around the the ceiling areas after painting the respective rooms. Any idea on how to deal with the “angles” of the ceiling? My living room area angles upward with a large separation “beam” separating the two parts of the ceiling. My mobile home was painted all white when I bought it and of course, I’m having to “fix” all the mistakes the previous homeowners made. I’m pretty handy and enjoy doing the “rehab” work myself. Too bad this area won’t let me post any pictures of my “home rehab” projects. I’m looking forward to hearing from you regarding my question about the crown molding. Thanks in advance!! 🙂
Author
Hi Jennie!
We’re looking into the idea of having others submit photos and projects we can share… Thanks for sharing all the details, sounds wonderful!
In February we moved into our first mobile home after living in traditional stick built homes we have learned a lot about our tiny home but we just finished our kitchen and just love it…we replaced the 1980s appliances and faux finished the cabinet with a poly paint then antiqued them…and used black chalk board paint for the wall it turned out great…how do I submit pictures