When decorating a mobile home, the obvious challenge is creating a warm attractive living environment in limited space. Single or double wide mobile homes are comparatively small and require creative thinking when it comes to decorating those small areas. These challenges can be overcome by applying these simple decorating guidelines.
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The first step toward an attractively designed mobile living space is to eliminate clutter. Go through everything not wanted or liked and remove them from the home by gifting or donating. Do not move those items to another space until a later time, because that "later time" never comes and all that will remain is a pile of dusty, unused stuff; taking up valuable storage space.
Once the obvious items have been worked through, it's time to create spaces of creative storage. Use table skirts in the living room for hiding baskets to store magazines, TV controls etc. Go tall rather than short when introducing horizontal shelving. Expand space by running a nice shelving system around the perimeter of the room, about 14 to 15 inches below the ceiling.
Mobile Home Furniture Shopping
Choose furniture carefully. IKEA and Pottery Barn are ideal small living space furniture resources. They have created brilliant space-saving furniture pieces that are not only attractive and comfortable, but have multi-purpose flair as well.
It may be better to purchase one or two large pieces of furniture for the living room, rather than a collection of smaller items; a love seat instead of two cocktail chairs or a wrap-around sofa instead of a couch and love seat. Any configuration requires careful measuring.
Choose plain, more subtle colored upholstery fabrics over bright busy prints, plaids or stripes. The more busy fabrics can clutter a room just as much as the accumulation of "stuff." Textures can provide that bit of design elegance without making a room too busy. If some color splash is needed choose accent pillows, table runners, frames, or other items to bring in visual interest.
Other options include:
- Nesting tables
- Floor lamps rather than an end table supported lamp
- Replace solid doors with French glass paneled doors when privacy is not needed
Perfect Paint Colors
Color is the least expensive tool to enlarge the appearance of living spaces. To create and maintain larger living areas in a mobile home use only light, cool colors of paint; light tones of green or blue-based colors. Avoid the temptation to go individual with each room's paint colors. Stick to the dominant color and choose variations within that palette. Provide color splash with simple designed fabrics containing contrasting colors. Limit busy-ness to the prints; these too can make a room appear small, when over-applied.
Bright Light
Lighting, especially natural light, is necessary to preserve comfortable space. Choose blinds over large, heavy drapes or curtains. Add track or recessed lighting liberally to each room. Adding reflective accents is a fantastic way to create the appearance of more space. A mirrored wall will visually expand an entire room or framed mirrors carefully placed to reflect the room's windows will provide a spacious view and additional reflected light.
Glass Is Magic For a Mobile Home
When it comes to creating airy functional spaces; glass tables are excellent. Unlike solid wood furniture that absorbs space and blocks light, a glass dining room or coffee table is always a wise choice when decorating a mobile home as they work to enhance natural, radiant and ambient light.
Amazing results will be created by following these simple tips when decorating a mobile home.
Sue Krippner - After studying art history at Thomas Edison State College with advance studio studies at the University of the Arts in Pennsylvania, I ...
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