Remodeling your mobile home is a chance for a fresh start. No matter how great your mobile home has been up until now, there’s no reason you can’t shoot to make it even greater by remodeling. With plenty of different design options, it could be hard to know where to start. Which style is right for your space?
Your style depends a lot on your own preferences. And since there are so many options, today we want to zero in and look closer up at one type of home—a boutique mobile home. If you’ve been following remodeling and design, you know there’s no end of inspiration for remodeling homes right now—whether it’s home decor magazines, books, blogs, social media, or even your local news sources. Today’s article is especially for those of you who long to recreate the boutique style in your own mobile home, yet are at a loss for how to get started.
Work in white
If you could gather just one insight into how to create a boutique mobile home, this might just be the one. Now white has tremendous design potential for other decor styles, too. But when it comes to boutique style, white can easily be the star of the show.
Yes, it’s understated. But at the same time, it also becomes the style statement. It radiates simplicity, calm, and freshness. And it creates a perfect backdrop for your other boutique elements.
That said, you’re not limited to snow white. Depending on your goals and preferences and also on what you’ll be pairing it with, you could opt for white in another of its various shades.
Incorporating white on your walls and ceiling is a main goal. But there are other places, too. Furniture like couches and end tables could also look great in white. As could kitchen cabinets and even counters.
Nail the natural materials
Natural materials are a great part of your boutique mobile home style. And wood is a great way to start. In keeping with your light and bright theme, a light-colored wood could be an excellent choice.
Starting from the ground up, so to speak, your mobile home floors are the first place we suggest to incorporate wood. But you’re certainly not limited to the floors. Light-colored wood can also make its appearance in small furniture items or decor pieces like baskets. Plus, you could use light wood on the wall too—perhaps as shadow boxes or shelving.
Pull in plant life
Unsurprisingly, pulling in natural elements doesn’t stop at wood. Instead, draw more nature into your design plan with plant life. Whether it’s a small green money tree or a cluster of white hydrangeas in a glass vase, a few well-chosen plants should be a great addition to your fresh space.
Make metal pull its weight
In a clothing boutique, metal might actually hold up literal weight—namely, the thoughtfully selected clothing items the store owner has chosen to display. In your mobile home, the trick is to gain all the boutique-ness that metals have to offer, without actually hanging clothes and accessories around your home (because obviously, that would look strange).
Bronze, copper, iron, and brass are all possibilities. You can select furniture with metal in it—iron legs on tables or desks, for instance. Or you can introduce metal decor items, from picture frames to mirrors to small curiosities on tabletops or shelves. Use metal to make the space look authentic.
Curate carefully
What you don’t have can sometimes be as important as what you do have. Keep this in mind as you create a boutique mobile home. Be selective about what you put in your mobile home.
To understand this better, think about the inspiration for our decor style—actual boutiques, as in the unique clothing stores. What do they do, sell every item the big department stores sell? No, certainly not. And therein lies their charm. They’re selective. And you should be too.
We’ll talk about this more below, but being selective certainly doesn’t mean you can’t branch out and reflect your own style. Nor does it mean you can’t be creative and unique. It’s not a call to radical stinginess in your decor. Instead, it’s just a reminder that a few carefully selected items can have a bigger impact than a myriad of items, chosen thoughtlessly.
Tidy frequently
Alongside the principle of curating carefully, remember that your beautiful space needs someone to keep it beautiful. And if that someone is you, make a plan that helps this happen. Why undo the hard design work you’ve done by not investing in upkeep?
Like it or not, this isn’t a perfect world. And that means that no matter how meticulously you clean and tidy today, you’ll always need to do it again someday in the future. But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Use these three principles to help you stay on track.
- Designate beautiful storage spaces for your odds and ends. (We’re going to dig deeper into this below).
- Remove out-of-place items from your surfaces every evening. Stray magazines on the end table? Remove them. Tomorrow, you can start the day out fresh.
- Create a breakdown of jobs and spread them throughout the week. Why let all your tidying pile up until it reaches an overwhelming level. Tackle constantly in small chunks.
Keep unsightly things out of sight
Not all household items are created equal. Think about this: which is more pleasing to the eye, your white leather sofa or your TV remote? We think the sofa looks better than the TV remote from an interior design perspective, and we’ll guess you do too. But, that doesn’t mean we want to ditch the TV remote—not at all.
Both items are useful in their own way. But the relative beauty of each gives us the foundation for this tip. If some things are more beautiful than others, display the beautiful ones prominently and hide the not-so-beautiful ones when possible.
One way to do this is to design aesthetically-pleasing storage solutions early on. To illustrate, let’s return to the sofa and TV situation above. You’d leave the sofa in plain view (of course), but you’d place some boutique-style storage item in the living room that could stow that TV remote out of sight.
Naturally, baskets and bins are options for storage. And as long they augment the boutique style and don’t overload the room, they could be a great way to go. But don’t forget the power of using furniture with space built into it. For instance, items like tables, desks, and benches may have their ostensible use. But by planning ahead, you may be able to select furniture items that are just right for double use—their “normal” use and their storage use.
Keep it clear & open
Remember that there’s a reason you invested in white walls and wood floors. Covering them up too much could easily detract from the reason you selected them in the first place. An expanse of white wall can be a style statement in itself. And while you certainly will want decor (and you may even want it on the walls) just take care to leave some of your beautiful white space open.
Put your own spin on it
The great news about boutique style is that you can put your own spin on it. After all, if all clothing boutiques sold the same items, then they wouldn’t be boutiques anymore, would they?
Each boutique and its offering is unique. In some stores, you might find a more antique or country flair. And in other, a space that’s thoroughly modern. One might lean toward white light, while another may warm things up with a more yellow or golden appearance.
Just as each boutique personalizes its space, you can personalize yours, too. What is your other favorite style? Take time to consider if you can blend another favorite look with the boutique style we’ve been talking about. Art deco could meld beautifully. Even a farmhouse style would be a great option.
Shop thoughtfully & well
Not all items are created equal. And you may find that certain companies or brands are better at nailing your conception of boutique style. Perhaps they’ll be led by designers with years of experience ferreting out top-quality items as part of their job.
If you’ve only ever shopped for home decor in a chain decor store, take some time to review other options. You might be happily surprised at what’s available on the internet. Plus, a local storefront run by an interior designer could also introduce you to new products and the brands behind them.
Additionally, you can even take inspiration from your favorite boutiques. Wander through your favorite one-of-a-kind clothing store. Ponder what the elements are that you love. Notice what furniture they’re using to support the unique look you enjoy so much. And you may even be able to ask about where they bought their furniture.
Start out right with light
Take your lighting very seriously in your quest for a boutique mobile home. Not only is the lighting important for illuminating the space, but it can also be a style statement in its own right. Lighting on tracks on the ceiling is a phenomenal idea. And you can augment that with gorgeous unique fixtures, too.
Wake up those walls
Now, we know we just got through telling you to be wary of overloading your beautiful white (or light) walls. So, we’re not invalidating that point. But leaving open spaces doesn’t mean you should never put things on the walls. And just how open you leave your walls might depend on what spin you put on the boutique look.
You can indeed wisely use your walls. For instance, you can place staggered shelving with focal objects. Or place hexagonal boxes. Take a look at how this Los Angeles boutique balances plenty of open white wall space with vibrant uniqueness.
Lean into the length
Notice how the Los Angeles clothing boutique above had some great depth? Enter and you see a bright, white room stretching back. And the track lighting helps create that look by drawing lines on the ceiling.
Add in the clothing racks stretching along the walls, and they’re in business. Now, taking that image with you, think about your mobile home. Consider how well-suited a mobile home could be to just that idea—length.
Whether you have a single wide or a double wide, you may be able to capitalize on the unique shape of your home to recreate this appearance of length. If it’s a look you want to copy, consider concrete strategies. For instance, track lighting might help reach the goal. So might a long end table stretching down the middle of a common area. Placing hardwood flooring lengthwise could also assist.
Wake it up with punchy items
If you’ve set a solid background of restful neutrals, feel free to give things a jolt of energy or excitement. You might do it by introducing color with particular decor accessories. Or you might elect to use pieces of furniture or even light fixtures. Check out what this Miami boutique did in their space.
On the other hand, you could use an entire wall to add a splash of interest, as Robert Bailey Interiors did. “As a counterpoint to the all white interior, we conceived a very pink, custom hand painted wall covering, which imprints the space with a unique personality,” the blog reports.
Relativity – don’t take our rules too seriously
There are so many different types of boutiques out there. Similarly, there’s likely infinite variety in the type of boutique mobile home designs we could come up with. While our tips might help you cultivate a certain boutique look, ditching some of the rules could still land you with a gorgeous boutique mobile home.
For instance, we suggested light wood, but if you were to decide you like dark wood better, you may still achieve a stunning outcome. As an example, note that this retail space doesn’t quite abide by a light and bright motif, but is nonetheless lovely. In short, do what you think will best help you land the boutique mobile home design you want.
More than just decorations
Sometimes before you tackle the mobile home’s interior with a new design, you’ll need to shore up other elements of your building. Don’t let that stop you, though. Instead dive right in with our Mobile Home Repair: Top 6 Fixes That Are Easy On Your Wallet. Or tackle your problems with an unlevel home with How To Relevel A Double Wide Mobile Home And Stay HUD Compliant.
About EZ Homes Design Team
