by Kimberlee King

Created on: March 10, 2009

Most people interested in updating their mobile home have one goal in mind, they would like visitors to walk in and not realize it is a mobile home. While this may seem like a lofty goal with enough imagination, elbow grease and money to invest this is certainly achievable.

The major difference between a mobile home and a "real" stick built home is usually the quality of the materials used in construction. Since the cost of mobile homes is considerably less than the cost of traditional housing, the savings has to come from somewhere. The result of this is paper thin paneled walls, cheap paper veneered moldings, if you have any at all, and low-end floorings, doors and appliances.

When people choose to do a re-model on their home themselves they usually head straight for their local home-improvement store and that is exactly what you should do when you choose to update your mobile home.Look through some home interior magazines to find some rooms you like and set your sights on updating the rooms in your mobile home to look as close to this as you can remembering that as with all good design colors and accessories are often key points to achieving a fabulous room.

Your first major project is going to be your walls. Mobile home walls are usually thin boards joined together with strips of molding called "batten strips". To update your mobile home walls remove these strips, fill in the cracks with sheetrock compound, sand smooth then paint or wallpaper as desired. An interesting technique in the kitchen or bath is to apply the same sheetrock in a thick circular pattern over the entire wall leaving some raised areas, paint and glaze to resemble venetian plaster. Buying and installing good quality doors, crown moldings and baseboards goes a long way in updating your mobile home.

Updating the kitchen and bath in your mobile home is quite simple to achieve but tends to be a bit costly. Start with the fixtures and appliances and replace them with the best you can afford. Adding a glass tile backsplash in your kitchen and a slate tile floor will really update your mobile home with a high-end look.

First impressions are so important. Don't forget the outside of your mobile home. Beautiful landscaping will go a long way towards making your mobile home appear like a "real" house. Planting hedges and bushes close to your home will help hide the unattractive skirting. If you have enough money to invest consider installing some of the log-home look siding and a real brick skirting to update your mobile home even further and gain the added benefit of increasing your mobile home's value.

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