Key Takeaways:
- Transforming a trailer home to look like a traditional house involves various exterior and interior modifications that can enhance its appearance and functionality.
- Exterior changes include adjusting the roof pitch, adding entrance steps, installing larger doors skirting, and creating a garden or landscaping to make the home seem more permanent.
- The cost of making a trailer home look like a house can vary depending on the extent of renovations, materials chosen, and location, but it can be a cost-effective alternative to traditional homes.
Manufactured homes are the best options. Because it’s much cheaper than any traditional site-built homes, and also it fits in my budget perfectly. A trailer home or manufactured home is exactly like a site-built home, but still, there are some differences. And that difference keeps bothering me.
That’s when How to Make a Trailer Home Look Like a House click in my mind. I jump into a mission to search for effective ways.
And guess what?
I found some effective ways within a few hours. One of the easy and major ways is roof pitch. Roof pitch can make your trailer home look like a site-built home easily. Another way is to add enter steps. Only those two steps turn your trailer home into the traditional site-built home.
But wait, wait! Is that it? Of course not! There are better ways to convert your trailer home into a traditional house. And put a trailer home on your property to enjoy living. Read on to learn all the secrets.
How To Make A Trailer Home Look Like A House? (Exterior Version)
A manufactured home doesn’t sound that bad. It’s cheap, easy to move, and so on. But traditional site-built homes hit differently. But pictures of trailer homes turned into houses. Doesn’t it sound so dreamy? It does, right? Well, it doesn’t have to be a dream anymore. Just follow those bellow methods and make your trailer home a house.
Roof pitch
Wondering how to make the outside of a double wide look like a house? Then this is the best answer. Tilt roof more. Roof pitch makes your mobile home additions resemble a proper house and is good for rain and snow. When the roof slants at least 4/12, it not only looks better but also helps rain and snow slide off easily. You don’t need a curb appeal for it.
Expand the roof pitch overhang. Regular houses have those parts of the roof that hang over the walls to stop water from getting to the windows and siding.
Usually, these parts are quite wide, about 12 to 16 inches. But mobile homes usually have smaller overhangs (6 inches) and smaller gutters (5 inches) to catch water.
To make your mobile home look more like a real house, you can make these overhangs wider and also increase the roof pitch. This way, not only will it look better, but it will also handle rain and snow more effectively. And be a proud mobile home owner. Be aware of doing roof pitch because a bad roof means trailer home value depreciates.
If you are unsure about the size of the roof pitch, then you can use this formula according to the Omni calculator
“If you want to find the roof pitch in the form of x:12, simply calculate the pitch, enter that value as an angle or percentage in one of the calculators’ fields, and the result will appear in the remaining Roof pitch (x:12) field.’’
Entrance Steps
Adding entrance steps to your home is a smart move. This move can easily turn manufactured homes into traditional site-built homes. They not only enhance the appearance of your property but also boost safety. When you decide to construct a mobile home porch or deck, having sturdy steps is an absolute requirement.
While there are budget-friendly options like portable steel steps, they don’t quite convey a sense of permanence.
To achieve a more enduring and polished look, you have a variety of material choices, such as natural stone, concrete, wood, or polycarbonate. Each of these materials can provide both durability and the appearance of a lasting structure.
Fancy Larger Doors
Cheap mobile homes usually have small aluminum doors, like 32 inches wide and 74 to 78 inches tall. If you pay a bit more, you might get better ones with larger doors that are 36 inches wide and 80 inches tall. Fancy larger doors can trailer home that looks like a house.
To make your mobile home look fancier and more like a stick-built home, think about getting a 6-panel insulated larger door that’s 36 inches by 80 inches. Peepholes can help, too, so you can see who’s there.
Inside mobile homes, the doors aren’t that great. They’re usually hollow and have plastic doorknobs. Swapping them for real wood doors is a big upgrade and makes your home feel nicer. Also large door means also make easy to stock your trailer home.
When you put in those bigger exterior doors, your mobile home starts to look more like a regular house. It’s comfier more convenient, and it boosts your home’s value.
In fact, Zillow says making larger doors bigger is the best way to get your money back when you sell. You can get back 85% to 100% of what you spend. So, it’s worth it.
Skirting
Panels and skirting, yeah, they’re important for your mobile home to look less mobile and more like traditional site-built homes. Especially if you go for concrete skirting, it’ll seem like your home’s been there forever and can take on any weather. Be aware of building codes while doing so.
Now these panels, most mobile homes have Vinyl On Gypsum (VOG) ones. But if you want to add your style, you can switch them out for something that’s more you. It gives your place that personal touch, you know?
If you’re thinking about skirting, then go for it. Skirting hides the bottom part of your house, the cement thingy, and pipes and keeps snow, junk, and animals away. It’s also like a fashion statement for your home.
Skirting isn’t just boring old lattice or vinyl anymore. You can get this fancy polyurethane stuff that looks like bricks, stones, or rocks, making your mobile home seem like a stick-built home, just like a real house.
Make A Title Forest
I love gardening. But gardening around manufactured homes and stick-built homes are different stories. If you are wondering how to make a trailer home look like a farmhouse, then this is the answer.
Well, some places where you lease land might tell you what you can or can’t plant and handle all the landscaping stuff. But lucky for most of us, we can still plant stuff in our little yards, even if we don’t own the land. Just got to pick plants that can handle it.
Like, don’t put shrubs and trees too close to your home. They need lots of water, and that can mess up your siding and invite pests. Plus, you don’t want trees with roots that go wild. Those roots can mess up your plumbing and the foundation. And guess what? It might mess with your neighbor’s place, too.
Basement Foundations
Basement foundations plays importantly role on trailer home lifespan. For sure, slapping a mobile home in a basement foundation makes it look all fancy, like a regular house. Plus, you score bonus living extra space, and who doesn’t want that? You’ll need to tweak the mobile home a bit to make the basement foundations part work, but a good builder can handle that. A basement foundation can add space and stability to your mobile home.
Having a basement makes your mobile home seem more solid, and you get tons more room for mobile home living and stashing your stuff. Plus, it’s like a super-strong base, boosting your home’s value. This is especially important if you live where bad weather happens a lot.
And here’s the kicker:
Basement foundations are like a superhero for your mobile home’s structure, making it more valuable, especially if you live in places where twisters and wild storms happen a lot.
How To Make A Trailer Home Look Like A House (Interior Version)
Floor Plan
The floor is the first thing people notice when they enter your home. So, how to make a trailer look like a house on the outside? In that case you need to make a floor plan in a way that looks like a stick-built home. Floors matter big time in making a mobile home feel like a real one. They’re all about looks, comfort, and keeping the place cozy.
Now, the right floor can help you save on heating and cooling bills, but you got to think about what the place can handle. People are into lightweight vinyl tiles for mobile home floors these days.
However, don’t just go with people’s choice. Do your research and select which goes best for you.
Kitchen Cabinet
Cabinets are like magic for your home, especially in the kitchen, where you use them a lot. They make your place look better, work better, and up the value, too. I love cooking. That’s why I remodeled my kitchen first. Because you got to make it look fancy to enjoy cooking, at least right.
When you’re picking kitchen cabinets, remember two things: how much space you got and how heavy the stuff is. That weight thing is important ’cause your home’s got to hold it up. Changing your mobile home’s kitchen cabinets makes it super special. But what you can get depends on how much room you got and how your home is built.
Mobile homes aren’t all the same, so you got to check if they can handle the cabinets you want. Measure the space, whether you buy ready-made cabinets or make your own. Also, think about how much room the cabinets will take up ’cause they’ll eat into your kitchen space.
Fancy Bathrooms
Putting in bathroom tiles takes time, but a quick fix is using teak for your bathroom floor. Bathrooms are where you spend lots of time, so it should feel comfy. You use it every day, so why not make it nice?
If you got space, think about adding stuff like tubs, cool showers, or mini spas. We talked about cabinets earlier, and updating your bathroom vanities is the next step. When you make your mobile home look more like a real house, all the rooms should match. If they don’t, it’s not as cool.
So, after you fancy up your cabinets, do the vanities in your bathroom to match. If you wanna go all out, even the linen closets should match the vanities and cabinets. Keep it all in the same style.
Decorating a trailer home
Decorating a trailer home is another easy way to turn it stick build home. You can make it look good without breaking the bank. Like, try painting the mobile home walls light so it feels more open. And pick furniture that does more than one thing. If you have empty spots, use them for storing stuff. Also, put high-gloss white paint on the ceiling to make it seem taller.
But if you have a plan to scrapping your trailer home in future then choose your furniture closely.
Here are some easy and cheap ideas:
- Use big curtains
- Add fancy wall stuff and wainscoting
- Do your own art and decorations
- Show off your cool stuff
- Split rooms with dividers instead of real walls.
- Get some big curtains
- Fancy up the walls
- Make your own art
- Show off your stuff
- Use dividers instead of real walls.
Are Trailer Homes Safe Havens ? Find out more in this essential guide for peace of mind!
Watch The Tutorial
How To Make A Mobile Home Trailer Feel More Like A House!!!
How Much Does It Cost To Turn A Trailer Home Into A House?
A new house can cost from $150,000 to over $600,000, depending on size and location. Converting your mobile home into a site-built house one is way more expensive, like a million bucks more.
But turning your mobile home into a regular house has its perks. You won’t have to deal with pesky health and safety checks that come with modular home models. No need for permits or approvals from state folks! Changing a factory-made house into a regular one is possible and cheap ’cause all you need is wood studs instead of the original steel stuff.
But turning your mobile home into a regular house has its perks. You won’t have to deal with pesky health and safety checks that come with modular home models. No need for permits or approvals from state folks! Changing a factory-made house into a regular one is possible and cheap ’cause all you need is wood studs instead of the original steel stuff.
The cost will only depend on you. The way you want to turn your trailer home will decide the cost. The more fancy, the more spending, right? So, take your bank before jumping into renovations.
How To Make A Mobile Home Look Like A Cabin?
Do you want to do something out of the box? Then, turning your trailer home into a cabin is a clever move. I will give your trailer home a fancy yet unique look. Are you thinking it’s a hassle? Well, it’s not if you know the right way to do it. Just follow the steps, and you will get a fancy cabin-looking trailer home.
- Get some land for your mobile home cabin. Think about if you want it by a lake or near hunting spots.
- Now, move your mobile home onto that land. But first, call the city folks to see what permits you need.
- Take off the wall stuff inside the mobile home and put up new wooden stuff. Turn off the power, pull out the nails, and stick the new stuff in place.
- Put in rustic furniture made of wood. Go for things made from nature, like wooden chairs.
- Get some country-style curtains for the windows, like ones with moose, bears, or fishing stuff. They change the whole look.
- Use fishing, hiking, hunting, or country things in your cabin, like fishing poles as curtain rods or fishing lures for décor.
- Hang animal antlers instead of regular hooks. They’re perfect for cabins. Like, hang your towels on moose antlers in the bathroom. This will give your trailer home a spooky vibe.
And that’s it. Your trailer home isn’t that boring trailer home anymore. It’s now fancy and looks alike a traditional home. But if you mobile home in trailer park then the steps would be different. Because there are different trailer parks and mobile home basics.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Are There Specific Landscaping Tips To Make My Trailer Home’s Surroundings Look More Like A House?
Yes, there are. Add foundation plantings, pathways, and gardens to give your modular homes a house-like appearance. Planting trees and large shrubs strategically can provide shade and privacy. Keep a neat lawn, add outdoor lighting, and, if possible, incorporate a deck or porch.
What Types Of Siding Or Cladding Options Can I Use To Make My Trailer Home Look More Like A Permanent House?
You can use vinyl siding. Vinyl siding is a very popular choice for mobile homes park and site-built homes, with over 30% of new modular homes using it. It is an affordable and durable option that offers aesthetic appeal.
Can You Suggest Some Dye Projects To Improve The Aesthetics Of My Trailer Home’s Façade?
Paint or Reside: Give your home a fresh coat of paint or new siding. Choose colors and materials that suit your style.
Shutters: Install decorative shutters by your windows. Paint them a different color to make them pop.
Front Door Upgrade: Change or paint your front door. Add fancy hardware for a stylish touch.
Build a Porch: If you’ve got space, make a porch or add an awning over your door. It’s functional and looks great.
What Color Schemes And Paint Choices Work Well To Transform The Exterior Of A Trailer Home Into A House?
The exterior of prefabricated homes can be made more attractive with a combination of blue, cream, and brown colors. These colors can be blended together to create a beautiful Indian house color combination for the outdoor walls.
How Can I Create A More Welcoming Entrance For My Trailer Home To Resemble A Traditional House?
1. Lead to the front door.
2. Create a welcoming entrance with lighting and décor.
3. Soften the entrance for a smooth transition.
4. Provide a place to rest and shed outdoor attire.
What Role Do Windows And Doors Play In Making A Trailer Home Look Like A House, And How Can I Choose Them Effectively?
Windows and doors play a crucial role in making a trailer home look like modular homes, as they contribute to the overall aesthetics and style. Windows bring in natural light, making your home feel brighter and more open. Adequate lighting is a hallmark of traditional houses.
Final Thought
Now you don’t have any bother about how to make a trailer home look like a house. I’m sure now you can make your trailer home a fancy regular home or a cabin easily. So, why live in a boring trailer home anymore? Update it into a house and enjoy living there.
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