When it comes to mobile home exteriors, most people still picture them as drab, uninspired, white, boxy structures lined up next to each other in completely indistinguishable units. However, that’s a very outdated (and wrong) perception. Today, manufacturers and designers create mobile homes for a wide range of budgets, sizes, styles, etc. At times, these homes are even the focal point of architectural and design projects. On multiple levels, mobile homes are being designed to explore different facets of housing solutions.
MOBILE HOME EXTERIOR – THINGS TO LEARN
Mobile home exteriors can vary in appearance depending on the design and materials used. Here are some common elements and options you might find in mobile home exteriors:
Siding: Mobile homes typically have siding materials such as vinyl, aluminum, or wood. Vinyl siding is popular due to its durability, low maintenance requirements, and variety of colors and textures. Aluminum siding is another common option known for its lightweight nature and resistance to corrosion. Wood siding, although less common, can give a more traditional or rustic look to a mobile home.
Skirting: Skirting is used to enclose the space beneath the mobile home, providing a finished appearance and helping to insulate the structure. Skirting materials can include vinyl, metal, or concrete panels. It is available in various styles and colors to match the overall aesthetics of the home.
Roofing: Mobile home roofs typically consist of metal or asphalt shingles. Metal roofs are durable, fire-resistant, and can last a long time with proper maintenance. Asphalt shingles are a more affordable option and come in different colors and styles.
Windows and Doors: Mobile homes have windows and doors designed specifically for their dimensions. Windows can be made of vinyl or aluminum frames with single or double glazing. The doors are usually made of steel, fiberglass, or wood, and may include features like security locks and energy-efficient designs.
Porches and Decks: Some mobile homes may have attached porches or decks, providing additional outdoor living space. These can be made of various materials such as wood, composite decking, or concrete. Adding a porch or deck can enhance the aesthetics and functionality of the mobile home exterior.
Landscaping: Enhancing the mobile home’s exterior can include landscaping elements such as flower beds, shrubs, trees, or pathways. Adding these elements can improve curb appeal and create an inviting outdoor environment.
This means more beautiful and unique mobile homes for consumers. It also means there are some truly amazing conceptual designs that test our beliefs about what’s possible. To show you exactly what you mean, here are some of the most unique mobile home exteriors we could find.
This hyper-modern and minimalist prefab mobile home comes from the firm Office of Mobile Design. Architect/visionary Jennifer Siegel started OMD in order to “explore her obsession with the transitory.” She has multiple award-winning projects under her belt. She and her team design and build incredible works of art in the form of modular or mobile homes such as the Taliesin MOD.FAB.
The best way to describe this mobile home is that it’s as if someone just sliced off a block of a modern office building and planted it on a movable chassis. It’s certainly far different from the first images that spring to mind when someone says “manufactured housing.” Even more surprising is that this model can travel on public roads, just like a mobile home. It’s also built with sustainability in mind for desert climates which is another impressive feat.
The exterior can best be summarized as “sleek.” It’s full of clean lines and sharp, modern colors. It also features two outside decks. One is on the one end of the structure and the other is right in the middle, between the red and white exterior walls. It’s equally easy, and plausible, to imagine this experimental design as either a home or a small office space. It’s won multiple awards including the Sunset Magazines Best Green Home Award. Students from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture built the home.
THE VISTA – CHAMPION HOME BUILDERS
We’re not the only ones who think that The Vista by Champion Home Builders is an exceptional piece of manufactured home design. In 2017, the Manufactured Home Institute gave it the New Manufactured Home Design-320-600 Square Feet (Small Home) award. From the outside, it certainly doesn’t look like 99% of the manufactured homes in existence which, in this case, is a good thing. Who are we to go against an award-winner anyway?
One common complaint people have of manufactured homes is their boxy designs. None of those complaints can be leveled against The Vista. It has a unique 3-section design, sloping roof, and two, beautiful, outdoor porches. The exterior also provides plenty of extra functional living space. A porch sits on the ground floor and there is another on the roof, reachable by an elegantly spiraling stairway. Different styles of wall panels between the two exterior wall sections also further highlight the differences between the two.
Colors have also been used to great effect with a blend of white, soft blues, and dark grey to give it a modern, understated, and eye-pleasing look that further breaks up the structure. With a great eye for detail, the shapes of the windows, doors, and supports have also been highlighted with white. Although it’s technically an interior feature, the snowy white window shutters fit in perfectly with the exterior design. Its color and style would make it look completely at home in a dry area or in a beach location.
Wheelhaus specializes in creating beautiful modular homes with a rustic outdoor feel. Their designs look right at home anywhere in the wilds or in the suburbs with earthy colors and natural materials used throughout. Their Roadhouse Wedge RV is an adaptation of their larger (yet, still tiny) Wedge. The modifications made it even smaller at 250 sq. ft. as well as mobile. With its ultra-compact design, it’s definitely not hard to see yourself traveling the country with this beauty and setting up home wherever there are beautiful views to be found.
The Roadhouse Wedge can easily be seen taking on any role from a tiny home to a backyard office space to a guesthouse. It’s a true nature lover’s home. A porch extends the living space and gives the home some fresh air. With clerestory windows running all around the structure, there is plenty of natural light and a 360° view of the outside. The interior itself is a design marvel and would probably make it onto a “most unique interiors” list as well.
The exterior design is surprisingly toned down from the original Wedge. For example, you won’t find the same beautiful wood paneling along the exterior walls. However, it’s still a superb combination of a rustic feel and modern minimalism with clean lines, earthy colors, and a sleek shape. Some of our favorite touches are the ceiling that extends from the interior to the exterior and its tall design that makes the whole house feel more spacious.
CABOOSE
One look at this tiny home and it’s not hard to see where it got its name. The inspiration for this home’s structural design, by Jamie Mackay with his company Wheelhaus, comes from that of a real caboose. Historically, the caboose served as quarters for the train crew at the end of the train in pretty grimy conditions. However, this gorgeous mobile home provides luxury accommodation in a tiny space. Its unique looks make it one of Wheelhaus’ flagship models.
Just like most of their other homes, it has a very outdoors lodge-like feel to it. This appeal comes from the gabled roof and wooden walls consisting of rustic ranch wood siding panels. However, despite its cabin-in-the-woods type appeal, it’s still very obviously a contemporary and professionally designed home. The raised section of the ceiling is much more than just a visual node to a caboose and is actually a sleeping loft – a very space-efficient addition that just happens to contribute to its unique look and feel.
Another thing we like about the exterior of this home is that it comes with plenty of extra outdoor space with no less than three decks. One is just a small porch for the main door while there is a small deck on the one end and a much larger one on the other. The different shades of brown used throughout the exterior do an amazing job of making it feel more natural and creating visual interest while still remaining consistent in terms of style.
WILDWOOD LAKEFRONT COTTAGES
West Coast Homes is known for their beautifully designed park model homes. They strike a perfect balance between being modern-chic and the ideal nature getaway type of accommodation. This specific model is an adaptation of their San Juan model made especially for Wildwood Lakefront Cottages, which it is also named after. Like their other homes, one of the first things you notice about the extraordinary exterior design is the multiple colors used, in this case, white grey, and oak or walnut wood.
This striking combination really makes it feel like a country cottage. It’s no surprise that West Coast Homes’ models are so popular among resorts or communities consisting largely of vacation homes. A mental painting of this home nestled in between pine woods and a lake invites a pretty picture. What makes it so unique is its shape. The variety of elements are just as functional as they are easy on the eyes.
For example, the home features an instantly noticeable raised roof with clerestory windows running right around it and a slightly pitched roof. There is also a second eave running around one end of the home where the roof would have normally been. This acts as a shade for the bay window. It also features a large end-to-end covered porch. With the customization options, this home can be even more unique with features like upper roof decks, different colors, and stone bbq pits.
TRAILERWRAP
TrailerWrap is a collaborative design-and-build project. It explores the issues of sustainable and affordable design from the perspective of trailer parks in America. This model you see here was just one of the results of their attempts to create an exciting, small-scale, and affordable home. One that would be equally habitable in a trailer park as well as in an high-density urban environment. The results are certainly striking. At first, it’s not even apparent that this is (or was) a mobile home at all.
For this home, the team stripped an older mobile home down to its chassis. They reinforced this chassis and used it to build the new home. The huge, slanted roof is not only a unique feature for mobile homes but also makes the home seem imposing and much larger than it is. It also provides plenty of shade. The home features an uninterrupted chain of clerestory windows running beneath the roof.
The grey walls blend perfectly into the wooden slats in the middle and the enclosure for the porch. This provides a view of the outside while still providing a bit of privacy. It is truly a contemporary and highly-attractive design. At night, the home is breathtaking as the light shines out the windows and glances off the wooden slats. From the outside, this unique looking mobile home could just as well be a modern office or co-working space as a luxury tiny home.
KID ROCK
Now, for a bit of celebrity news. Kid Rock is well known for some of his… interesting public behavior and comments. However, he took it to a whole new level with his manufactured home that he painted top to bottom in hunting camouflage. Yes, you read that right – Kid Rock lives in a manufactured home. And yes, he painted it all in camo. So proud is he of his home that he’s currently writing a song about a “mountaintop Tennessee home” dedicated to his own located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Funny enough, Kid Rock only went for a trailer in the first place because he didn’t have the patience for contractors to finish a stick-built home. However, once he heard about the modifications he could make to the models, including the “mossy oak” camo it’s currently covered in, he was sold. The rest of the home is more standard with a pleasing green roof and a big wooden outdoor deck perfect for looking over his mountaintop view.
Despite being camouflaged, this home is far from being hard to spot. It’s sheer size as well as it’s perched position above the mountain lake makes it an obvious site, even without the unique paint job. Even with his fame and fortune, Kid Rock stated that downsizing his life and moving to a mobile home was a fulfilling move. He likes that it is both economical and gave him the ability to make custom modifications.
MORE ON MOBILE HOME EXTERIORS…
That’s it for some of the most unique mobile home exteriors out there! Do you already live in a mobile home and want a unique exterior that increases your curb appeal or makes your house stand out from the crowd? If so, then you should check out our series on mobile home exterior remodels. We cover everything to help you with your DIY project. Of course, it’s not only mobile home exteriors that can be unique. There are some truly gorgeous and inspirational mobile home interiors out there as well.
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