Category: Manufactured Homes

Decorating a new manufactured home can be an exhilarating experience. New furniture, new décor, new everything—and who doesn't like a fresh start?

Of course, it's possible to get carried away. Since these are affordable homes, you may have a little extra money to spend on furniture. Resist the urge to splurge! Spend some time thinking about your new space. There are certain pieces of furniture that just don't work well in tight quarters. If you're out shopping, we recommend giving these items a pass.

Oversized Items

Space is your most limited resource here, so be sure to use it wisely. Sprawling sofas and large tables are probably going to take up more room than they're worth.

Sharp-Cornered Tables or Shelves

No way around it, walking through a crowded manufactured home can be a bit of an obstacle course, especially for guests that aren't used to narrow walkways. A coffee table with right-angled corners is a spiky, ground-hugging trap for unwary knees. Round tables are more appropriate in manufactured affordable homes.

Always be mindful of how much space you have. You may have to pass on certain furniture pieces, but in the long run you'll appreciate the extra space. 

Green homes are all the buzz now, and rightfully so. As a society, we must learn to live in greater harmony with the environment. How we consume resources at home is a large part of our daily environmental impact.

You may have already begun your effort to reduce your environmental impact by adding low-maintenance sustainable landscaping to your manufactured home. You probably also use eco-smart products to reduce pollutants from everyday tasks like laundry and dishes. But did you know that just by living in a manufactured home, you already contribute to resource conservation?

When compared to a conventional home-and-land combo, constructing your home required three times less material, which also means more energy and resource conservation. In fact, you and your neighbors use 10 to 100 times less energy and resources (propane, water, electricity) than those living in traditional dwellings. Built in a climate-controlled factory, your home is a more efficient product in and of itself.

UMH Properties Inc. proudly designs manufactured homes to make it easy for you to go green in a home that's affordable and built to last. When selecting your next home sweet home, make the choice you can feel good about! 

When they see manufactured homes for sale, many people worry about whether or not they’ll be able to bring their own personalized zen into the home. Luckily, with a few tips, it’s pretty easy to pull off.

Indoors

Focus on bringing natural colors and textures inside. Bamboo shades, cork floors, wood frames, and seagrass accents are all great options. Choose natural, soft fabric, like cotton, in light colors. This unites the two spaces, indoor and outdoor, into one.

Outdoors

The sound of running water from ponds or fountains is always soothing. You can also use big stones, Asian sculptures, and wooden structures to achieve the zen feel you’re striving for.

You want to take advantage of the natural light in your home. It’s also a great idea to place beautiful green plants indoors and outdoors. They add beauty, serenity, and will purify the air around them.

If you’ve decided to look into manufactured homes for sale, or if you already own one, bringing zen to your home is as easy as adding a few simple details. Overall, you want to keep the feel natural, neutral, and tranquil. 

While manufactured houses make great, affordable homes, they sometimes have space challenges, especially when it comes to the needs of a kid’s bedroom. Here are some ideas to make your kid’s bedroom fun and usable at the same time.

Utilize color blocking to mark off different areas. For example, the closet could be a bold red while the desk area may be painted forest green. This breaks up the space and helps teach children where their things belong by color-coding the room.

Save space by combining functional items, like putting a desk underneath a loft bed. This doubles your use per square foot. It’s also enticing to kids who like the idea of the top bunk! If your kids are sharing a room, focus on purchasing bunk beds with storage space underneath the bottom bunk to take advantage of the available space.

Manufactured homes are some of the most affordable homes on the market, which is why they’re so popular with families—and kids get cozy, multifunctional rooms out of the bargain. Make sure to make the most of the space available to ensure that your kids love hanging out in their cool new bedrooms. 

Making the best use of closet space in manufactured homes is much easier and more affordable than you might think. Here are four simple ways to maximize your closet.

1) Hang more with rods and soda tabs

Quadruple your space for hanging clothes by adding an extra row of clothing rods and then slipping soda can tabs onto the hooked part of each of your hangers. The second hole in the tabs can accommodate another hanger.

2) Fill space with shelving

For closets in manufactured homes with too much floor space, filling the area with shelves or pull-out bins allows for more organization.

3) Install a towel rod

Hang a towel rod or two on the inside of the door for easy storage of scarves and ties.

4) Put up a bulletin board

A bulletin board on the closet wall or door is the perfect, tangle-free solution to storing jewelry. Earrings stick right in while necklaces and bracelets can be secured with pushpins.

Use our tried and true tips to make the most of the closet space in your manufactured home.

Whether on a Florida shoreline or in the middle of a Kansas cornfield, manufactured homes are the perfect candidates for cozy, beach-themed getaways—and you don't even have to get away to enjoy them. Here are five tips for creating your own tropical oasis.

1) Paint with Beachy Colors

Painting with colors from light brown and yellow palettes helps mimic the sand while accents in stark whites, aquas, and teals mimic splashes of water, sky, and clouds.

2) Display Nautical-Inspired Artwork and Decor

No beach house would be complete without seashells, starfish, and other nautical elements such as rope, sailboats, and bottles.

3) Provide Ample Lighting

Replacing dark curtains with sheer white ones and adding extra lamps throughout the house brightens manufactured homes, even on a dreary day.

4) Mix Clean, Modern Furniture with Rustic Accents

White or beige sofas with time-worn coffee tables imitate the refreshing but timeless appeal of the beach.

5) Open Up Your Living Spaces

Try to decorate without creating clutter and open shades and curtains periodically to recreate a sunny beach day.

Beach decor can add an inspiring and serene mood to your home. Try these tips to create your perfect getaway. 

Your manufactured home is your castle, and you want it to stand out from all the others. But how? The options seem nearly endless. You might not have as much of a yard to work with as others do, but that does not mean you can't work to maximize your space and help it achieve its ideal beauty. Here are some ideas to make your porch pop:

1) Add a covering: It's amazing how much larger adding a roof over your porch can make your home appear overall. It has the additional benefit of giving you some protection from the elements so you can enjoy your porch at any time.

2) More protection from the elements: If you've got a roof to work with, consider installing screens or plexiglass between the roof and railing, particularly if the lower wall is solid.

3) Landscaping: Whether around just the porch or the entirety of your home, the right landscaping gives your home a distinctive edge. The more colorful, the better.

4) Add a wrap-around: Why have your porch just at the front of the home? If you have the resources, expand the porch to go all the way around your home.

5) Hanging baskets: If you don't want to landscape intensively, these floral arrangements provide a nice pop of color where you need it the most.

6) New furniture: Has it been a while since you changed the chairs on your porch? A simple end table or new rockers will breathe new life into an old structure.

7) Paint: A fresh coat of paint can make your porch seem brand new again. Go brighter, go darker, or do whatever your heart desires.

8) Warm it up: If you've got the space, heating lamps or a fire circle can make your space suitable for all seasons.

9) Expand it: Whether you want to go up or out, make your porch a little larger, if the space allows for it.

10) Change up the materials: Why not add logs or stone? These can be inexpensive and a great way to make the porch look brand new.

With these ideas, you can have the nicest manufactured home around. It's amazing how little changes can make a world of difference for your home. 

Imagine you've been looking for a simple but noticeable way to make your manufactured home stand out from the rest, but you’re having a hard time coming up with just the right touch. Shutters are a simple and relatively cheap way to get just what you're looking for, and they have the extra advantage of providing your home with additional protection from the elements if you use the right sort. This can be particularly advantageous if you live in a coastal area and are apprehensive about hurricanes and the accompanying high winds.

Before you go to the hardware store to make a purchase, consider the type of shutters that would be the best for your particular situation. If you're just looking for a nice external touch for your home, decorative vinyl shutters are your best bet. They're inexpensive, durable, and come in a range of colors and styles, giving you a little bit of personalization to work with. The same can be said of fiberglass shutters, which tend to require a bit more maintenance. Aluminum shutters are a good option if you don't mind sacrificing some aesthetics for functionality and better protection from high winds and flying detritus. They present an affordable and lighter alternative to steel shutters.

When you've made your purchase and you're ready to install the shutters, make sure you've got the right measurements. Drill holes that are big enough for the screws used to attach the shutters to the windows, and make sure you've got anchors to sink them in further. Install the hinges first, and once you've got a solid frame in place, it's time to install the shutters.

After your shutters have been installed, make sure you're taking regular care of them to maintain their integrity throughout the years. With proper care, they should remain functional and provide an extra splash of personality for you manufactured home for years to come. 

At some point, everyone wants a change in their surroundings, regardless of the size of their dwelling. When you live in a manufactured home, it might initially seem like the process would be somewhat easier, especially if you have a smaller space to work with. However, there are some unique challenges when it comes to the painting process in these structures. Picking the right paint is of the utmost importance, as these homes are often in need of a different sort of product.

Most manufactured homes come equipped with vinyl walls. This doesn't necessarily affect your ability to paint over them, provided you use the right materials. Painting also has the added bonus of being cheaper than wallpapering the walls or using another alternative. What you need is paint that is compatible with vinyl or gypsum, or VOG. As the wall material in these homes is different, VOG-friendly paint will adhere to the walls in a way that other paints simply cannot.

As with any painting job, you'll need both paint and primer to complete the task. Use lower-sheen paint, as it will stick to the walls better than something excessively glossy would. This prevents the paint from peeling in the future. You'll also want to make sure before you ever start painting that the walls are clean, as paint does not stick the way it should to dirty walls; cleaner walls also prevent future chips and peels. Buy a top-quality paint and primer. This is not something you want to spare expenses for. The same goes for the brushes and rollers used, as they'll coat the walls better. Finally, paint in several sheer coats, rather than one thick one, for longer-lasting results.

Painting manufactured homes doesn't have to be excessively hard. We hope these tips will help you successfully breathe new life into your dwelling.

When you own a manufactured home, you've got a unique set of challenges to consider. Being mindful of your space makes all the difference, so consider these points for the maintenance and continued welfare of your home.

Keep the Outside Pristine

It might seem like a huge hassle to regularly wash the outside of your house, but it's not nearly as difficult or time consuming as you think. A simple trip to the local hardware store to rent a power washer for use on the exterior can restore the shine in no time.

Stop Ceiling Stains

In more enclosed spaces, there's a higher chance that you'll develop water and smoke stains on the ceiling earlier than you might have expected. Purchase some stain-blocking primer in a neutral color to coat the ceiling tiles, and you'll find it looks better for longer.

Fixture Woes

You'd be surprised to learn that many of the knobs and faucets sold in hardware stores aren't sized to fit manufactured home appliances. Be mindful of this when you go shopping. If possible, find a local supply store that caters to your specific living situation. A quick Internet search will turn up several options.

Mind Your Materials

Often, your walls will be made of different materials than traditional structures. When you purchase new paint or wallpaper, make sure what you're buying is vinyl-suitable, as this is what you'll most likely find inside your residence.

Tend to the Skirting

When the skirting around the base of your manufactured home isn't properly tended to, you'll find the results in heightened energy bills and all sorts of squeaks throughout the house. Checking it regularly ensures that it's maintained properly, and this can ease your mind about costly repairs down the line.

Living small isn't for everyone, but with a few simple tricks, you’ll find it much easier. These tips are here to help you down the road for years to come.