Smart Storage Solutions for Mobile Homes
If you live in a mobile or manufactured home, you’re probably always looking for more storage unless your kids are grown and their old bedrooms are now your personal sewing, TV, or craft havens. Until then, finding enough space to store everything can feel impossible! So, adding more storage to our mobile home has always been a priority.
When every corner is full of family belongings, getting creative and doing a bit of “storage detective work” is the best way to reclaim usable space.
Understanding Mobile Home Storage Challenges
Mobile home owners face unique limitations. Most homes don’t have basements or attics, leaving fewer hidden places to stash belongings.
Many newer models have 7/12 roof pitches or higher, which create limited crawl or storage spaces. However, single-wide mobile homes often have flat ceilings, and double-wides with 5/12 pitch roofs rarely allow anything beyond insulation—no attic, no crawl space, and no storage!
These design realities mean you have to think vertically and make the most of what you have inside your walls.
How We Added More Storage to Our Mobile Home
Discovering Hidden Space in Our Remodel
During our primary bedroom and bathroom renovation, we completely gutted the area. Including a dreary walk-in closet and a small utility closet housing our water heater and storage tank.
When the walls came down, we discovered an unused space about 3’x5′ wide, hidden behind the water heater and up against the living room wall. It wasn’t just empty; it was tall enough to hold high shelving if we could design it properly. Jackpot!
Creating Our Plan: Making It Work
We decided to transform the old walk-in closet into a shared clothing area and workspace for me. Since we already needed to replace the water heater and rebuild part of the utility wall, we went all in and built a brand-new closet in the hidden space we found.
This new closet would be separate from the bedroom area, yet accessible from the living room, perfect for coats, seasonal items, or overflow storage. The living room wall once had no door or opening, so adding one completely changed the space’s usefulness.
The Building Process and Materials
After cutting out the wallboard and confirming there were no utilities in the way, we made the necessary plumbing upgrades. To match our home’s cozy aesthetic, we finished the space with white bead board, giving it a clean, cottage feel—no painting needed!
For the back wall, we used Plytanium DryPly by Georgia Pacific, the same water-resistant plywood we’d used for our master bath subfloor. It offered extra protection from potential moisture behind the utility closet.
We added custom shelving, laminate flooring, and a new door, and just like that, our once-dead wall became a fully functional living room closet.
Our Favorite Products
One of our go-to materials is Plytanium DryPly plywood, ideal for damp areas. We also love affordable, ready-to-assemble shelving like this stand-alone shelving unit that we used later to maximize our closet’s efficiency.
Each small closet remodel we completed cost under $25 using simple plywood shelves, proof that big improvements don’t require big budgets.
Final Thoughts: Finding Storage Opportunities Everywhere
Closets in mobile homes often waste valuable space near the ceiling. You can reclaim that upper area with DIY shelving, wood panels over wire racks, or free-standing storage units.
Look around your rooms with fresh eyes. Sometimes the best storage solutions are hiding right before your eyes, behind your walls or above your head.
Have you found clever ways to create extra storage in your mobile home? Share your ideas in the comments. We’d love to hear what’s worked for you.
Happy remodeling!
~ From The McGees
Check out our other post about finding hidden spaces to add storage here.
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This post was updated 12/2022
We just purchased a 1978 double. How do we find out if there are hidden spaces?
Good use of space.
I have a question, what if you decide to paint the walls of the home, what does it have to be done in order for the paint not to peel? I have a dreaded flower type walls on my kitchen that I can't wait to get rid of, but don't know how to do it. Thank you
@rbourgetgras- Thanks for your post…
We have successfully painted walls like the ones you describe by roughing up lightly with a sanding block…then using a good primer. However, Lowes and Home Depot both sell a good paint with primer in it and I've used that successfully as well. But to be sure, using a primer and then a good paint with primer may be the sure way to go.
We have also covered the wall board with flat, paintable wall paper. It's accepts pretty well. However, the kind you buy at the big box stores that are textured and very smooth do not take paint very well without being easily scratched.
My grandmother painted smooth paneling in her older mobile home years ago and it accepted paint after priming very well.
Good luck with getting rid of the floral mess!
I have successfully repainted my ugly floral walls in my sngle wide. I did not even use sandpaper to rough up. All I did was put 2 coats of Zinsser 123 primer and used a better quality paint in eggshell base ( I used Vaspar). I have had no problems with peeling paint. Walls turned out beautiful!
Thanks for visiting, Joy, and for sharing your experience. Painting these walls is a good and inexpensive way to improve the room. Enjoy your brighter spaces!