First Look Inside Our New Double-Wide

So, this is what it looks like inside a double-wide. These are the before photos, taken the first time I stepped inside. Ours is a Titan manufactured home, which was delivered to us in one piece and parked on our land. These homes are very customizable, though options are limited. For example, I would've liked white cabinetry in the kitchen, but that wasn't a choice. I do like these the dark wood cabinets, though, and I love the dark hardwood floors. Vinyl flooring and wall-to-wall carpeting are standard for these homes, but I think the hardwood flooring we added to the living room and bedrooms was a worthwhile splurge. We also upgraded to sheetrock (as opposed to vinyl) walls in those rooms, and I'm really glad we did. We wouldn't have chosen the light fixtures or curtains that came with the place, but those are easy enough to replace.

I love the big island, stainless steel appliances and deep sink, and I like how the silver hardware ties it all together. The faux marble vinyl flooring looks a little crazy in this picture, but it was the most neutral, light-colored option we had. I do like how the flooring and countertops offset the dark wood.

Here's the hallway that leads to the laundry room, five bedrooms and two bathrooms. It's a bit dark here because manufactured homes don't come with light bulbs. That makes sense, since they'd probably all shatter while the house was being bounced down the highway. But nobody warned us about this little quirk, so before we could unpack we had to make the 30-minute drive to and from Home Depot to get all the lights screwed in before nightfall.

The shower curtains match the living room curtains. Eek! This is the smaller of the two bathrooms, both of which have the standard vinyl walls. Lotta faux marble going on around here. The vinyl triple-threat of walls, sink countertop and flooring kind of looks like a neutral-colored sponge painting gone awry, but a little decor will make a big difference (just wait for the AFTER shot!) and it'll be easy to clean. Plus, when I look at the bathrooms, I have no regrets about paying extra to get sheetrock walls throughout the rest of the house.

This is one of the five bedrooms, where we'll fit two bunk beds. This room has a large closet, which is a big bonus for our bunker.

Here's another future bunk room, but for the first night we nestled three mattresses side by side, and my tween-aged cousins generously shared it with Archie (and his narwhal, spotted eagle ray and marine iguana stuffed animals). He talked so much that they may never offer to share a room with him again, but I'm glad they gave the little guy a chance. When I look back at the summers I spent upstate as a kid, the best part was bunking with my cousins. We are so ready to make some more happy memories in our new double-wide pad.