L.A. Designer turns $5,200 Mobile Home into...

Apr 29, 2016

  

You Would Never Believe This Was A Mobile Home-

Not too long ago, this fantastic coastal home was once little more than a mobile home, listed for little to nothing.

This story begins when L.A. Designer, Amy Shock, decided to simplify a bit, and downsize from her 4 bedroom home in Beverly Hills. From the start, Amy knew she wanted to create a living- working retreat which featured the glass walls and other midcentury designs of her posh Trousdale neighborhood, but on a smaller, more manegable scale. After spending weeks searching through various real estate ads, she came upon a modest, double-wide, metal mobile home for sale. She purchased the quaint mobile home three years ago for the unbelievable price of $5,200.

Over the course of roughly a year, she transformed that 800 sq ft mobile home into this unbelievable home with incredible, wrap around views of the Oaji Valley. (click to enlarge)

 

The mobile home Amy purchased had been stagnant- sitting on the market for roughly 5 years before she found it. Apparently, the "short lot size" discouraged other potential buyers. Still, the lot spans 3,600 square feet and features wraparound views, beautiful foliage including a variety of matured trees, and tons of natural wildlife . Additionally, from this trailer, there were  no other trailers in sight from inside, making the home feel far removed from its location in the Mira Valle Senior Mobile Home Park.

Keeping only 2 windows and the original door, Amy stripped everything else away. After installing all new plumbing and electrical, a 500 sq ft addition was incorporated with the home and now serves as a painting studio. The addition of a second bathroom gives the home a fun, "U" shaped layout. Amy, in a recent LA Times Interview which you can find here :http://www.latimes.com/home , talks about the flexibility of the space: "There's a million ways that I can swap the rooms around," says the designer.

Her remodeling efforts don't stop at the home itself either. Amy doubled the size of the existing deck, creating a warm, inviting "L" shaped covered porch which looks over the breath taking Oaji Valley; and also provides the perfect place for entertaining guests and family alike. 

For the kitchen, Amy chose a compact design with an efficient work triangle (cooktop, fridge, and sink all installed on an open island). Her efficiency continued in dealing with the minimal storage problem with the home's limited space. For this, Shock had the great idea to have the majority of the storage delegated to cabinets which are on wheels, so they are easy to move about the home and keep the open air feeling of the space in tact. 

 

There was one are in which Amy splurged, and in doing so completely changed the facade of the one metal mobile home. Floor to ceiling glass panels replaced walls. However, these were not just your run-of-the-mill glass panels. The designer opted for Fleetwood UV protective glass panels which were special ordered and came in at a whopping $40,000. Each of these unique glass panels was accompanied by a custom metal frame which was bolted and welded  into place by metalworker and custom car builder Ian Roussel. Although a steep price to pay, the designer says it was worth it, "It helps with both UV and solar heat gain," says Shock.

Despite the surplus of glass, the rooms feel private. "It was careful positioning of the glass versus the solid area," explains Shock who has remodeled many homes. "Something that I would do for any single-family home."

So at the end of the day, how much did this home remodel cost Amy Shock? Well- more than she had expected; roughtly $180,000 including the original purchase price of the mobile home. A price which, compared to the average cost of a house in SoCal (around $450,000), is astouding in it's value, especially considering the results. Amy reports being thrilled with the results. "This was my opportunity to build a house for myself with the money I had in my pocket," she says. "I liked the idea of having something with a high-end feel but the initial outlay wasn't very much."

And as if the investement couldnt get any sweeter, Amy tells us that she pays roughly $700 a month to the home owners association at the mobile park, but is able to avoid property taxes because she doesn't own the land.

Shock ends with saying "I have a free-and-easy lifestyle," she says. "I've got everything I wanted here."

What else could a home owner want? Amy's mind blowing transformation of this quaint mobile home into something straight out of any high end designer magazine proves that with the right ideas, right people, and an open mind, size just doesnt matter; any space can be transformed into room or home of your dreams.