(Originally published on MHVillage.com)

Amazing furniture and decor options exist for every size of manufactured home. For owners of compact manufactured homes, it’s particularly important to pick the mobile home furniture that allows you to maximize your space and create a great interior flow for your home.

Here, we’ll discuss some rules of thumb for choosing mobile home furniture that’s both economical and elegant. In addition, you’ll find some recommendations for mobile home furniture pieces that will look great in a wide variety of mobile home floor plans.

Know your home’s dimensions and examine furniture sizes carefully.

Before you start shopping for furniture, find the dimensions of your mobile home floor plan, either by using a measuring tape or by checking the documentation that came with your home. Remember that walking space between two pieces of furniture should generally be at least 18 inches, and measure your ceiling height as well to ensure that you don’t bring home something that’s too tall.

Use your knowledge of your mobile home’s size and dimensions to narrow down your furniture choices. For example, sofas under seven feet wide, such as the Delacora Newton Hill leather sofa, are great for small spaces. Alternatively, a loveseat like the Home Source fabric loveseat combines well with an accent chair, such as the Uttermost Connolly accent chair, to provide plenty of seating.

Use multi-purpose pieces when you can.

In small spaces, homeowners will want to maximize the utility of every appliance and piece of furniture. A combination of multi-purpose pieces is a popular way to achieve this.

Combination washer-dryers, like the Whirlpool stacked washer dryer combo, are a great example of an efficient design that provides the benefits of two appliances with the footprint of one. Home organizers, such as the Delacora Wallace hall tree, are another versatile solution that can provide many useful functions at once.

If storage space is a concern, consider furniture with built-in storage. Consider a storage bench as a place for storing books, games, records, or other media that also provides a convenient place to sit.

Think about the shape of your furniture.

Furniture shape is a factor that many buyers don’t think about until they’ve gotten their furniture delivered, but in small spaces, it can be incredibly important.

For example, the best tables for manufactured homes are often round because this shape creates a smoother flow between pieces of furniture. A smaller round dining table, such as the Safavieh Torin, is a great choice for the dining room, and round coffee tables like the Hekman Bedford Park can provide an outstanding living room centerpiece.

Home accent pieces can be used to complement or contrast with the existing shapes and colors in a room. An angular piece, like the Ren Wil Lee vase, is great for offsetting a room with lots of round furniture.

Don’t neglect the power of lighting.

Lighting can be your secret weapon in framing your other furniture—and your entire home—with a pleasant ambiance.

Recessed lighting is a particularly popular option for the subtlety that it allows and for its negligible space footprint. Smart home lighting control systems, such as the Lutron Caseta Wireless Smart Lighting in-wall dimmer kit, are great for those who want the latest tech, and many homeowners love their ability to control an entire home’s worth of lights with a few taps of a smartphone app.

Lamps are another home essential. Floor lamps with small footprints, such as the Adesso Blythe, are particularly popular for manufactured homes, and attractive ceiling lighting, such as the Feiss Finnegan chandelier, can give your home a modern ambiance with zero footprints.

Buy in sets.

Buying furniture sets helps give your manufactured home decor a cohesive and structured look. Dining room sets are especially popular for the attractive centerpiece that they provide. Some prefer a traditional wood dining set, like what’s shown in the image below, that gives the home a more rustic look.

Others like the always-stylish mid-century modern look such as you’ll find in the Delacora Urban Blend five-piece dining set. Many homeowners also like living room furniture sets for their harmonized look, which can make a space feel more restful and secure. For example, an end table set, such as the Home Source Marble Three-Piece Wood Framed Accent Table Set, is a perfect subtle touch that can tie a space together.

Furnishing a manufactured home is a journey that never quite ends. Most people swap out various items throughout their time living in a home. Just start with some elegant essentials and build-out and you’ll have a fully-furnished home before you know it!