Thirteen years ago, Theresa Smith was a single mother of three, moving back from a job overseas, with one week to find a new home. She ordered a 28- by 72-foot mobile home with as few walls as possible, so it would feel light and open. Five years later, she married Craig Smith, and they built a new home together. Soon after, the Smiths decided to go into the antiques business, selling at shows around the country, so moving back to her mortgage-free mobile home made sense. Inside this four-bedroom, 2,016-square-foot home, Theresa proves that "it isn't the structure you live in, it's what you do with it that makes it a home."
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
A double-wide mobile home on two acres of land offers a home base for Theresa and Craig Smith, who travel nearly half the year for their antiques business and their Elizabethtown shop, Cottage Gardens.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
An actual front porch, with mail still in the mailbox, from a house in Louisville now graces Theresa's sun room.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
Craig Smith makes and sells candelabra such as this one out of old lamp parts. Find the Smiths' work at their store, Cottage Gardens, in Elizabethtown, Ky., and at the Marburger Antique Show in Texas the first weekend in October.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
Theresa chose garden furniture for the kitchen because "the glass top and airy lines don't stop the eye." The chandelier is one of 14 in the house.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
Antique antics find plenty of room for expression here. At last count, Theresa had 130 ironstone butter pats. "They have no purpose, I just like their looks," she says.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
Theresa found a cache of old, heavy enamel letters and sold all but these three.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
Red walls in Theresa's studio are the one exception to her home's ivory rule. An old restaurant prep table serves as a desk. Metal security grates are now bulletin boards.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
A commercial sink provides a sleek counterpoint to all the peeling paint.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
Space limited? Try layering upward. Theresa used architectural elements to punctuate walls and shelves. Removed from their original purpose, they form intriguing silhouettes in the kitchen. Theresa replaced standard-issue oak cabinets with vintage cupboards and even a Sellers cabinet (left). An old store counter (foreground) now serves as a work island.
Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: A Double-Wide Mobile Home
Keith Scott Morton
