If you haven’t heard, we bought a camper. ???? We have shared our camper project all week over on our Instagram stories. When the contractors start the major projects on our house, we wanted a place to have our meals, relax, and to use as a shelter if it rains. It is a 2003 Trail Bay camper that was very outdated. Wait…. I think they are all pretty much outdated. Why don’t they make campers with a little style. ????
Anyways, the budget is low for this camper renovation, because we are saving for the house. Therefore, we are using a few things that we already have in our stash. Since it was around 60 degrees here in Indiana this week, we decided it would be great to start painting EVERYTHING white. If you missed it, there was a painting mishap in December. We warmed up the camper to 70 degrees inside and started painting. The paint ran every place there was a metal wall beam inside the walls from the condensation of it being too cold outside. So that’s why this week was perfect for this project. Here is how we painted the cabinets in the camper.
The cabinets in the camper are laminate, which basically means they are a fake wood. It takes A LOT of work to paint over a laminate because most paints will not stick to it. I used this same technique when I painted our laminate cabinets in the tiny house we owned and it worked excellent. I know there are a lot of different paints that may work well when painting laminate cabinets, but we used what we had on hand. ????
We started by removing the cabinet doors and removing the knobs and hinges. We used a DeGlosser on all of the doors and frames. It’s a liquid that roughens up the surface and helps paint adhere better. We then lightly sanded each with 120 grit sand paper.
After thoroughly wiping them all down from the sanding dust, we decided to use a paint/primer in one from Kilz in white and in semi-gloss. We used a brush for the deeper crevices first, and then used a roller to finish it off. The roller makes it look smoother for a final coat.
We ended up giving them three coats because we wanted them to be solid white, but you could always sand them after they dry if you want the distressed look.
Can you believe they used to look like this?
We haven’t touched the bathroom… so obviously we will be painting the walls and the vanity. We are getting a new toilet, a new sink and faucet in the bathroom as there are a few issues with both, and a new sink and faucet for the kitchen.
We will be installing a laminate flooring that looks like wood floors throughout. I have a few different wallpapers being delivered next week. One has a wood wall ($14) look to use as a backsplash and maybe the wall behind the bed. And another is a woodland theme ($30) with birds and branches. They are both so inexpensive and I think will look so good for the them I am wanting to do.
I have curtains and blinds picked out but haven’t solidified my choices yet. We are doing something fun with the bedroom cabinet doors by making them look like antiques. And… we are going to try to buy something to cover the countertops, but haven’t figure that out yet. Stay tuned for that.
I’m SO HAPPY with how the cabinets turned out. Like I said above, I know there are several other methods of painting laminate cabinets, but I’ve used this method before and it worked very well. AND, we had all of these products already.
Have you ever renovated a camper before? We are both having so much fun. It feels like we are flipping a house on wheels. Let me know what you think about the progress so far.
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Deb & Danelle, it’s absolutely gorgeous!!
Thank you so much!
Excellent ????????????????????????????????great job❤️
Thank you! It’s a fun project.
Your style is Beautiful and you make it look so easy, seamless at times. I enjoy following along and getting tips for my own renovations.
Awww. thanks so much!
Looks really good. I’m remodeling our camper right now. Working on the cabinets in the kitchen. I sanded mine lightly, then applied Glidden Gripper primer ( works awesome for paint to stick to) It’s a job, but the outcome looks so much better like you said. 🙂
Yes… it sure is a big job. But when it’s done, you look back and see how much better it looks. Have fun.
We have a Motorhome that I wish you could help my hubby with since I am having a total shoulder replacement this coming Tuesday. I would give anything to have him redo our 2001 Motorhome. But I don’t think he wants to spend any time on it! Oh well maybe some day we will upgrade. LOL
hahaha I get it. It’s a project, that’s for sure. It’s been so fun though.
Is the cabinet color “Pure White” as well?
No… the cabinets are just semi-gloss paint right off the shelf.
Gorgeous ladies. Y’all can take a turd and make it beautiful. So enjoy you both.
ahahahaha Awww thank you!
I am renovating right now! This was so helpful. Can’t wait to see you do the flooring. We to are doing vinyl wood plank. I was thinking about doing the vinyl wood planks behind the bed for a headboard look. Thanks for the instructions ❤️
Yay… We will be using vinyl flooring also… that looks like wood.
You two could make anything beautiful! I love this so much! You know you have us all shopping Marketplace and Craigslist for campers now! LOL I would sure love to see what you could do to my 480 sf house. It needs your touch! Can’t wait to see what else you do to the camper. So much fun to watch.
ahaha awww thanks. I have several more projects up my sleeve on this little camper. Stay tuned.
What a difference! I can’t wait to see the end of this budget makeover! I’m sure it’s going to be gorgeous.
Thanks…. I’m having so much fun. I forgot how fun it is to flip something.
This is all beautiful. I am anxious to see how you style it when completed!
Thank you! I’m very excited to complete it.
I think whatever D & D do turns out beautifully.
hahah Awww.. thank you.
I can’t believe it’s the same camper. It looks so amazing! WTG!!
Thank you. I have LOVED working on it this week. I have so many more things planned.
I wished that you both could come and redo our camper. I look forward to watching you guys so much. Very down to earth ladies. ❤️
Thanks so much! We have had so much fun this week.
You girls make an amazing team. So much enjoying your work on the camper and can’t wait until you start on the house.
Yay… thank you. I’m so excited to start the house too. But I sure am enjoying this camper project.
Cannot tell you (though I previously did) how much I LOVE the transformation. I despise the ugly camper interiors that don’t appear to have changed in 70 years. And the ‘valances’ and where do they find the most unattractive, nausea inducing fabric patterns and the overload of faux brass, faux wood spindles??? It is hideous!!! Had a ‘park model’ trailer in the mud 90’s that I cutified and added a room. EVERYTHING you are doing is PERFECTION!!! You’ve gotten rid of the obnoxious ceiling cabinets & nullified the icky faux ugly wood by painting it out. I do love a creamy dreamy looking interior. The touch of green adds a lot (though I like them real lol). Love seeing the magic transpire. You’re such an inspiration and more importantly, SO MUCH FUN!!!
hahaha awww thank you. I agree. I swear that is one area of decor that hasn’t evolved. I have no clue why either.
I have been wanting to do this with our older 5th wheel trailer.
Can you please share what paint and color that you used?
Thank you so much!
This is soooo beautiful!
Pardon my error. I have gone back to re-read and see that you used Kiltz Paint and Primer in white!
Thank you for your constant inspiration!
thanks for the kind words.????
Looks great so far! I would like to know who designs the campers. It certainly couldn’t be a woman!????
hahaha Oh my gosh…. They are so UGLY… I have no clue why they haven’t stepped up their game. It’s 2020.
Lovely and fresh!! Well done! ????
My countertops were hideous and I painted them (Walmart paint) then applied several coats of poly. They were wonderful and held up just great!
Thank you. I think I’m going to try the sticky paper. I’ve seen it done before.
It looks so good!! I absolutely love the bunny print and fiddle leaf fig. They take away that camper feel and make it look like a home.
Thank you. We have had a blast working on it this past week.
So cute! My husband just started looking at RV’s so all your tips will come in handy!
Yay… we have had a blast.
I just love this! At first glance, I didn’t realize it was your camper I was looking at! Can’t wait to see your other renovations! 🙂
Wow! Not only on the transformation, but for all the work involved. Great job.
Looks so good, I love it. Can hardly wait to see the rest. ????????????????????????
Thank you. I’m excited.
I’m curious. You didn’t do a finish coat of water based poly? Everything I’ve read said to do that. Of course I would love to skip that step. What’s your experience with that?
We did not. I’ve never done that when I painted cabinets. I, however, have never painted camper cabinets before but for as little as we will use them, I’m not worried.
[…] We did receive our white curtains and curtain rods, so those will be installed soon. I cannot wait to see what those look like. We have touch-up painting to finish on the cabinets and walls. We haven’t touched the bathroom, so the walls and vanity both need two coats of paint. We will be painting the vanity just like the kitchen cabinets. […]
They look amazing! Did you put a top coat, finish, sealer? My wife and I are going to repaint our cabinets seen.
I love the cabinets! I don’t know why a camper manufacturer cannot get up to date on there interior design! I can’t wait to see the finished project!
Did you remove the wallpaper border? If so, how did you get rid of the stickiness?
Yes, we removed it. And I don’t think there was any stickiness left. It all scraped off.
What color of white do you use? Looking to do while and brown theme in living room like you have. I love it!!!
Also I just love watching you two, lovely couple and you make me laugh????
Thanks for reading,
Nan in Ohio
hahaha awww thanks. I used plain white on the cabinets. The walls are SW Pure White
[…] that made THE BIGGEST difference was removing some of the upper cabinets. And, of course, painting the remainder ones white. We removed a few in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, and all of them in the living […]
This is amazing! You both have the most beautiful taste in everything. I’m not surprised the camper looks like a 5 star hotel! Love your blog and all of your ideas xo