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 It is a 2003 Trail Bay camper that was very outdated.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 I think they are all pretty much outdated.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.