We bought a camper! ???? If you missed the ORIGINAL before pictures, I talked all about it in this post. Yesterday, we started the demo. I do have to say, it was so FUN ripping it apart! The ugliness of it all was too much to bare. ???? Why do they make campers so ugly? Granted, ours is a 2003 but from what I hear, they haven’t come too far in that department. Unless you want to pay $1.5 million for an RV that has all of the bells and whistles. I wanted to share what we got done on day one of the camper demo, and answer a few questions that keep popping up over on Instagram.
A: We LOVE to camp. We have talked about buying another camper for years, but living in town, we had no place to store it. We had a small camper years ago that we spruced up. I say spruced up because we simply added wallpaper and curtains and made it look so much better by doing those two things. That thing was so little and janky on the outside but we thought it was THE BEST. We have such fond memories of it. As soon as we pulled into the state park, we would walk around to see if we had the jankiest camper. We always wanted it to be. ???? Because if you are going to be JANK… you want to be the worst JANK… Not have 2-3 janks below you. ????
Also…. we are building in a woods. When we are there working on the property, we don’t want to have to sit in our truck to eat lunch, relax, etc. If it starts raining, we want to be able to sit and relax until it stops. AND, if we just want to hang out and have a campfire and spend the night, we can. We only live 15 minutes away from the site, but we thought it would be best to be able to stay there if we want.
A: We LOVE projects. We have always wanted to renovate one. We found this for a great deal and thought it would be fun to do while we wait on the house. And, besides… did you see the thing? ???? I have said before that we love to be surrounded by pretty things. We cannot live amongst boxes, dirt, ugliness. We CAN, but we feel more at ease and less anxious when things are in order.
Um…… camp? ???? Remember… we LOVE camping. If we find ourselves not wanting to camp anymore, we sell it. We have already had 2-3 people approach us to let them know when and if we ever sell it.
This question has been asked a million times over on Instagram. ???? It really makes me laugh. Have you seen the kitchen in the rental? I have NO STORAGE. I have a little strip of upper and lower cabinets that are so small they won’t even hold my dishes, so I improvised. You should know enough of my shenanigans by now that I have lots planned. Besides. It’s Deb and I. We don’t require much when we camp. Quoting Deb when I told her people keep asking this question: “It’s you and I. We don’t shower when we camp, we don’t change clothes. All we need is alcohol, a lighter to start a fire, and a hot dog stick.” ????????????????????
A: It’s a RENTAL…. we don’t own it. We asked the owner if we could paint the walls white before we moved in so that I could still run my business out of a house that looks decent. She paid for the paint. We did the time. The overall feel of my business doesn’t include lime green and bright yellow walls. Why would we put our hard earned money into a house that isn’t ours? We will get nothing back out of it when we leave. Therefore, we are putting lipstick on a pig…aka painting. That’s it. It doesn’t make sense to us to use all of our time renovating a house that isn’t ours. We will never get anything back from that time we put in, let alone any money.
AND….. Once it is Winter here in Indiana, there will be no camper renovations. There will be basically nothing going on outside. We want to enjoy being outside, working on something that is OURS… We will probably start chopping down trees shortly, too. So we will start ANOTHER project. But rest assured, they all get finished. We fly by the seat of our pants every day and that’s how we function the best! And, it makes our lives very interesting and fun.
It simply HAS to be from our 4 workouts we do each week. I SWEAR. Our trainer piles on the weights so it has made us SO MUCH stronger. Therefore, when we are working on a physically challenging project, it seems so much easier. We don’t get as tired as we used to. I remember working on flip houses ten years ago. We would limp around for the first several weeks because our muscles were so sore. We don’t have that now. I KNOW it is the gym. We started those workouts in January and will NEVER stop.
OK… onto day one of the camper demo.
Our camper is 27′ long, so it is a nice size for two people. Camper manufacturers squeeze SO MUCH ugliness in that space by putting cabinets EVERYWHERE. When we started looking around, we realized we really don’t NEED all of that storage. We aren’t going to camp for weeks at a time. And, if we do, we will get more creative. There is PLENTY of storage for us.
We started by removing the cabinets above the couch. That space felt so heavy when you walked in. It made a world of difference not only in the look, but the overall feel of the space.
Talk about feeling claustrophobic. Oh my gosh, that huge cabinet above the entertainment center not only felt ginormous when you are standing in that space, but it obstructed views etc. The hallway going back to the bedroom is tight. That cabinet made that space feel tighter.
Ummmmmmm….. NOPE. I feel claustrophobic smashed in between tables and benches that don’t move at all. I feel that way in restaurants, too. I hate that… unless there is LOTS of room in between for me AND my belly. I need breathing room. ???? In campers, they SQUEEZE everything in small spaces… which I understand why, but again… NOPE.
We removed the shelf above the bed because that’s just a HARD NO from me visually. We still may remove the two smaller cabinets above the bed and leave the two side ones with a mirror. That is still to be determined. We want some type of a fantastic headboard. I will keep you updated on that, because I know you will be holding your breath turning blue. ????
That entire wall was a total waste of space for a tiny bathroom medicine cabinet. There is plenty of storage in the bathroom vanity for baskets, etc, for what little we would keep in there.
We ripped that nasty ass, faded, smelly carpet up for the obvious reasons.
Here are a few ideas that I have regarding storage. Remember… we don’t need much. ???????? Oh.. and I want to keep the theme woods and whites. It’s my favorite look and think it’s so comfy and cozy feeling. Woods and white and crystals…
I plan on putting nothing but some type of decor above the couch and entertainment area. Those two areas were so stressful. ???? Probably because they hit you at eye level. It felt like the walls were closing in. I am only going to hang some type of decor there.
The blinds are all going to be replaced by bamboo blinds for the warm and cozy feeling. And, I want to replace some of the lights but unsure which way I’m going to go. I know I need a few sconces, and would love to replace some of the ceiling lights. Also… we will be installing some type of laminate flooring that looks like wood, add a couple of rugs, maybe wallpaper. ????
I originally wanted to get a new Ikea Ektorp couch for that area. It comes with a slip cover, it’s very budget friendly, and it comes in three pieces, so we would be able to get it through the door. BUT, we figured out during demo that the wall behind the current sofa angles up. Which will then push the new couch out farther into the walkway. We may just keep the one we have and have a slip cover made.
The dining area is where I am going to get creative. I would LOVE to add some type of a small round table and a few benches. The benches will have a hinged top so that we can have the storage back and it will still look pretty. We will actually have as much storage in them as we did in the old ugly ones. It will just LOOK better.
I LOVE these benches but need to measure yet.
We hardly touched the kitchen as far as demo. The kitchen cabinets will be, of course, painted white. It will be getting a new sink and faucet. And, I want to add a cool backsplash. And maybe do some type of sticky paper to cover the countertops.
This is my favorite backsplash, thus far in my search!
By removing that janky little medicine cabinet, it will make room for a large wall mirror which will automatically make the room feel bigger. We will add storage baskets under the vanity for all the things. We can even have a few baskets up on the counter. We will hopefully get a new sink and faucet in there, too.
Like I said above, the mirrored cabinets have closet rods. But since “we don’t change clothes”…. that won’t be an issue. ???? I may have Deb put a shelf in the middle of each of them. We could have baskets for anything small since we won’t be hanging lots of clothes. That is actually a wasted space for us as far as hanging items go. We want some type of headboard but haven’t figured that out yet. One thing we know with campers is that you have to watch the weight that you take out and put back in. You want to keep it as lightweight as possible.
I hope that answered your questions and gave you some type of idea what we have in mind. I want the camper to have the same vibe as our home. It will essentially be a home away from home and a fun place to be.
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So cool idea that is not mine, but one I got out of Lizmarie Galvan new book. Vintage sconces with a remote controlled pick light inside. No electric needed.
YES… We’ve done this. It is such a great idea.
I like all the ideas you have planned. Perfect for a house on wheels. You are right about campers not set up right. We bought ours new, no space to put anything in. At least when the slides are all out it feels more airy. Wish mine had white walls, but my husband won’t let me paint them. I can’t wait to see it finished…so hurry up. haha
hahahaha I’m excited to get a move on.
Love all the mood board choices! I’m sure you could make that headboard with some plywood, padding, a dropcloth and buttons. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Thanks… I am excited.
Honestly? I totally understand why ya’ll got the camper. Serves many purposes. including it will be a place when I come visit. Love following all your achievements. Take care.
hahaha.. awww… Honestly. I have had so many messages with people not understanding why. It is literally so clear to me. LOL
Such a fun fun project and you will love staying there. Love your mood board! Congratulations on your sweet camper!????
Thank you so much! We sure will love staying there. It is so peaceful.
I love all of your ideas for the camper. It’s gonna be beautiful when y’all get done with it!
Thank you. I’m really excited about this little project.
It’s going to be fabulous!! I can’t wait to see it all come together, I love woods and white! ????
My dream is to renovate a camper and travel. ????️????
Thanks… I am so very excited to do this project.
Wow, the camper is going to be so pretty and cozy!
I will be watching to see how you cover the kitchen counter top. I have the most hideous (old) laminate tops and I want to see how I can cover them up before taking them out.
Yes.. I have heard a lot of people using sticky paper. I’m trying it. So stay tuned.
While we built in 2018, we lived in a rental. The spouse originally thought we’d stay in an old ratty camper on the property over the winter. Hard no! One thing to think of is water supply. We had a well from when we first built the barn in 2017. We are in a woods too. It is just such a muddy mess with building. I was glad we could wash off our shoes and boots. Way better now, but with an incomplete yard and a dog, the muddy floors were an issue for way too long.
YES… We just talked about this. I cannot imagine how we will keep Ivy mud free.
Love your ideas. It will be a great Air BnB when your house is done and all of your fans want to visit. ????
hahahaha Oh geez… I believe the owner is going to sell it after we move out. And thank you.
Here is what I am thinking about the couch. I agree that the frame and placement are sometimes not easy to replicate so keeping it, is probably wise. Recovering is obvious but also, would want to refill it with the best filler and whatever my comfort level was. First, I don’t like super soft filler where I can’t get my butt back out. Secondly, I know that “spills,” “diaper changes,” and “doggie accidents” all happen on the couch. Let’s be real. Ick! So I am just wondering because I am sure you have already thought of this, what products have you used as filler before? Do you have companies that you use that have good fillers? And I am also interested in how all the furniture is secured to the camper! How is the couch secured and how will things you add be secured? #myburningquestions
Hugs and hurray for the class of 1982!
Kelley from Boise ????????
hahahahahaha As soon as we figure it out, I will for sure post. We are still in the planning stages. I’m so excited to get back out there and work.
I’m having so much fun watching all the changes you are going through right now. I’m really excited to see what you do with this camper! So many good ideas so far!
Thanks so much. I’m dying to get to that camper again…. soon.
We just bought a used 2018 24′ trailer and will be updating ours as well. Since this is out first trailer I am ecvited to watch you update yours so I can get ideas AND learn how to update our home on wheels!
Thaks for sharing….I love, love, love you both. You make my day everyday.
Cynthia from Elma Washington
Yay!!! I’m excited to get started.
So I bought the cute little table you referenced. It sits between the 2 Dorel striped chairs you also referenced. Makes a very cute sitting area!
Thanks
Kate
you could put the couch in the slide out/dining area…and add a table where the couch is currently.
We actually did think of that… but need to measure the windows. I love the openness of the windows.
Counter tops…I just recently say a post on AMULENT Paint @thechippybarn…self leveling and so much more. I am so intrigued, maybe this could be a better solution than sticky paper. It is worth taking a look.
Thanks so much. I will check it out.
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