The Camper:: An Update

Remember our late 70's camper trailer from a couple years ago? We bought it with big dreams of family fun and a plan to fix her up. Well, Colette was born, the trailer became our guest suite, and the updates got put on the back burner. It's definitely had its share of fun sleepovers, but the itch to lighten it up remained. I knew we would get around to it eventually.

Last weekend, we finally got to work. There were many evenings spent scouring pinterest and chatting with people who restore vintage trailers to get up the nerve to pull the trigger. Once I got started, there was no turning back. It's a small space, but it's a lot of small parts and detail work. (Details aren't my strong suit. Ha!) Albin took down the loft bed that was really just crowding the space and it gave me the little shelf above the bed area. It already felt so much bigger.. We removed the cabinet doors and painted everything white. It took a primer and two coats to cover all that fake wood. I had many naysayers tell me I would never be able to get the paint to stick, and that I should leave the "perfectly good" camper as-is. But I am so glad I took the plunge anyway.

When the paint dried, I put down new laminate flooring. I am so pleased with how it came out. It was pretty easy to do. I was able to complete it by myself in about a day while the kids played in the yard. I have no experience in this area, so for me to be able to complete a project like this really says something! It's a major update to the look for very little effort and money.

My mom helped me recover the cushions, and I put up some simple new curtains. Rather than buying new hardware, I spray painted the existing knobs gold to brighten them up. I also recovered the counters with marble contact paper. There are imperfections, but the overall result is MUCH prettier than it was. In the kitchen area I hung a textured brick wallpaper. My original thought was stick on subway tile, but the cost and effort to find them, proved unworth my time. I'd still like to do something with the sink and stove, but I haven't completed it yet. Also, the bathroom is still on the list.

In total work, this took about 4 days to complete. If I can do it in between taking care of my two rascals, ANYONE can do it. I am thrilled with the result and I can't wait to have our own family sleepover in the finished camper in the next few days. It's one of those things where you wonder what took you so long to get started.

​Hooray for easy DIY!

A couple before photos...