RV Makeover – Yes, Please!

Do you love RVing but hate the way most camping trailers and motorhomes are decorated on the inside? Well, me too! Today I want to show you my RV makeover. Instead of boring brown and woodsy themed, it’s now bright and beautiful and ready for some fun summer road trips!

Welcome to today’s post, which is part of the monthly blog hop I participate in with some fun and talented blogger friends. Today we’re all sharing a space that we’ve made over. If you’ve found your way here from Laila at Design by Laila, then welcome! Laila’s new family room is gorgeous, isn’t it? I hope you’ve enjoyed the rest of today’s tours so far. There’s lots more make over goodness to come, so be sure to follow the blog hop to the end.

Okay – now on to the promised makeover! I don’t mean to scare you, but here’s a before shot of the RV kitchen:

Yikes – that hurts! Although this isn’t a shot of our actual RV because I forgot to take any shots pre-makeover, this is almost exactly how our little motorhome looked before the makeover. Brown wood, brown upholstery, brown carpet, brown window valances cover-things. Brown.  All brown. Not exactly what I wanted to wake up in every morning while traveling.

Because of my husband’s mad crush on RV’s, we’ve owned various versions of homes on wheels over the years – a pop-up camper trailer, a toy hauler, and a humongous RV (which was an expensive mistake for us and which got sold quickly).

About three years ago, we decided to take a foray into the RV arena once again. This time we bought a small, used 21′ Class C Motorhome. It’s easy to drive, easy to park, and easy to store when not in use. Seems perfect, right?

Well, I’ll tell you what wasn’t perfect — it looked like it had been decorated by a person who only sees in shades of brown! Not exactly my style.

Obviously it needed a LHI makeover, which I was only too happy to give it. Today I’m sharing with you friends our RV sans woodland/hunting/brown-and-more brown theme. Come on inside while I give you a little tour!

RV Makeover Steps

Here are the steps we took for our RV makeover. I’ll show you pictures of each one:

1. We took out all the nasty brown/tan shag carpet except for right in the cab area – that part was too hard to figure out how to replace, and it was relatively clean and in good shape. We also had to leave the carpet on one of the wheel well areas under the dining table.
2. We replaced the carpet with wood-plank look vinyl flooring. Yes, it’s brown – but at least it’s pretty! And it’s also easy to clean, and soft and warm on bare feet.
3. We painted all the cabinetry a warm white.
4. We took the upholstered sofa and dining area benches to a local upholsterer and had them covered in a cream pleather. It’s light and bright, super easy to clean, and durable.
5. We removed the tacky wallpaper borders and painted all the walls the same warm white as the cabinetry.
6. We removed the window coverings and valance things and replaced them with white roman shades (that I made).
7. We painted the door to the bathroom black to add some dimension and interest.

 

Okay – now that you have the broad pictures, let’s take a look at some of the fun decorating details. First the textiles:

I brought in neutral pillows, all in shades of either cream, black, or gray. I kept this pretty tight color palette throughout to help this tiny space feel a little more spacious and cohesive.

Then it was time to add some fun accessories: photos, plants, and a few little things to make it feel like a home on wheels.  One small piece of advice here if you’re looking to make over a rolling home: make sure all pictures, mirrors, etc. are screwed securely to the walls. You don’t want your stuff flying around your head when you go over bumps or if you have to make a sudden stop. And I’d replace the glass in picture frames with plexiglass too.

I picked up this fun articulated lamp from a thrift store and attached it to the kitchen countertop. It’s a great task light for reading, writing, or playing games.

It can also be swiveled over to the kitchen area to help with lighting there, making it serve double duty. The other great thing about this lamp (besides the $7 price tag!) is that you can completely lift it off the base and store it while driving. Again – less stuff to worry about getting tossed around the inside while traveling.

I’m still debating whether I want to add a cool tile backsplash to the kitchen area. I think it would be darling, but in reality, we hardly ever cook anything in here (after all – I am on vacation when we’re using this thing!) and I think I may be too lazy to do the work of attaching and grouting the tile.

Who knows – we’ll see. I may still do that one of these days.

EDIT: see end of post for faux-tiled backsplash I decided to add.

I made this fun little “LET’S GO” sign by painting over an existing sign with a matte black spray paint, sanding the edges, and applying some sticky-back white letters. It’s also screwed right to the wall.

The other side of the RV has a sofa (which lays flat into a bed at night if need be). I did just a bit of accessorizing over there with throw pillows and a cozy gray throw.

This mirror started life a bright orangey-red. I sprayed it black and we hung it on the wall (with securely screwed in clamps).

I used photos from previous trips to add a travel-wise flavor to the space – also screwed to the wall with plexiglass instead of glass.

Okay – let’s talk for a minute about RV bedding. Especially bedding for this type of RV with the bed up above the cab. If you’ve ever tried to make one of these beds, you know what a back-breaking, noggin-bruising experience that is! It’s like the worst parts of making both the top and the bottom beds of a bunk bed – you have to climb all over the top one to reach the edges, thereby messing up the blanket even as you make the bed, and you hit your head on the ceiling while doing it. Not fun!! But I have to say that I had an epiphany about how solve for that problem…get a Beddy’s bed set!

I have two of these zipper-style bed sets on bunkbeds in a guest room in my home, and I thought they were super convenient and nice there. Let me tell you – that is nothing compared to how absolutely wonderful they are in this cramped bedroom space!

No more crawling all over the bed trying to tuck things in on the edges. No more getting what you just tucked in completely wrinkled and untucked as you crawl around up there. No more bonking your head trying to make a bed in this ridiculously small space.

It is total heaven now to make this bed! And of course, these bed sets are super soft, comfy, and warm for sleeping. When it’s time to wash all or part of the set, they are easily zipped apart for that task. I will never tire of singing the praises of this amazing bedding!

And how perfect is this black and white checked pattern! It’s the Checked Out set, and it looks like it was custom made for my little RV. I love it!

Here’s a before and after of the door to the bathroom. Before – a boring white door:

(Ghost loves that rug!)

And here it is after being painted a semi-gloss black. I think the black adds a nice bit of dimension to this teeny, tiny space. What do you think?

And how do you like my teeny little  macrame hanging (insert dejected face emoji). My. Word.  I used to consider myself fairly crafty, but I tried for about 3 hours to make a small wall hanging, and after many restarts, this is as far as I got. It’s not as easy as it looks, friends! But after I spent all that time on it, it’s definitely staying!

I think Ghost approves of the rug and the makeover. (I also think he’s nervous that we might leave him home when we go gallivanting off. He’s a weim – he has anxiety issues!) He wouldn’t leave this place for a minute while I had it opened up.

Okay – now back to that kitchen backsplash. While I was searching in my craft stash for some macrame string for my semi-failed craft project, I came across some wall decals I had purchased several years ago and never used. Lightbulb moment!!  I decided to try them on the kitchen backsplash wall in lieu of the expense and work of tile – and I think they add a fun little bit of interest to that space. What do you think?

And an extra perk of using a decal – if I get tired of them, I can just peel them off, no harm done.

Well, there you have it, folks! A chic and pretty RV that will be a pleasure to spend time in this summer. Now all that’s left is to get busy planning some trips!

I’d love to know what you think about my little RV makeover – you know I always love your comments!

Thanks for popping in today, friends! Be sure to stop by and see what Bethany at Dwellings by Devore has up her make over sleeve – I know it will be awesome. Plus there are lots of other great make overs featured on the tour today, so check out all of the blog hop participants listed below at the bottom of the post!

Disclosure: I received product in compensation for this post, but all opinions are definitely my own!

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Today’s Blog Tour Participants