While our RV was in great shape, it needed a few fixes and personal touches to make it our own. We have neither the time nor the talent to make this a How to or a DIY blog, but we wanted to briefly share a few of the things that we have done.
Bunk cushions
There is a bunk area over the cab that has a hard floor and at some point in time had a cushion covering it. When we bought it, there was one sad, dirty little cushion that we aren’t even sure belonged in the bunk space. To give you an idea of the space, it is kind of horseshoe shaped with an opening to climb down into the cab without bonking your head and a cushion that (while the vehicle is parked) would cover the opening to make a solid rectangular bunk area. We asked if the dealership could acquire the proper cushion (they couldn’t) and googling RV cushions will make your head spin. We knew having that area cushioned was important, so we made our own. Luckily, the space measured out that a single sheet of plywood would cover everything we needed. We bought the ply, ordered some foam, picked up some batting and fabric and set to work. We cut everything the way we needed it and covered with fabric, using a staple gun to secure it to the bottom of the cushions. We learned how to tuck the corners by watching videos on YouTube. And late one night, while I was sleeping, John finished he underside of the cushion that fills in the gap so that it would look nice from the underside when it was in place. He did an amazing job and it is so nice to have that place for the kids to hang out when we aren’t in motion!
Storage over the sink
The wall above the sink in the kitchen was a wide-open space and storage in the kitchen, while not terrible, leaves a lot to be desired. On a trip to Ikea, I noticed some hanging storage solutions in their kitchen area. I had a vision of something that would serve as both décor and additional storage space. The bars were $1.99, the small bins were .79, the hooks were .59 for a package of 5 and the bigger bins were $4.99 and $11.99. The plants were $3, and I found these adorable oven mitts at Bed, Bath and Beyond that went with our upholstery and theme. We are so pleased with how this turned out! It is fun to look at and provides a lot of useful storage!
Wall Plaques
On that same trip to IKEA, I saw these wall plaques:
I loved them and wanted them for our RV but wasn’t very excited about their $25 price tag. After a little encouragement that I could make my own, I took a stab at it and made my own (I made four instead of three) for a total of $4.
Curtains / Pillows / Bedding
I have often thought that it would be fun to have a nice little cabin in the mountains. I always wanted to decorate it in earth tones with moose and black bear décor, not too campy (pun intended), but rustic and cozy. My dad, knowing me, would say, “If you have your own cabin, you are always going to the same spot.” The first time I walked into our cabin on wheels, I knew this was the absolute best of both worlds! I got to have my cozy mountain cabin and not be restricted to one spot; my free spirit was soaring!
The pictures in the RV sale ad showed bedding that matched the couch and dinette fabric, but the bedding did not come with the RV (thank goodness, EW!), so I scoured the internet until I found just the right bedding at just the right price (at Kohl’s when I also had Kohl’s cash and a 30% off coupon!!!!) The only other issue were the curtains in the bedroom and over the bunk. The curtains in the bedroom were in fine shape, but hideously ugly and the curtains over the bunk were not ugly, but old, musty, water stained and just generally icky. I am not much of a seamstress, but I have a sewing machine and a strong will, so new curtains we were to have! Luckily for me (unluckily for our budget) a Hobby Lobby opened in our town two weeks after we bought this rig and I found the perfect fabric for new curtains for $3/yard. I bought all that was left of that bolt (and later went back to get some matching thread only to discover the same fabric marked down to $2 a yard, BOOOO!) Anyway, I painstakingly used a razor blade to rip the snap-tape off the old nasty curtains in order to reattach my new curtains to the existing track over the bunk and sewed myself nine fresh, new curtain panels! AND since I had all that fabric, I made two throw pillows for the bunk!
Then, when we were in Seattle earlier this summer (not in our RV) we ran into Target to grab a couple of things and as we were taking a shortcut by the dollar bins, we found a pillow shaped like a campfire. I pointed it out to John and he immediately asked, “HOW MUCH?” I found the tag that said $5 and John grabbed it and said, “We need this!”
John has done many, many other things, AMAZING things to the RV (new faucets, back up camera, TV installation with his own special lock – to name a few). I have been keeping a list, but I told him I wasn’t going to write those sections for him! Stay tuned for more…