Home

Why does my image of home start with fabric? Because if you know me well, you know I have never met a house that can’t be renovated – or at least redecorated. I am weirdly domestic for an ardent feminist. The next question is why am I renovating a brand new RV? That is the question Dan asked on repeated occasions. Easy answer – this is HOME for a whole year. If I am going to spend an entire year in a 300 sq ft fiberglass box it is going to be pretty! I give Jayco (RV manufacturer) a high score for engineering and space utilization – but a low score for interior design. Our RV was brown. Brown cabinets, brown walls, brown upholstery, brown floors, brown bedding, brown curtains. BROWN! I have no objection to brown as a color – but too much brown looks like… well in Hazel’s parlance, it looks like poop. I had no intention of spending a year surrounded by brown. So I spent two months painting, sewing and upholstering to get Moby in fighting form. Since I didn’t have time (and Dan was borderline ready to disown me) I decided to leave the cabinets as is and de-brown the rest of the RV. The following are some before and after photos that also give a good sense of how the RV is laid out (for full RV schematic see “RV” page in main menu). The post is organized from the back of the RV (master bath) to the front of the RV (Ava’s bunk over the “cab” of the RV).

Master Bath

Perhaps “master” is a grandiose description for this bathroom – it measures roughly 3.5 feet wide by 8 feet long. But there is a whole lot of function in this little space! The shower, not pictured, is to the left of the sink and there is a nice skylight above it making this a bright little room. To spruce it up I sewed curtains, painted and Dan removed the large cabinet over the sink. The storage in that cabinet was nice but not needed and it made the room feel cramped. Replacing it with a pretty mirror gave us more space and added a little sparkle. That and some succulents hanging to the right of the sink make it much more cheerful.

Master Bedroom

Again, “master” being relative, but it does have a king bed! This was one of the biggest changes – my mom and I wallpapered the room with Serena and Lily paper and I painted the nook, sewed new linen valences, upgraded the bedding and replaced the TV with one of my grandfathers paintings. The original headboard wasn’t too bad but it was drowning in the brown sea. A little contrast made a world of difference!

Bunk “Room” and Half Bath

The middle section of the RV is a bunk bed arrangement on one side and 1/2 bath on the other. We specifically chose this layout because of the bunks and 1/2 bath – but ironically Ava turned out to be a little too long for the bunks. Still a good arrangement because 2 bathrooms has been a major plus and as you can see we turned the bottom bunk into much needed extra storage. The renovation in this area of the RV amounted to paint, new valance covers in both rooms, new linen curtains and tiebacks, new bedding and in the 1/2 bath I painted a plaid accent wall to match the plaid fabric I used for the valances. We also removed TV’s from the bunks. The RV had 5 TV’s – seriously, who needs 5 TV’s in a 300 sq ft dwelling?!?!

Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen

The main living area of the RV combines kitchen on one side and couch/dining on the other. The living area was the biggest transformation. I reupholstered the banquette with mounds of denim (a small cheat here, I had a professional do the banquette cushion – I was afraid I would run out of time! but I upholstered the frame and slipcovered the back cushions), made curtains, reupholstered the valances, painted, made pillows for the couch, Dan painted some little tables we already had to use as cocktail/accent tables and I bought a Dash and Albert rug for the room. It all works together to help banish the brown a little bit. If I use my imagination I can conjure a Ralph Lauren inspired mountain home from the finished renovation.

The kitchen didn’t get much of an update other than a new valance. As it measures about 5.5 feet by 2 feet – there wasn’t much to decorate ;). Still, it is a very efficient space. There are two panels directly under the faucet that pop out to reveal a sink and two more panels that pop out over the oven to reveal a 3 burner gas stovetop. The panels are helpful to provide counter space when the sink/stove aren’t in use. Operating in this kitchen has been a little Houdini-like, but it mostly works.

Last but not least…. Ava’s Bunk

The RV has a bunk bed that drops down above the drivers cab – a perfect solution for our tall daughter!

All in all our new home is bright, cheerful and exceedingly well organized! I don’t want to live in 300 sq ft forever, but it isn’t nearly as cramped as I thought it would be. With the great outdoors as our backyard and a new destination as easy as starting up the engine, Moby will serve us well on this adventure!