Elepent

Making the Incorrigible a livable space aesthetically, on a budget, was something of a challenge. We wanted to update the look of the rig a little, and make it more “us”, without just painting everything black and drawing all over the walls. Which if we had paid for it in full I would have done enthusiastically, but in the meantime we didn’t want to go too extreme in case by some freak twist of fate we decide we hate life on the road or in the future simply want to resell and upgrade to a newer vehicle.

Here’s some of what we’ve done so far:

Still on the lot at the dealer. Notice the little wood houses on the cabinet face. The Incorrigible, a 13 year old motor home, was outfitted in the epitome of RV home fashion.....for 1995. Oak or faux oak everything, mauve and seafoam everywhere, and loads of gold accents. Mmm, mmm, gross.

Of the other interiors we’d seen, this was hardly the worst. Still, It all had to go. I felt the need to scream Delia Dietz’s “If you don’t let me gut out this house…” tirade from Beetlejuice pretty regularly, throughout the process.

Slightly blurry I know, and don't mind the laundry basket or that stuff on the floor over there.

First and foremost, I wanted the gold finish gone. I like gold, just not that much. The very first thing I did as soon as we got it home was rip the light fixtures above the couch out and set to spraying them. Then the cabinet handles, hardware and trim. Eventually I’d like to replace the wall sconces completely.

When choosing colors and textures for the front half of the rig, I tried to pick things that would work with (or at least not make me want to burn) the existing wallpaper, carpet and ceiling (also carpet). We weren’t willing to put forth the effort or fundage to alter those three big things in the largest space in the rig.

The cabinets are mostly laminate with some solid wood framing on the cabinet doors. I was concerned that I might have a problem painting the laminate, so we used a high quality primer to ensure the warm grey semi-gloss we chose would stick. Ultimately I don’t think the primer really had anything to do with it, you’ll see why later in the bedroom. I also scraped off some floral faux etching on the glass cabinets in the kitchen, as well as applying black patina to the leading of the decorative glass doors on the “china cabinet”. Small details that make a big difference in the overall feel of the space.

After that it was time to recover the valances with some neutral fabrics. That was definitely a project. Spray adhesive is your friend. The screw holes that you’ve just covered up with your nice new fabric are your worst enemy. Luckily nothing a little snip of the scissors can’t handle.

Most of the finishing touches are in the kitchen. We liked the clock in that place and so we simply replaced it. Our refridgerator does not have a magentic surface, so we snatched up 2 of these .99 cent magnetic wall strips from Ikea, and created a memo area on that open wall. We also added cute stainless canisters from Target and a vintage copper faced bread box all of which are anchored with industrail strength Velcro. Neithr of us is a coffee drinker, so we replaced the dingy under cabinet coffee pot with a paper towel holder and a hook for nanners.

It’s by no means completed, we’ll be updating and trying to improve the space continually, but I managed to get most of what absolutely had to be done out of the way over the summer.

The next big project is the couch, and I’m still working out how best to cover it since I don’t have the time or wrkspace to take on the monster task of reupholstering it. There are companies that make RV couch covers, but the unconventional interior layout of the rig that charmed us into purchasing it, leaves us with an L shaped couch that’s nothing like a standard RV couch. I think we may have to buy a sectional sofa cover or possibly two loveseat covers and splice them together. We like to fold the couch out into the bed to watch tv occasionally though, so I’d like to cover it in a way that won’t hinder that.

We also have a collapsible dining/coffee table that’s not visible in either photo that was painted to match the computer desk we constructed out of an old kitchen table top we trashpicked. More on that later though.