About a year ago, a design client turned really good friend reached out and asked if I wanted to help with a unique project. Her husband and three young children were embarking on an adventure… selling their house and most of their belongings to travel the country for a year. They purchased a well- loved but stuck-in-the-past pop out camper that was going to become where they’d rest and work and homeschool between their epic excursions. When she shared the beautiful intentions behind this radical plan, I was so moved by them. I was so excited for the growth God had in store for this sister and her amazing family and I knew in a heartbeat I was called to help them make this camper their home for the journey.
The turn around was going to need to be quick, but since I had spent a good amount of time working with this special couple on some designs for their farmhouse (a sunroom/ homeschooling space, den and living areas), I already had a lot of confidence knowing their story, values, style, and even the little things that would be meaningful to them. After sharing the basics of what they were hoping for in the camper, they really just let me run with it in making a design plan. Then we spent a few mad weeks of gathering supplies and tag-teaming trips to the hardware store until it was finally “go time!” to makeover everything.
After my friend and her husband thoroughly cleaned the camper from top to bottom, it was a team effort of steadily painting, Reno projects, problem solving and deciding on details. Some of their family and friends helped with various pieces and my own dad even helped. It was pretty great witnessing their community support not only their decision to do this, but to support them in the practicals. Now to see the transformation!
transformation pictures
All the “after” footage is actually when everything was about 90% done as the family was going to finish things like paint touch up and other projects on the road.
Resources
I “shopped” a lot of things from the family’s previously owned stuff that they had either planned to give away or put in storage. Things like pillows, cushions, duvets, throw blankets and kitchen items were sourced from Target, Walmart, discount stores like Ross, Home Goods and TJMaxx, as well as quite a bit from Amazon.
Here are some links for a few of the items and projects in case you’re interested:
- bamboo roman blinds (these are just so great)
- apricot grasscloth peel-and-stick wall paper
- kitchenette sunset gold peel-and-stick wallpaper
- bathroom folk tulip peel-and-stick wallpaper
- stainable pole wrap (treatment we used on the dinette benches, and cabinet sides)
- antique style USA map
- chore charts and planning boards
- National Park mini posters
- National Park Puzzle
- family conversation cards
Below are a few more of my favorite still shots and soon I’ll also include the YouTube video link for the full before and after videos.
I hope you enjoyed these transformations as much as I enjoyed this project. Please say a prayer for this incredible family on the road! I just received this picture below from my friend of them living it up on the West Coast.
What a privilege to be a part of their story of making their camper a home. Thanks for being here and reading! Love, Serra Ann
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