I'm having loads of fun with our HGTV-style camper makeover, but I'm also completely exhausted. For some reason, it always takes me by surprise when Tyler and I mobilize a spontaneous plan. It feels as though I've inadvertently stepped onto a high-speed train. Right now, we are anything but "going slowly."
Bright and early this morning, Operation Camper Makeover was well underway. After snapping some "before" photos of the hideous interior, I began the process of gutting our camper. With gusto, I tore out the ugly valances and faux-chrome shades, then peeled the brassy accents off of everything I could. As the look improved with the removal of each item, I began to wonder why camper manufacturers bother to decorate them at all.
There must be a person who is sitting there saying "Let's pick out the ugliest fabric we can find and put it in all campers everywhere."
Kristi of Pink & Polka Dot
After I was through dismantling the camper's interior, it was time for a deep clean. Though it seemed decently tidy when we bought it, closer inspection revealed a few seasons' worth of dead bugs, dust bunnies, and dirt. The shop-vac took care of the larger chunks, and for the smaller stuff, I rolled up my sleeves, grabbed some rags and cleaning supplies, and went to town.
A few hours and one squeaky clean camper later, I headed back to the house with a few padded, grey-velour covered pieces of the dinette in hand: the end caps and side pieces that hold the cushions in place. Setting up a hot-gluing station at the kitchen island, I covered the pieces with scraps of light green canvas fabric leftover from the cushion-making project.
While I worked, hot-gluing green fabric over the bits and pieces, Jodi took time out of her busy work schedule to pin and sew a dinette cushion or two. As she fired up her sewing machine, I thanked my lucky stars that my mother-in-law (or Jodi-in-law as I call her) had swooped in help me. Thank you, Jodi!!!
With the day rapidly coming to a close, I hopped in the car and made one more quick run to the fabric store to purchase the items I'd need for the first of tomorrow's tasks: covering the bedroom shades and valances.