RV Walls - Brainstorming Session!

Since the RV progress has been stunted by a temporary funding interruption until Thursday (in between the lines:  we're coasting until payday), I decided to brainstorm about the wall covering options before jumping into my original thought - which was Formica.

That may sound like an odd choice for a wall covering, but I've heard of it being used on RV walls before.  It's lightweight, pliable, and (relatively) easy to install.  If you're thinking that also sounds hideous, think again.  There are a gazillion new designs, and some of them are pretty trippy if I do say so myself:

Endless Smoke reminds me of the LED bars at a Pretty Lights show, or just general sound levels on electronic equipment.  For a funky RV headed to music festivals, it seems perfect.  Love it.

Blueberry Halftone and Tangelo Halftone are two of the most fun patterns I've ever seen. It's like music for the eyes!  I think it might be too much for the walls, but I'm keeping it in mind for the tiny countertop in the kitchen....

Mint Dotscreen might not look that exciting, but the overall effect of it on the walls would be pretty trippy!  It's a definite contender in the Formica category.  There's also a Tangelo like this, but I think that might give me a headache.

Because the theme of the RV is to be as fun and trippy as possible, it's unlikely I would end up going with something simple like this.  But it's worth noting that it's an available option!

As Formica goes, this lemony Citrus Halftone is definitely a frontrunner.  It's soothing, yet energizing.  Fun when it would need to be, and relaxing when it was time for that.     

As it turned out, when I did the brainstorming for my last post about the flooring, I found out a little bit about vinyl floor coverings and started looking into them for walls.  eazywallz.com has lots of options in all kinds of amazeballs images.  Some of my faves?

The Andromeda Galaxy.  I can't tell you how much I would love, love, LOVE to have this on my walls on the daily.

Still really searching for a truly amazing forest photo.  This one is just OK.  I'd like one that was a little more...enchanted?

Definitely my favorite!  I love the birch trees!

All of these IMPOSSIBLY trippy patterns make me wish I was still acquainted well enough with Photoshop to actually try them out.  I'd really like to think I might even be able to incorporate multiple different ones into the tiny space I have.  Then again, I'm going for trippy, not nauseating.

We'll see!  Suggestions welcome!  What did you put into your RV project?

Removing Cabinets

Well, the good news is that the RV's cabinets are coming out slowly but surely.  In more irritating news, the original handles in there were gorgeous, so I wanted to keep and reuse them.  Why is this irritating?  Because they were installed with square screws 40 years ago, so they are less than simple to extract.

The're gorgeous, though.

So we started by gradually removing all of the cabinet doors from the RV.

I say "gradually" because it's taking forever.

We're keeping the cabinet frames, since they appear to be in pretty good condition.

They'll come out just before we replace the wall and go back in afterwards.

The wood is actually pretty beautiful.

And I definitely want to save this little plaque!

I removed the hardware from the cabinets.  This took even longer than removing the actual doors.

These will get a rejuvenation and then new patina treatment later.  For now, I just gave them a superquick wash in an all natural tea tree oil based cleaner.  Because of the small and contained nature of RV space, I'm trying to be very careful what cleaners have been used.  We'll probably use some bleach during the de-molding phase, and perhaps some kind of insect barrier (it is going to be our road home, after all), but besides that everything will hopefully stay natural.  

I'll be moving onto the back soon!  Hopefully we'll have some sketches soon of the box storage bench-to-table that we've been designing.  I'm definitely in need of some kind of 180-degree hidden hinge.  Looks like a trip to Lowe's will be due soon...

Gutting the RV!

It was raining today, so I decided to take the opportunity to actually record what gutting process has occurred so far.  

At first, we thought the interior was in original condition, and we really wanted to just fix it up.  But upon doing some research, we found out that most of the inside had already been restructured and poorly renovated in 1995, so we decided to go a whole different route with it and make the tentatively-named Starcatcher a psychedelic experience machine.

As we plan to travel and have some very rich experiences in the bus, we really want to make it a comfortable and inspiringly dreamy place to chill, veg, and enjoy various experieces.

We started by evaluating the space on the interior:

Looks good, but the walkway was really cramped in between the seated table area and kitchen.  We'll talk about the back area another time.

The kitchen was definitely in pretty good shape, and I really liked all of the old appliances. 

It's also VERY expensive to replace RV appliances.  So we decided (well, our budget decided) that we should keep our existing old ones and just shine them up.  They'r'e cool and vintage, and they work!

The fridge is very sexy on the outside, glossy and smooth with no damage...

The inside is clean, but stained.

The stove is pretty much pristine...

It has a few minor rust spots, but really nothing that can't be lightly sanded and repainted with high-heat enamel and then sealed. 

My main issue definitely was the table area. 

Notice how the seat juts out past the wall into the walkway area?  This does not fold up or tuck in in any way and is annoying when you're trying to walk back and forth.  Ryan is not a small man, and I've got my family's traditional curves - this did not work for us.  

So I started by taking out the seats and the backs.

The biggest problem was that back that would not detach from the paneling wall.  

But this is no big deal since we'll be pulling out that paneling very soon also...

Since, of course, there was termite and mold damage inside :/  It's OK, I expected it.

Next, I took out the other side, and cut out the seat belts until I could get the bolts up off the floor.

I also cut away the 40 year old piece of plastic that was on top of the carpet.  

OMG.  Disgusting.

It was a LOT of work, but thankfully Ryan and Saint Mechanic helped out (kind of).  I'm excited to start looking into materials for walls and floors, and to start designing the new seating area.  Any suggestions on environmentally friendly, lightweight, affordable flooring would be fantastic.  I only need about 50 square feet of flooring, unless it's inexpensive and able to be used for walls - in which case I would need probably around 200 square feet, possibly more.

But first - before fun stuff like design - more demo.  Next up:  removing old cabinet doors.  *sigh* I gotta rest first...

Welcome!

Today is the first day blogging for moondreams&magic.  As I am quite aware that I have absolutely zero current subscribers, it does feel a little like I'm talking to myself.  I'll get over it.  I'm kind of used to that.

So for now we're mainly concentrating on the RV renovation.

Here's an intro to the RV, our 1973 Dodge Coachman Reo Pace Arrow.  Yeah, it seems to have an awful lot of names.  We're still trying to ascertain exactly what it is, but for now it's dubbed the "Starcatcher."  This is more than likely a temporary name that will end up giving way to its real name, which will probably be determined once it's been taken on a road trip or two.

Our first experience with the Starcatcher came in the form of not being able to find the place she was located.  The yard was so overgrown, it was barely possible to see the tiny house from the road.  We drove down a short gravel driveway and parked in front of a small metal workshop with a bonfire in a barrel outside.  And there it was...

Yikes.

I mean, she wasn't much to look at right off the bat.  The light wind caused the door, which was hanging on the hinges, to clatter against the exterior skin.  Sad-looking streams of moldy tears dripped from her soggy roof, and a horde of leaves had to be brushed away to pop the hood open so Ryan and our saint of a mechanic, Charles, could look inside.

When I finally got the guts to venture inside, I was pleasantly surprised....

The interior was nice and clean.  Lots of original charm to work with.

We checked out all of the inside....

Then started it up...

Everything looked good!  

It had to be hot-wired, but this was a minor detail.  The Saint gave us the go-ahead, and we jumped on the opportunity to purchase.  In short order, we had done the deal and brought her on home.  Ryan spent the entire Sunday afternoon pressure-washing the outside and making her shine.  

Proud RV parents!

More info on the plans for the Starcatcher and her renovation to come next.  Stay tuned!