Weve just bought a 1990 touring caravan to get out and about with our 2 toddlers and make some memories, and it's all exciting! We're on a really tight budget (we used his gran's inheritance money to buy it) but I would dearly love to get it a bit more cosy.
The stuff you seem to be able to buy for caravans doesn't exactly seem funky, but I know it's probably not easy to get stuff cheaply as everything is specially made for caravans! I'd love to do it all out Cath Kidston stylie (but on the cheap!) and paint the inside and maybe even outside! But there seems to be very little info about going down this route for caravans, especially on the cheap.
We're very much starting from scratch with it - it comes with a starter set but no awning, etc, it has very old cushions which I'm conscious may be a bit minging esp worrying as our kids'll be sleeping on them. We don't have the spare pots and pans and stuff either cos I gave ours away on freecycle, lol!
All advice would be gratefully received. I have my fingers crossed that it's been done on the cheap as I'd love to get it looking more us!
I don't know much about doing up caravans but if you click on Search on the tool bar above and then enter the word cushions and caravan, the search will bring up a lot of posts on the subject which will give you a starting point.
We painted the interior of our caravan (not the cupboards just the walls) as it was a deep red colour and very dark and dingy looking. A bit of emulsion paint did wonders!! You could always use throws over the cushions and clean them first with something like a surface cleaner or maybe just freshen up with a squirt of Febreze. One tip that is quite useful is to put a mattress protector on when making up the bed - just another layer but they tend to fit quite well with the elasticated corners. Good luck, please show us pics when you've pimped your caravan!!!
We bought all our pots & pans from Asda. You don't need expensive camping stuff, just a cheap pan set and a few plastic picnic plates etc will do. And a couple of cheap cushions and throws will brighten up the dingiest of interiors.
I got a piece of remnant material at a local market for €12 which was enought to make curtains for the whole caravan and you can use the stud things that are on the old curtains for hanging. Good luck
I went to Dunelm Mill and got a roll end of material, cost me £36 but out of that I got enough to cover the seat backrests, the pelmets and the cushions, made 3 sets of curtains, scatter cushion covers, door window curtain, toilet window blind, covered two lampshades and still had quite a bit left over. I got a roll end of carpet for £20 and carpeted the whole van, including the toilet, and I've got a big enough piece left to do the same again. I covered the toilet walls in fablon which I got half price in the B & Q sale, and got a cheap loo roll holder from a local discount shop.The outside of the van was painted with Crown Solo high gloss paint. I got some cheap plastic plates and bowls from Asda, tea towels from Morrisons - 99p - and a couple of large bath towels from a local £1 shop which I cut down to make hand towels. If you want to see some photos to give you an idea, search for the thread 'Caravan is finished - piccies'
------------- Tigermouse
I have a very temperamental personality - 50% temper and 50% mental
We often use dispposable plates and cutlery. I know it's not very "green" but they are dirt cheap and no one really wants to e washing dishes on holiday. My dad has a motorhome which is in good condition for it's age (1990) but a few of the bits of wood were discoloured on the doors. He cleaned it up with wire wool and varnished it and it looks like new now. Makes quite a difference to the appearance of the whole interior. With the cushions, have you considered dry cleaning them? I'd get a price first as it might be prohibitively expensive, or maybe just getting them machine washed at a low temperature. Tumble drying is not really going to be a good idea as the covering might shrink and distort, but if you have a garage they could be stored in until they dry out they should be fine. Of course, they won't fit in a domestic washer, but if you look for a nearby laundry in the yellow pages (laundry as opposed to launderette as a launderette machine is likely to be too small) I would have thought you could come up with something. If you could drop one of the staff a few pounds to squeeze them in between washes, then even better. I know I've put 4 sleeping bags in an industrial washer/extractor (I work for a laundry) and they look lost in the bottom. I also washed my groundsheet in one. Incidentally, most of our washing chemicals come from Yorkshire.
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Topic: Pimp My Caravan!
