January 21, 2014

The Vintage Caravan Interviews - Miss Maizy

My name is Tania Pelletier and I live in Washington State in the US. My caravan (we call them campers or trailers here in the US) was purchased from an ad I saw online from a nearby town. My dad and I drove about an hour to see it and it was love at first sight! When I got the thumbs up from my dad (checking out all the guy stuff) I was in heaven! We pulled her to my parents house and immediately got to work fixing her up! Here are a couple before shots:

I have wanted a vintage camper since I first saw one years ago in a magazine. It had been converted into a gardening shed and it was fixed up so adorable! I was married at the time and my husband said "no" :o( So... I got rid of my husband and got myself a camper instead! Good trade I think!

It took my dad and I about one whole summer working just on the weekends. Most of what needed to be done was cosmetic although we did find a broken sink pipe and other little annoyances along the way.

So far I have only been able to camp in it once but that is my plan... glamping!!! She has travelled about 280 miles on our first trip. Right now Miss Maizy is parked at the top of my driveway looking all cute waiting for summer to roll around again!

To describe the style I have decorated her in... she's just girly cute! I went with aqua colors since the stove and icebox were aqua. She has aqua and white polka dot curtains, I reupholstered the dinette seats in tartan plaid (a nod to her Scotsman name), bought a new futon mattress for the back bed (cheaper than buying new foam) and painted the inside crisp white and wallpapered the ceiling with wallpaper that looks like tin ceiling tiles! She also got brand new countertops and tabletop in a retro design. Here are some interior pictures: 

 

We shortened the top bunk so it is now just a shelf for vintage suitcases.

We added a tiny little shelf to the left of the kitchen sink above the window near the bed and made a map covered board to fit over the stove when it's not in use... I needed all the extra counter space I could find!

My mom painted this adorable little sign on an old cupboard door!
(below)

I made lots and lots of pillows!

Even one shaped like a little trailer!

Below is the chalkboard wall next to the doorway!

...and my favorite part is the inside of the closet that I wallpapered with old maps, I love this little detail!

 The ceiling tin wallpaper was purchased on eBay, the new countertops were ordered from a local flooring company. They are Formica brand in the retro "dog bone" pattern. The super comfy futon mattress was purchased from Overstock.com. The rest is all stuff I've made or found thrifting!

 The exterior was painted with Rustoleum brand white gloss paint that we sprayed on. The detail scallops were added with spray paint in aqua. I wanted something that was different than most vintage campers and was easy enough to do on our own.

...And viola!
Thank you to Tania for sharing her experiences of her Caravan Makeover...doesn't it look lovely in the Aqua blue tones....if you fancy visiting her, she blogs over HERE and don't forget to tell her Happy sent cha! ;)

Bye for now my lovelies x