We renovated our traveling home to create comfort from chunky pain. We like how it turned out, but it was not “easy”. I did get to use a lot of my bank of cusswords that had been building up, and working with a woman and 14 year old girl, I got to see a lot of crying.

We needed something that not only brought comfort, but created/retained necessary storage and function. If anyone reading this has spent time living tiny (either a camper or house) you storage is worth its weight in gold. Alternatively, if you, dear reader, have hauled anything you know that weight is terrible – unlike gold. So we needed to bring down the weight, retain functional and storage features and make it more comfortable. Easy, right?

Wrong. Oh, so wrong.

How to start?

First we needed to take a look at what was actually in the portions were going to overhaul. We were resolved to change the entire slide out and Sierra’s bunkhouse. We spend most of our time in these areas. The bulky dinette with lots of storage had to go – and the jacknife couch (commonly known as the “torture device”) had to go. Sierra needed more space, more storage and a study area.

Second, demo! Always fun unless it’s a travel trailer and you are worried about literally destroying your house.

No comfort for my aching back!

We started with that dinette and although it came out relatively easily, there was a LOT of crawling around on the floor. The jacknife came next and was not as user freindly to get out. After removing all of the screws that I could, I had to resort to my trusty adjuster and beat a couple of 2X4’s off the bottom of it’s frame.

In the end, we got all of the furniture out of the slide out. We discovered the velcro strip for the cushions would not come out, so we decided it was not a problem. Another discovery, the lights were wired THROUGH the wall of the left bank of seats in the dinette! That did prove to be a problem. We cut the wires and then removed the seating, then rewired it. I still need to put in some corner board to cover the exposed wire – more on that later!

We decided to focus on this part first. So we scrubbed it clean, removed the trim and the small pieces for the table uprights and got ready to start the fun part!

Getting a cosy, comfort oriented feel!

We wanted the slideout to feel completely different. This way, it would be its own space and (I hoped) make the inside feel larger). We started from the floor up. I did not want to repace the linoleum that was in there, as that opens a whole new can of worms and I was completely full of the worms I already had. We picked out a durable peel and stick flooring and started putting it in.

Next we had to start replacing furniture quickly, as we were actively living in it at this time. We decided that a table and chairs were a priority. I had spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do in order to get the storage we needed, more table space than the small square the dinette had and seating we fit in.

Fabrication!

We settled on a prefab set of shelving for one end, and replaced the paperboard back with 1/8 in plywood for stability. I designed a small leg for the portion near the wall. Ash stained a pine craft board with butcher block stain and sealant. Then we just put it all together! Definitely not that easy.

In order get the height correct, we had to add a 4 inch lifted section but that was ok. It created more leg room and corrected for another thing we needed to add. This house moves. We needed to ensure we planned for every aspect. So, we needed something to keep everything in, and dog fur out. A coffee house we enjoyed in Ft Smith (Fort Smith Coffee Company), actually sells the bags the beans are delivered in – bam!

And because we both have ADHD

We moved directly to the old, bulky, pressed wood window dressings. Those came off rather easily. Removed a few screws and they were down. Surprise! The roll up shades were mounted in the top of the housing. Sigh. That’s ok, oh shit carpentry is one of my specialties.

I removed the mounts for the roll shade, ensure it could be mounted horizontally, and then remounted them directly on the wall above the windows. Next, we went out and bought old-school-less-than-$2-a-peice curtain rods. Installed those, making sure to not use screws longer than 3/4 inch as we only had about 1 1/4 inches to play with before poking through the skin.

Time to cheat a little…just a little

We actually thought we might create our seating. Then the whisky wore off. Ash spent the next 4 years that night looking for a chaise lounge, or a couch, or a bean bag, or a bale of hay – we were concerned about weight. We were concerned about comfort. She was concerned about asthetics.

After a truly exhaustive search, we found our 30 lb chaise couch for two that fit in the space perfectly. Great color with mixed reviews. We bought it. It has been a little over 2 months now, and some of the cushions are not as cushy, but it’s still comfortable.

Chaos everywhere

We were actually working on Sierra’s room this entire too. It would have made too much sense and been way to easy, much less cusing and way less crying to do it one peice at a time.

First we had to see what we were working with. I removed the ladder and popped the top of the top bunk off. Random supports everywhere and two screws holding it into the wall…it’s wonder it hadn’t fallen a long time ago.

Next I needed to create room. She needed a walking area, dressing area, school/study area – oh and storage. Did I mention this space is about 3 1/2 feet by 6 feet? Granted, that would probably go for about $1500 a month in NYC. But it isn’t a lot to work with.

I started by carving out the section for a walk way, then a chunk for open feeling and a way for light from her window to get to the room. That, quite literally left a chunk dangling. Picked up a couple of bannisters from the hardware store, cut them to length and slapped them in. Viola’ instant stability.

We have this wierd thing with mushrooms

Seriously. It’s wierd. I think (and I am probably over analyzing) it is because they are pretty and so ephemeral. There, pretty and gone. Well, Ash wanted mushrooms on the wall that was going to divide the bedroom from the living area and found some fabric with mushrooms on it. Whatever makes her comfortable, I usually go with. So we have a half wall with mushrooms on it. We also hung our air filter there, getting it off the counter.

Comfort in Sierra’s style

Finally finished Sierra’s space. Laid flooring, reinstalled some trim, stained the top bunk, placed storage cubes and some kid lighting. We also go the chairs for the dining area knocked out at the same time. This finished off the project, except I still need to cover that dang wire!

Comfort Holland Family style!

Who know’s what the future may bring!?

We are about to hit the road, be sure to stay up to date on whatever we get into!