A Budget -Friendly Camper Re-Do: Our Style

Last summer, on a whim, we purchased a camper...off of Craig's List...the night before we were going to use it! 

When we go to the 4H County Fair, we thought it would be fun and economical to just stay there the whole week instead of driving back and forth multiple times a day, tending to our cattle that we are showing, and in between fun fair activities. 

This little beauty was a great find, and a steal! It's a 1998 Dutchmen, and was taken care of by it's one owner and actually barely even used. So home it came with us!

We stayed in it that first week, but it didn't feel like ours. The cupboards were full of stuff that wasn't ours, and the colors and patterns were circa 1990's. We began to dream up big renovation plans! I even looked to Pinterest with my board titled "Camping in Style". 


But when it came time to actually start renovating it, we began to get a little nostalgic about this cute little camper. The wood wasn't really that bad to live with. The floors were easy to maintain. The brass (and there is a lot of it!) was growing on us. With a few cosmetic changes and our own accessories....it feels more like "us". 

I kind of let the camper tell me what style looked best with it. I brought in one of my favorite wedding gifts: A wedding Ring Quilt, and it just looked right at home in here. So that was the inspiration that I went with for the whole look. 

We will probably only use this a couple times each summer, and nothing screams "Summer" to me more than quilts. 

I love having the restraint of a tight budget, it is more creatively challenging. And I LOVE a challenge!

New window treatments in the bedroom were a MUST, I was going to make some,but found exactly what I wanted with these simple sheers from Target.

To balance all the girli-ness, we brought in some roughness via vintage coffee sacks. I had quite the growing collection of these, and after getting over the initial shock of cutting one up, I love the look it adds to the windows!!

Now, the window above the dining table was the biggest challenge! I know, I know...not a big deal in hind-site. But I had this "vision" of a deer rack hanging. 

After several nights of begging Baileyhusband to hang those suckers, he finally did. 

And they came crashing down as soon as we let go!

The wall paneling would not hold those heavy things! And if you could picture a grown woman hissing a fit, stomping her feet, and crying out to the decor Gods...well, that wasn't what happened. (well, maybe)

So, for posterity sake, I had Sierra hold them up for you all to see what it should have looked like. Cool, huh? 

After thinking about it for a couple days, and thinking "what in the world can I hang there that will cover that hole we made and be light as a feather??"

Well, duh, FEATHERS! We have plenty of them around here. And you know what? I like this better than the antlers....so THERE, decor Gods!! Now this is my favorite window in the camper. 

We also added burlap and rope to all the fabric panels. Amazing what a staple gun and a glue gun can accomplish! Burlap + Rope = A match made in heaven.

{One of the panels, before and after}

Some super cute, handy accessories, and we can use this as our second home! Because I always need to have fun things to look at as well as them being useful! 

Real herbs from our Farm Garden, these will be handy when grilling or making sandwiches at the campground!

Here are some before and after shots to see some of the changes:

There you have it....Our finished little camper remodel. 
It is not very fancy by any stretch of the imagination, and truth be told...it could be a little bigger, with bunk beds, a larger bathroom maybe. But, we actually adore this little gem. 

As I sit, typing this on my quilt in the bedroom, looking out to the trees surrounding our campground....(the family is down tending to our cattle in the barn)...I cannot be happier with our choice to save money and buy this, and make it home-y with our own unique style. 

 To quote one of my favorite bloggers, The Nester, 
It Doesn't Have To Be Perfect To Be Beautiful! So I hung this sign proudly.

I am a list maker, here is a breakdown of what was done/purchased:

* Burlap and rope added to cupboard panels with staple gun and hot glue

* Coffee sacks stapled over old window treatments

* Sheers purchased for bedroom windows, there are 3 windows. I only bought 3 panels and cut them in half length wise, and trimmed the bottom to fit the short ceiling height. (From Target)

* Baby crib sheets over kitchen benches, which also turns into a bed for the kids. So they work double-duty. (cheaper than a new slipcover. Purchased from Babies R Us)

* Quilt covering sofa-bed (over a fitted sheet), already owned

* Bedroom quilt and bedding, already owned

* Homemade feather garland over window in kitchen and homemade "Be Inspired" banner above bed.

* 2 seagrass rugs (Target)

* Magazine/mail holder baskets on wall (purchased new from Target)

* Feed sack pillows and other pillows from my hoarding stash

* Framed feed sack in barnwood, made by me

* Sheepskin throw/ rug (purchased from Ikea)

* All other accessories were just found around our home

I hope you enjoyed seeing into our little home-on-wheels! We are so excited for the chance to use it this summer/ fall season. 

Until next time.....

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