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I am so excited to finally be able to share our camper remodel with you all! Last summer we decided to finally take the plunge and invest in a camper! Camping has been part of our family for many years and it is even how my husband and I met! We really wanted to teach our son to love the outdoors and spend his summers playing outside and we figured camping was the best way to do that!
So our search began for a camper! We quickly realized that purchasing a used camper from an RV store was going to be an overpriced investment. We really didn’t want to invest $6,000 – $8,000 in a camper from an RV Store that needed a complete gut and remodel. But thankfully our gracious friends came to the rescue and sold us their 2006 Forest River Wildwood Travel Trailer! Check out our camper remodel below!
Before Camper Remodel
When we began our search for a camper I was really hoping to find one that needed some upgrades and that I could put my own spin on. I love to remodel and redecorate so I couldn’t wait to start a new project! The camper we purchased turned out to be a great investment! It was in great condition but the upholstery was far from making me a happy camper!
The Couch
The couch, table cushions, and cornice boards were all covered in this worn out, ugly leaf pattern. It had to go! We started by removing all the cornice boards, window blinds, the jackknife couch, and table cushions. Most things came off very easily with a drill and the right drill bits. Most screws used a square bit, but it may vary between camper models.
The Booth
We reupholstered our booth cushions with a method I like to call the gift wrapping method. You can read more about that here. We also removed the leaf border on the camper walls. The border was very easy to pull off. It was a stick and peel kind of border instead of glued on. After we got it all peeled off, we took a rag and soaked it in goo-gone to remove the left behind residue.
Kitchen
In the kitchen not much had to be done. We just removed the leaf border and took down the curtain over the window. We gave the drawers and cabinets a good cleaning and installed contact paper in the drawers to keep them clean.
Bunk Beds
Our camper has two slide outs and one of them is a second bedroom with bunk beds. We love this room! It is perfect for our little boy! Not much had to be done in here. We just had to remove the curtains and the hardware from them. We didn’t have to do any major work to the bathroom and master bedroom either. Luckily most of our repairs were small or just cosmetic!
After Camper Remodel
The Couch
Our after picture of the jackknife sofa! Isn’t is SO. MUCH. BETTER! The hardest part of this whole remodel was reupholstering that sofa. I didn’t have any interest in paying someone to reupholster the sofa for me so I had to get creative! I wish I had pictures throughout the process, but I didn’t have a blog then and never knew I would need them. We used a navy canvas fabric from Hobby Lobby. It is very durable and cleans up well! For extra safety, before using our camper I sprayed all the fabric with Scotchguard Fabric Protector.
The fabric for the cornice boards, booth, and pillows came from Fabric.com. It took 10 yards to redo the booth and all the cornice boards.
I searched long and hard for a fabric that I knew I could be happy with for a long time and this fabric turned out to be perfect! It is made from a canvas material and is very durable! Plus it is BEAUTIFUL! It brightened up our camper so much! It was way more than I wanted to pay for it, but I also wanted it to last so we bit the bullet and went ahead it. The fabric all together cost around $200 dollars.
I lost the shade for the light on the wall and I have yet to find the right size to replace it. I am debating on just replacing the whole light instead.
The Booth
Our booth turned out perfect! I love eating breakfast here while we’re camping and looking out the windows in the morning! Replacing the fabric really brightened up the space! Instead of putting blinds back on the windows we used pull shades. We chose an off white color to match the wallpaper in the camper. They were really easy to install with just a few brackets holding them in place. Lowes cut each blind to the correct size for us.
The Kitchen
The kitchen was the one area of the camper that we did a ton of work on! We used adhesive backsplash to put up a backsplash behind the sink. It was easy to install but tedious. It took about 15 pieces to complete. But it looks amazing and after a year it still looks great and hasn’t peeled at all. We also installed this paper towel bar for extra storage! It is perfect and holds our towels in place even when we are towing the camper.
Bunk Beds
Our little boy’s bedroom is my favorite room in the camper! This bedding set could not have been more perfect! It is the Campfire Critter Comforter set by Pillowfort. Unfortunately, I don’t think they make it anymore but here are some really cute similar sets!
Bathroom
Our bathroom was an easy remodel. We just added a new shower curtain and a wall mount storage basket to hold our towel and extra RV toilet paper. I tried to add backsplash behind the bathroom sink as well but it would not stick. I think the room had too much moisture and the adhesive could not stick to the wallpaper because of it.
Master Bedroom
The master bedroom was easy too! Nothing had to be remodeled so we just hung fabric storage organizers in each closet to give us extra room for our clothes. The bedding we used is from Martha Stewart and it used to be in our bedroom at home. Since we weren’t using it anymore and it went along with the colors and design of the camper, I thought it was the perfect place to get a little more use out of it!
Outside
The final project on our camper was to add a strip LED lighting system. I didn’t want to fool with hanging lights from the awning ever time we went camping. They are really pretty but it seemed like a waste of time to me. So instead my husband installed the mounted LED lights and wired them into a switch inside the camper. They are so bright and give us a ton of light at night!
So that’s our full camper remodel! In total we spent less than $1000 dollars to remodel our camper. I hope this gives you the inspiration to take on your own camper remodel project! It was such a fun project for my husband and I. It took about two weeks of work but in the end, it has been so worth it!
Comment below and let me know what you think!
You May Also Like: How To Reupholster Camper Cushions
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Love your camper redo!!! And, I love that you didn’t go into painting all the cabinets and walls! Seems like all the redo’s I seem to have everything painted and I just don’t want to do that route! The cabinets I have in my 5th wheel are nice and are all cherry wood that I do not want to paint!!
You did a great job on the booth and windows!!! Love that fabric!!
Thanks for sharing and letting me know that you don’t have to paint everything to update your camper!
Shirley
Thank you Shirley! I’m glad you liked it!
So, Shirley, if you reno yours without painting be sure to post your pics also!! This is exactly what I’ve noticed – I just want to update a few things without doing too much, but it’s hard to find inspiration for minor upgrades, or just simple things to dress up the camper without changing absolutely everything.
Really fabulous! I’ve starting looking in the market to buy an RV or camper, and they are all so dreary in the interiors. Your blog has given me hope and inspiration on how to brighten and refresh the tired decor. Thanks so much!
Thank you Giuliana. Good luck on your search! Camper shopping is always so much fun!
Your camper looks fabulous. What great colors you used to bring out the cheerfulness of camping. Everything looks great! Good job!!! You’re very creative & talented.
Thank you so much Rhonda! That is so kind of you!
Looks awesome!!! How did you do the border around your cushions on your benches? Thanks for your time!
Hi Kristel,
I unscrewed them from the bench and stapled fabric to them just like I did the cushions. It is just a piece of wood that is taped at the corners. You can use small staples to attach new fabric to it. And then just screw it back on. You may have to buy new caps for the screws if yours are covered in fabric. I couldn’t cover them so I just bought ivory ones from Camping World.
Thanks!
Can you tell me what the name of the backsplash you used is?
Hi Cynda! Here is a link to the tile on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2UsOZrV It is called Tic Tac Tiles Anti-Mold Peel and Stick Wall Tile in Polito Bella
You are a genius!!! 🙂 Thanks for all the amazing and cheaper ideas!!! I am actually excited to get on with a remodel. I am semi- crafty, but mostly need instant gratification! LOL
Thanks for your amazing ideas!
We just got our trailer and the person who owned it before us was a smoker, so I am looking for inexpensive ways to update and remove the smell. Do you know how much material you used for the jackknife couch?
I purchased 6 yards of fabric from Hobby Lobby, but I at least had 1 yard left over.
Nice job!!!! Do you remember how much fabric you needed to redo the couch? We have the same type of couch and I’d love to do so emerging like this.
I purchased 6 yards from Hobby Lobby but I probably had atleast a yard left over!
Lindsay,
Super cute ideas and choice of fabrics to liven up the place! I’ve been searching many different boards and I have not been able to find out how to deal with the “joint” strips on the wall panels used in our “new to us” 1999 camper. I want to add a faux tile backsplash in the kitchen, but I’m not sure how to account for those little “bumps” in the wall from those strips. Do you have any suggestions?
Also, if I needed to decorate a little boys area in our camper…I would TOTALLY use what you choose!!!! Simply adorable!!!
Tammy,
We only had the seams where the panels are held together in the corners and I didn’t try to cover them with the backsplash. I don’t think it would adhere to them for very long. Unfortunately, you may have to go around them 🙁 However, if it is just the tape holding your seams together and not like a raised piece of panelling, you may be able to spray some spray adhesive on it before applying the backslash to give it some extra glue. I’m not sure if it would hold up long term, but it is relatively cheap so it’s worth a try!
Looks excellent! My boyfriend and I recently started on our camper reno project and I have most been dreading the couch. 🙁 How were you able to cover yours? Is it a slip cover or does it stay on when you fold it out into a bed?
Hi Gracie,
We took the couch off of the frame and then I sewed the fabric to it. It really was a pain but I found that using a hook embroidery needle made it a little easier. And the fabric stays on, but it is loose when the in the couch position because of extra fabric in the middle that’s needed for when the couch turns into a bed. A slipcover would have been a lot easier, but I could not find one that matches our couch.
Any tips on removing the border wallpaper? I removed it from a previous RV and found it to be a times taking job. I would like to remove our current border but am not anxious to undertake the task.
Mine was just a clear border and peeled off easily. And then I went back and used goo gone to remove the rest of the reside. If yours is like a paper type border, spray fabric softener on it and then use a plastic putty knife to remove it from the walls!
How much fabric did you need for your cornice boards? We have done some things to our camper as well. I was going to paint the walls but after looking at yours decided I could live with the walls. We were able to buy a leather sleeper sofa to replace the ugly dated sofa. I added window treatments over the cornice boards but I think I may be ready to cover them. Were they a complete pain to cover?
They actually were not too bad to recover! I just had to cut the fabric where the boards curved so there would not be wrinkles in it. I am not sure how much fabric I had to order for them. But of the 10 yards I ordered, probably 5 went towards the cornice boards just because of how long they are.
Where did you get the strip led lighting?
Love that
My trailer is almost exact except bathroom
Can’t wait to start on mine
We are in construction and travel to different job sites. This one I’m going to take time to do my trailer
Hi Janet! We got it on Amazon. You can find it here! https://amzn.to/2YrXzJo
I can not find the fabric you used on the dinning table? I absolutely love it!
Hi Amber! It looks like fabric.com doesn’t have it in stock anymore, but the fabric is called Richloom R Gallery Breakaway Breeze.
Looks terrific! For the bunk beds, did you just order two twin size comforters? Our bunks are two different sizes like yours, and I’m not sure what size comforters to get?
The top is a twin and the bottom is a full. They are both a bit too big, but I just tuck them under the matress when we make the bed!
Do you have any details on the outside LED strip? What did you use? How did you run power? Any other details? Thank you!
Greg,
We used these LED Recreational Light Strips from Amazon. We wired them into the existing light on the outside of our camper. On most campers it’s a yellow light right by the door.
Keep up the great work! Thank you so much for sharing a great posts.
You did a good job. Thank you so much for sharing. I was wondering how much it would cost to remodel a travel trailer.
It really looks amazing! I was wondering about the shower curtain rod, where did you get it?!
Hi Nicole,
It actually came installed in our camper, but the previous owner installed it. Camping world may have one like it!
We aren’t renovating, but we are first time RVers. How did you anchor the basket to the wall? We are needing extra storage in the bathroom, but don’t want to damage the walls if screws don’t work.
Mary Ann,
We used heavy weight drywall anchors and had no issues with them! I would recommend the ones with the wings that span out.