November 1st, we crossed the boarder into the USA and it took us about 5 days of driving to make it to Roswell New Mexico. We stayed a week at a funky little ufo themed campground. We took Matti (our truck) in for a few repairs and found that Val (our 5th wheel) had so many wood cupboards, wood walls, wood floors, and huge window valances, that is was nearly impossible for us to work because it was so dim and dark. That was the week the unofficial remodeling started. The dusty, dark and heavy window valances were the first thing to go and already things seemed brighter.
While staying in Phoenix with family for Thanksmus (American Thanksgiving and family Christmas) we decided that Val needed some lightening up. We quickly ripped off all the cupboard doors and taping off everything else. We went white and I mean bright white, the walls, the cupboards, the shelves, everything a bright clean white.
It took us a whole week, with help and we didn't completely finish painting everything. Nearly the entire inside was covered in wood and the walls had a dark beige wall paper. The out dated, dark wall paper boarder I happily ripped off while we were staying in Roswell and it really seemed to open up the whole space.
We used a heavy primer (123 bullseye primer from Home Hardware) and covered everything in two coats with a brush and rollers, then had a white with a satin finish (Behr also from Home Hardware satin finish so its a little more durable) and added another two coats to get rid of any streaks and mess. It was obviously a lot more work than we thought...In the kitchen/living room area there are 45 cupboards and drawers with all the handles and hinges that all needed to be taken off. We had blisters and were so over this project.
When we got to our next campsite at a crazy beautiful mountain, we decided to pick up the brushes and finish the bathroom and bedroom. Again, too many cupboards doors and drawers and we decided if we ever do this again we are for sure using a sprayer, not brushes and rollers.
We are so happy that we painted and its a bright white. Its so clean, feels bigger and so much brighter, we can actually work in here now.
If you have an older camper, trailer or 5th wheel and you are thinking about painting...do it! Do It! Do It!!! Yes, it's a ton of work, the wood and walls soak up a ton of paint and you need quite a few coats of primer and paint to get rid of all that darkness. But, it is so ridiculously worth it!
The before Pictures of Val
This is what the entire inside of our 5th wheel looked like. Everything was a dark wood, dark beige wallpaper, darker boarder, heavy window valances and dark puffy curtains. It was cozy, but too dark for us...
The During Pictures of Val
Here's the Living room and kitchen area. This is just the beginning and YES it's a lot of work, a lot, especially with brushes and rollers. The prep work alone took a couple of days, taking off the window valances and window blinds, ripping off the boarder, scrubbing the walls, taking off all the cupboards, handles and hinges and taping off everything else. But, its SO worth it!! I promise!
Here are just a few of our cupboard doors. Val has an insane amount of cupboards, closets and storage.
In the beginning, we thought just a bright white comforter and pillow would be bright enough....No...we were wrong!
Round two, in the Tonopah desert, doing the finishing touches...
The Finished Photos of Val
Here is the kitchen and we are just finishing, you can see the bathroom is still not done yet...
Living room area as we are unpacking...
All nice and clean and bright white!
We'll add more bright photos as we finish painting, decorating and getting things ready. It is a big project but so worth it. I love the bright white and can't believe how much bigger the whole place feels now.
And, I will add bedroom and bathroom photos...I have some crazy ideas for your bathroom...oh your going to love it!!!
For our new living space, since it was so bright and clean. We decided to keep it that way and decorate with obsidian. This is an awesome stone for taking negativity out of a space and cleansing and area. So happy vibes all around here!
A minimal favorite mala of mine is the 8mm obsidian wrist mala. It's the perfect mala to wear to keep negativity away from you and stay in a cheerful mood.
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