Campulance Life

This One Took Some Creativity! From the first time I laid eyes on the inside of the Campulance, I knew I had to figure something out to redesign those cabinet doors.  The thought of seeing all the stuff in every cabinet made me a bit twitchy.  Now, how was I going to make them over to match the new flooring and shiplap, how was shiny metal and plexiglass ever going to somehow be cute?  I set out to find some inspiration online and found many just ripped out cabinets and built all new ones, this seemed like something we didn't really want to do. The cabinets are really well built and there is so much storage, so I continued on my mission to just remodel them.  I did find a fellow campulance renovator on instagram that had used frosted spray paint on hers, and an idea was born.  Off to Menards for metal and frosted glass spray paint.  I used one of the ripped out cabinets from demo to practice on one door just incase my idea was a flop.   In theory ...

  Stepping it up! Gosh, Wisconsin people take camping very seriously and apparently book all the campsites months in advance. Since we bought the campulance early September, we have not been able to find a campsite on a weekend anywhere nearby. Luckily I had off Monday for Columbus Day and Lucas has a gazillion vacations days saved up, so we headed to Point Beach State Park in Two Rivers Sunday for an overnight.  We were stepping it up and getting the fancy electric site this time.  No more cold nights, we got the heater going right away and it was nice and warm all night. We were also put in charge of a meal so it was time to pretend we knew a thing or two about camping.  No turning back now.  The weather was a bit chillier than the original forecast showed, but the fall colors more than made up for the temperature.  The campground had some great trails and as the name implies, is on a beach. Lake Michigan is always a sight to see and the waves could be he...

  Just Winging It We needed some curtains to warm up the space, so this was my next project. I have never claimed to be a seamstress and that holds true even after this project.  That being said, I am not one to back down from a challenge. If the girl on Pinterest can make these then so can I.  Cute fabric got ordered and after a few trips to the craft store and one more Amazon order for lobster claws and D rings (Pinterest girl said I needed them),I was ready.  Once upon a time I had a sewing machine, and I never really graduated past sewing straight lines. It started acting up years ago and so when I moved, it didn't make the trip.  First task to tackle was figuring out how to sew without a machine.  I have no intentions of this becoming a new hobby, so really didn't want to drop money in to something I will rarely use.  Turns out Walmart had a "mending" machine for $20. I figured it had good reviews and could sew a straight line so it would be perfe...

 A little progress each day adds up.  This weekend was all about the little things. Feels like we didn't tackle one big task, but lots and lots of little ones. Good thing I take so many pictures or I'd never remember them all.  After watching 4th quarter of the Packer game last weekend on a phone, first up on the list was installing a TV.  Lucas had gotten a TV mount and we had a perfect spot picked out.  The task was a bit challenging and we did have to take a door down to get it installed, but it looks great and got a better signal than the TV inside the house.  Not sure that will be the case at a campsite in the woods, but I think we have a pretty good chance.  Ignore the wires and the base on the TV still, this was a trial run and with only one more camping trip this season, it'll go back in the house for winter.       Next up on the long list of little things was door locks.  We have to have some keys recut, so Lucas was p...

  Test Run at Site 3 Wisconsin's cold weather is looming and we know we may only get one or two chances to use the Campulance before winter, so this past weekend we set out for a test run.  Up near Lucas' family camp is a campground with some amazing views.  The pictures don't do it justice, but the fall colors were almost at their peak.  We both agreed that the fact that we can just pull in to the campsite, lay down an outdoor rug and we are good to go is our kind of camping.  No hour of prep to level, unhook vehicles etc. I think I can actually do this. It helped that his parents had arrived at the next site over a couple hours before us, so the campfire was already going. So.....we may have cheated a little and brought the experts along, but baby steps.   These particular sites didn't have electric, which gave us a chance to give the new generator a try. It worked perfectly and we learned from the last time, so had a heater going to prep for th...

  It's finally time for bed.  The flooring is down and the shiplap is up, so it's finally time to install the bed.  Lots of prep work was involved in being able to fit a full size mattress, but after that night on the air mattress, we were highly motivated to get a nice mattress in the campulance.   First was cabinet removal on both sides, then floors and shiplap. Lucas had been building parts of the framing while the other prep was happening. He was convinced he could get the bed installed in 5 minutes. He didn't quite make his goal, but he had everything cut and ready, so it was a pretty fast process.    Next we hauled the mattress from his spare room down. Guessing if the neighbors were watching this looked quite comical as it wouldn't fit through the back doors and we had to wiggle it in through the side door. Who remembers that Friends episode where Ross and Chandler try to "pivot" the couch up the stairs?  We will be building doors...

 "I may not live in a farmhouse, but I dream of shiplap, subway tile and barn doors."  To be honest I don't want to live in a farmhouse, but I do love shiplap, subway tile and those sliding barn doors.  I know, I know cliche HGTV watching female, but I'm totally ok with it. I wouldn't say no to an all white kitchen either.  Here was my chance. Lucas has been very sweet as he hears me say "ya know, I was thinking" about a million times. He just laughs and says, you are in charge of interiors, whatever you want.  That sounded like a green light for me to get all the things, don't you think?  So between Amazon and Pinterest the picture in my head was becoming pretty clear. Flooring was picked and painting was well underway. All my darn design ideas are holding back the bed building project, so as soon as the flooring was down it was time for shiplap. First was a trip to Home Depot for some building materials and my birch plywood. A few minutes on the ta...