When I read Melissa’s makeover story, I could instantly relate. We camped very infrequently when my kids were little. I just didn’t feel I was up for the task of setting up camp and sleeping on the ground with three kids in tow. Of course, that is something I regret now. The summer before we purchased our pop up camper, we had taken a ten day trip up the California coast, tent camping along the way. We had none of the trouble Melissa had on her first camping trip, but we had fallen victim to such circumstances in the past. For this trip, I was well prepared, but that meant that our setup took forever. We actually had a fabulous time on our California trip, but I remember setting up my tent campsite, which was admittedly pretty glamorous, and wishing for a pop up camper. We bought our Santa Fe a few months later and haven’t looked back. For those of you with little ones, yes, camping is more difficult, but absolutely worth it. Melissa is living proof. Did I mention she has six kids? Yep! I’ll let her tell you all about her story.
Melissa’s Pop Up Camper Makeover
We were so excited! We took our first camping trip to a local campground a few miles from home. We wanted to be close to home, just in case anything went wrong. It turned out to be a great weekend, and all the kids loved the pop up. We were in the mountains of Northern California, where even in summer, the overnight temperatures can dip down to near freezing. The heater kept us so cozy! We were officially hooked.
We actually began our makeover by removing our shower/toilet combo. Neither of us wanted to have a bathroom in our trailer, and we figured with our family, we weren’t going to be doing much off-grid camping. By removing the bathroom, we also gave ourselves much more room for storage and found we could fit the baby’s bassinet where the bathroom was. This gave her a designated space in the trailer. We saved the cassette toilet, since it is a self-contained unit, for any camping trips where a bathroom would not be available. We’ve only taken one such trip this summer and having that toilet made my three daughters very happy! The boys of course just found a tree. 😉
The colors of the outside vinyl on our pop up are light gray, navy blue, and a maroon-ish red, so I wanted to carry those colors into the inside of the trailer. I settled on a patriotic stars and stripes theme. I loved all the makeovers featured with white or light colored cabinets, but knew my six kids and three dogs would make short work of anything light colored, so I went for a rustic barn red color for the cabinets. I started by cleaning the cabinets well and painting on a layer of KILZ oil based primer to seal up all the press board and prevent any water damage.
I knew not to try to paint the t-trim, so I pulled that off and ordered new trim in a dark brown color. I also pulled off the hardware and toe kick on the slide-out and spray painted them with Rustoleum’s Hammered Bronze color. We decided against doing anything to the countertops, as they were already in great condition. My wonderful husband laid the new “Gray Driftwood” vinyl peel-and-stick flooring, which we picked up from Lowe’s. It makes such a difference and really hides the dirt!
The next big project was all the sewing. Our old color scheme was Coleman green and tan, so I couldn’t reuse our curtains. They were pretty dirty and had some holes, so I was happy to have new curtains. I chose to go with beautiful blue blackout curtain panels from Walmart. I just had to cut them to size and do minimal sewing to make them fit the camper windows. I did save the mesh netting from the bunkends, which I sewed to the tops of the new curtains. I also widened those curtains by three inches on each side so the bunkends could be fully closed off. I tried to reuse the original c-clips by roughing them up with sand paper and attaching them back on the curtains with super glue. It actually held decently for a bit, but after a weekend camping trip a few clips did fall off. I decided the easiest thing to do was use the carrier tape with the snap-on c-clips that Larissa mentioned in her curtains post. I also made tailored valances and attached them with the glide tape (also in Larissa’s post). I wanted to make sure when my kids pulled on the curtains, they weren’t going to fall off the track, and these seem to work well for that.
I purchased all the fabric for the cushions, valances, and tie-backs from JoAnn Fabrics. It is an outdoor fabric, because I wanted something sturdy that could withstand my family’s abuse. It was a bit more expensive than I had wanted, but I had tons of coupons, which brought the price down significantly. I sewed all the cushion covers myself, adding an extra layer of batting over the foam for comfort and Velcro closures on the covers for easy removal. I had hoped to re-use the zippers from the original cushions, but they were too small so I went with Velcro instead. I like that I can easily pull off the covers to clean if they get too dirty.
It was quite a project to undertake but so fun to do. The whole project took us about two months to complete, but only because we were camping nearly every weekend. We’ve really enjoyed our summer. I love how our little pop up turned out and how much fun camping has become for our family. We’ve already been to some beautiful spots in Northern California and look forward to more adventures this fall. In fact, we are already planning where we will head next summer!
I never get tired of hearing stories like that. My oldest is not so little anymore, and as we prepare to send him off to college next year, I wonder where our summers went. He was just a little boy not long ago, and I desperately wish we would have dig in our heels and packed up the family for summer camping trips much, much sooner. Kudos to you, Melissa, for taking on a daunting remodel project and an even more intimidating summer of camping with six kids. I’m sure you and the kids will have lovely memories to think back on when they are older.
Happy Camping!
This is great! We just started camping with a 4 and 8 year old. I do wish we’d started sooner, because we love it. I can’t imagine going with babies, though! Kudos to those who do! 🙂
It so happens that we have gone camping with this family and their beautiful little tent trailer. They did a great job! Happy camping!
I have been camping my entire life, so when I had my first baby I was so excited to get him camping. We did his first trip when he was 6 months and have gone every summer since and he is soon to be 4. Now we are a family of four and took the whole gang camping, my daughter only being 3 months when we went and we had a great time 🙂 now after 10plus years tenting it with my husband I am so excited to be getting a tent trailer for our family for next summer! And even more excited to do some remodeling. Happy camping!
I love the colors! We use red and blue in ours too. Kudos Melissa for camping with little ones! Even though my boys are older (21 &16) we still love to camp together. Enjoy all the great memories your going to make!
We bought our pop up this spring and have used it twice this year. My family goes on a yearly Father’s Day camping trip. I have 3 brothers that go with their families, and my mom & dad. This Father’s Day was awesome, as my husband, my 15 year old son and 12 year old daughter ventured out. We too have a Coleman popup. It is a great camper. We have plans to use it 3 or 4 times a year.. We are going to remake our camper as well. Out plan is to paint the cabinets white. Put a dark laminate floor down and use a black & grey color palate in the camper… Keep on Camping…. It’s fun and you gets lots of memories out of it…
We started camping with a very energetic two year old, thank goodness we had nice playgrounds where we camped! We had some restless nights but it was worth it and now that he’s three we are still enjoying the popup house, his name for our camper. You inspire all of us, great makeover!!
I love the colors and the push out dinette! Great job! I’ve found that camping with children is one of the most satisfying things to do with them!
Great job! I love the colors as we chose the same! (Ours is the Disney pup featured here). I can’t imagine all you have to take with you for all the kids,especially with q baby! But yes, great memories. Love it!
Love the work youdid
Looks great! We just purchased a pop up very similar with the slide out dinette, and I’m so excited to get started on it! My question is: did you have to make any modifications to the peel and stick flooring to be able to slide out the dinette with ease? Is there a possibility of damaging the new flooring bc it’s too high for the slide out?
OMG i love this!!! I am looking for a camper to remodel for next Spring. I have started a Pinterest board with beautiful interiors like yours.