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Camper Makeover Reveal for the $100 Room Challenge

I love the satisfaction of a completed project! This little camper gave me a run for my money, but she’s finally ready for her big reveal.

The Big Reveal of our Little Camper Makeover

Y’all know I’m a big fan of the $100 Room Challenge because it gives me a deadline. Without that deadline, I’m sure I’d still be wallowing around in the beginning stages of this project, because there was just. so. much.

And without the $100 budget, there’s no telling what I could have spent turning this little diamond-in-the-rough into a polished gem.

So thank you Erin, of Lemons, Lavender, & Laundry, for being the inspiration, motivation, and organization behind the $100 Room Challenge! (My family thanks you too.)

$100 Room Challenge Camper Makeover Reveal

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Our Little Camper Before

In week 1, I showed you our plans for this little camper, along with what we’d already done to make the bed more comfortable. Here’s a quick reminder of where we started. This is the kitchen, bathroom door, and bunk beds.

Dated camper interior before its makeover

And here is the view that greeted us when we would open the door.

Camper before - lots of orange wood and dated fabrics.

There was lots of orange wood cabinetry everywhere. Great for storage, not great for style. And to make it worse, the cabinet doors were made of real stained wood and the frames are laminate, so over the years the stained wood started aging to a different color than the frames. Ick.

I didn’t mind the khaki walls, but the dated window coverings and matching wallpaper border as backsplash just made everything feel dark and heavy. This makeover was going to take a lot of paint, and some creative thinking to cover up all the orange and blue!

The Big “After”

This little camper has come a long way!

Bright camper interior with light gray cabinets and white accent pieces.

She got painted cabinets, a new backsplash, fresh window treatments, and new bedding. (I’ll show you how the budget worked at the end of this post.) During Week 2 (and beyond), I painted the cabinets with DecoArt Chalky Finish and Satin Enamels. I’ll be doing a whole tutorial post on this later, for all my readers who have asked how to paint laminate, so stay tuned for that. But for now, let’s move on to more pictures…

Backsplash with gold hexagons on white background

The backsplash got a chic update with a gold-on-white hex pattern that’s subtle but super light and pretty. I’ll have a tutorial on this next week. (Spoiler alert: you’ll need a gold Sharpie!)

I splurged and bought a cafe curtain for the kitchen window. I love how the fresh white brightens up this space and reflects the light from the window. And it only cost $11 for the curtain and tension rod from Walmart!

If you read my earlier posts, you’ll remember that I had planned to use removable wallpaper for this backsplash, but that project turned into a massive fail. Ironically, I like how this method turned out even better. Sometimes, in life as in crafting, our failures clear space for improvements!

Gray countertop and sink with white and gold hexagon backsplash

In week 3, I painted the countertops with Rustoleum’s Countertop Paint. It was a great experience, and I love how they turned out! This color is called Putty and it’s a warm modern gray with a satiny sheen.

Here’s a view looking from the entrance toward the back of the camper:

Camper interior with gray cabinets and white bedding

I happened to have a pretty shower curtain leftover from our flip house staging, and used part of it to recover the window treatments. Then I replaced the bunk-bedroom curtain with the remainder.

Matching white and gray bedding and window coverings

All the new bedding was leftover from the flip house as well. Honestly, I feel like I cheated a bit with this part, because new bedding for the “master” bed, as well as the bunk beds, would have cost at least $100 on it’s own. But I really didn’t know what else to do with these piles of linens that were sitting on my work table, so it was a win-win for my camper.

A glimpse of camper bunkbeds with white bedding and gold accents

We probably will leave the white bedding at home, as well as some of the staging decor, when we actually go camping. But at least this way, the camper is set up as a sweet guest house for when our family comes in a few weeks for Balloon Fiesta!

Here are a few more views of the camper, just because I couldn’t help myself.

A view of the camper kitchen and bathroom

We didn’t do much to the bathroom, other than paint the cabinets and countertop to match the rest of the camper. And we painted the door white, using leftover trim paint from the house.

Camper interior with black refrigerator in foreground.

I decided to paint the fridge black to match the other appliances, but the only black paint I had on hand was chalkboard paint, so we may eventually use this as a chalkboard as well. The things we do for the budget!

Tea towel with a happy camper printed on it, hanging on our camper's oven handle.

I had so much fun staging this little camper as a guest house, using bits and pieces of decor that I had lying around in the house. I especially love this little tea towel, because it was the first one I ever made for my Etsy shop. (I’ve since closed down the shop, but I do have a few towels left if you want one!)

Camper Makeover Cost Breakdown

Here’s how the budget went, and boy did it go fast!

  • Countertop Paint: $22
  • Cabinet Paint: $60
  • Trim Paint: $0
  • Fridge Paint: $0
  • Backsplash Materials: $10
  • Kitchen Window Valance: $11
  • Other Window Treatments & Bunk Curtain: $0
  • Bedding and decor: $0
  • For a grand total of $103. Not bad for a whole house on wheels!

I’m super proud of how this little camper turned out. She kept me hopping for a whole month, but it was totally worth it!

Camper Makeover Before and After Pictures
Everything you need to know about painting cabinets, all in one handy ebook. With 2 worksheets to help you get started!

Don’t forget to check out all the other creative bloggers’ projects. I’m already looking for inspiration for my next $100 Room Challenge!

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Candice Rabbitt

Saturday 13th of May 2023

Hi!

I have the same refrigerator. What would recommend for the black paint other than chalk paint?

Also, any suggestions for painting over the light tan walls I also have in my MH?

Thanks

Meredith

Monday 22nd of May 2023

I think you could use cabinet enamel for the fridge, and it would probably also work for the walls. You might could use regular latex paint for the walls too, as long as they don't have a glossy finish already.

Carol

Saturday 20th of August 2022

You did an awesome job and I'm gonna use that 1 technique on the I'm rapping Around that border that you did Thank you so much Good work

Meredith

Wednesday 24th of August 2022

Thanks Carol, glad this was helpful!

R H

Wednesday 8th of June 2022

Nice work

We are Not fans of painting stained woodwork in homes or campers - too much HGTV

Also enjoyed your Apache project

Meredith

Thursday 9th of June 2022

Thank you! That Apache project was so fun, those little campers are classics!

Lindsey @hilltown_house

Thursday 3rd of October 2019

How cute is that gold sharpie backsplash! Love it

Meredith

Friday 4th of October 2019

Thank you Lindsey! ?

Carole West

Wednesday 2nd of October 2019

So I'm curious if you were to cover the walls would you have painted them and if so what kind of paint would you use? Brand? I'm thinking chalk paint, is that right? So tempted to paint our cabinets too. So tempted.... Going to have to think on this, make a plan and begin in 2020.

Meredith

Friday 4th of October 2019

I was planning on painting them with regular latex interior paint. That's what I used on the backsplash area and it worked great! (Valspar semi-gloss) I guess it would depend on what your walls are made of. Ours are that Luan material, which is kind of like a thin layer of wallpaper on a plywood backing.

ABOUT MEREDITH


Creating a color-filled life. Conquering my little world one DIY project at a time. With lots of coffee and chocolate. Albuquerque NM. Pinterest ~ Instagram ~ Facebook