Chatter Boxes

So...the not so fun part of redoing a vintage trailer has begun.  I've been doing the fun stuff like bringing the dark dingy cabinets to a bright new life, sewing curtains, and shopping for red and aqua kitchen decor.  But John hasn't had a chance to work on it much until now.  We knew there would be water damage to deal with.  The previous owners had covered up portions of the walls with plywood.  And no one ever covers pretty things with plywood.

After some initial investigating we discovered fairly extensive water damage so the plywood and original birch siding had to be removed.  Last Saturday was mostly demolition day.  We've been pulling out rotten wood and insulation since then. I think we've turned the corner so the fun stuff can begin again.

This is something fun...the ice box was painted the same burnt orange color as the cabinet doors so I painted over it with chalkboard paint.  I envision some fierce games of pictionary on rainy camping days.

This is the current state of the back beds.  This is where most of the water damage was.

The front dinette area.  Not as bad as the back but still not good.

After removing the broken water tank and pulling out rotten wood...John's face appeared in a giant hole in the floor.  Not encouraging despite how handsome he is.

I busied myself with recovering the dinette cushions.  I researched buying these online but after seeing the jaw-dropping prices...I moved on to finding an online tutorial on how to recover them myself.  And that's precisely what I did.  You'll have to see the finished product later.  The dinette where they will live is still dismantled.

Seth is helping put the cabinet hardware back on now that the cabinets are painted.  He's been a huge help with this project!

John comes home from work and gets right to work on the trailer.  What a guy!

Current state of the dinette area.  We're installing this wainscoting on the side walls.  I love the way it looks.  It's proving a bit of a challenge since none of the walls or windows are even or square.  Lots of measuring and piecing bits together.

Colin has also been a big help...mostly with painting.  Since he's such a messy painter most of it is done in his underwear.  Hence...no pictures. Rest assured he's pitching in to help.

I can't wait to get it up and running.  The vision in my head looks so cool.  I hope it translates into real life soon.

Thanks for following along.  Hopefully we'll be coasting into a completed project in the next couple weeks.  Camping season is quickly approaching.