Last weekend, our friend (who stores our caravan) phoned to ask if someone she knew could borrow it to holiday with his 2 young children......no problem!
So we went and collected the caravan in order to give it a clean and a once over of all the appliances and clear out the water tubes....we don't want cases of Legionnaires on our hands!!!!
So....when we picked up Miss Flossie Vanroyce (Flossie-van for short), she looked a VERY sad specimen...look.....
We realised that we had put her into storage in the Autumn of 2010, we hadn't managed to even visit the old girl last year!
We were concerned that she would have burst pipes, maybe a frozen pump, damp spots...the horrors that may be lurking!!!
But as she was so embarassing filthy and we simply could not expose our poor neighbours to the shabbiness of Flossie-van, Hubs and I decided the first job was a good wash!
One of our lovely neighbours lent us a long reach brush for the roof, it was invaluable seeing as I'm the tallest at 5ft 5"!!!
We had some help from Teenage Daughter and Tiddly Toes.....
THAT is some serious scrubbing!!...
All 4 of us scrubbed for about an hour....boy was it HARD work! But look how beautifully the old girl came up........
Fantastic isn't it? Well, that was last weekend, this is this weekend........
Do you like the patriotic bunting? It went up for the Jubilee and (as I love it soooooo much)....I thought I'd leave it up for the Olympics!!
This weekend we were supposed to be having a romantic weekend away....it ended up being dinner out on Friday night and our girls returning to us Saturday lunchtime so we decided to crack on with the interior of Flossie-van.
Hubs flushed the water through, got the boiler to ignite and run, lit the oven, grill and all 4 gas rings and even managed to light the heater which at the flick of a switch becomes warm air heating!! Very upmarket for a totally ancient van!
All week I've been opening her up and letting the air in, not that she smelled musty or anything.....I just thought it would do her good (and let the creepy crawlies escape!)
This is the LOVELY (!!! HUR-HERM!!!) interior in attractive shades of peachy/pink, beige and brown!!...
There are two sofas like this either side of the table, a huge cupboard and a loo with shower and sink!!
We have a fridge (with freezer compartment, no less!), and the pic below is the oven, 4 ring hob and grill (under a glass top!), hot running water (now working!) and LOADS of storage....what more could you want!?
I do think she needs a bit of cheering up....look at the state of that blind....YUK!!!
I'd love to give her a bit of treatment similar to the caravans over on my Pinterest board called Makeovers for Miss Flossie Vanroyce.
I'm also greatly inspired by Lucy of Attic24, her family have Connievan, if you follow the link you will see that she has the same dire decor as us (Flossie-van is a 2 berth and I think Connievan is at least a 4 berth). Take a look at Lucy's improvements....she also has a Pinterest board called Caravan Dreams.
So with all this inspiration in mind, the blanket photographed here, is a splash of colour destined to grace Flossie-van and I have been eyeing a new blind from Argos, I'd love red....but it won't go with the beige look and I can't change it ALL at the same time.....what to do? Will the red look odd for now?
I also have some colourful fabric that I was going to turn into cushion covers for the 'attractive' peachy/pink ones!
Anyway...it is a work in progress.....clean and tidy and ready for action!
I think my next post is likely to be the Pinaddicts Challenge tomorrow.....please take a look at all the entries and join in the fun with an entry of your own!
Until then,
Nora xx
I am so jealous! I have been searching out a caravan just like yours for ages. We've put off the search until next spring but i am hoping i can get one of my own for 2013. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your makeover!
ReplyDelete:-D Our "Carrie - van" is the same make as Lucy's.... Seems caravan manufacturers must have had a of lot of yukky fabric offered to them throughout the years!!! I too have been inspired by Lucy, and looking at fabric on our local market - do I go 'sophisticated' with a hint of fun or bright and cheerful? It's only the two of us now and I've seen a gorgeous cream fabric that would make lovely curtains and throws. I will use the old roller blinds and just replace the fabric - have done that before and it worked great with a stiffening spray.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do want to know is what "cleaning stuff" you used on Flossie? She looks lovely (and I still can't reach the roof even with a long handled brush!)
Off to look at your Pinterest board now. Jude.x
Hope you're sitting down Jude.....to wash it we used Tesco Naturally powered washing up liquid!!!!! SO to those who say environmentally friendly goods are inferior....take a look at the shine on my van!!! Haha!
DeleteIs your Carrie a Vanroyce? We have all the original bright orange melamine dinner service in ours!! WIll pop that on a post soon...it's got to be seen to be believed!
Thinking of painting the inside with vinyl or kitchen paint and re-papering the bathroom with the shiny bathroom wallpaper you can find in B&Q and the like.
It was a long handled brush and step ladders and it was still very difficult but good enough.
x
LOL Please don't make me go to Tesco..... Hahaha ;-D We were told that those Pump Sprays (like professional gardeners use for weedkiller) are good for doing the roof, spray it on and hose it off apparently - I just can't get to the middle properly even with the wobbly steps! :-)
DeleteCarrie is an Avondale, but the fabric is very much like yours - and our curtains are identical. The bathroom is PINK!!!!! :o and I've been wondering about papering or painting that. I'll be reading with interest if you do yours. The rest is a bit un-inspiring but I'm going to change the fabric (or at least cover it) before I consider anything more drastic.
I loved your Pinterest board by the way, and spend ages following links!
Jude.x
I have a Van Royce too and absolutely adore her, we call our Rosie as she has a pink interior :o)
ReplyDeleteSince the Van Royce owners club has closed i have started a Facebook page for owners to share on, meet up on, swop ideas and stories. I only set it up today, but I do hope you will pop over and join.
Some people are looking for spares and repair help too so will be a handy place to share those aspects too i hope.
Hope you manage to get out in her this year! I certainly will be, when I have got the re-sealing and repairs done!