Hiya!
So, we figured it was about time we shared our before and after photos with all of you. While we still haven’t finished our “progress” posts we don’t think it is fair to keep it from you any longer! Oh, and we are a little bit proud of all we have accomplished and kinda, sorta, wanna show it off. 😉
Before we look at the pretty photos feel free to look at these awful demo shots. Ew gross.
We did most of the work in 2 weeks, but we put a few projects on hold while we traveled and even completed them on the road! But more on that later, let’s concentrate on these before and afters pics in all their glory!
We made a house tour on our youtube channel here:
Keystone was also featured on
We love our little home, and hope you do to! Thanks so much for reading!
xoxo
62 Comments
Great job… so much light inside, beautifully furnished, just enough colors … well done!
Then, what’s about insulation? winter/summer? (I am living in a ‘caravane’, South France, not designed for extremes of tempearture!)
Thank you so much! We honestly don’t do much about insulation. The windows are all single pane and leak heat/cool like crazy. We just try to stay in mild climates where the temperature is perfect. In the US, that means going south in the winter and north (or up in elevation) in the summer. We have an AC that barely works and a furnace that works really well to help keep us warm at night. RVing in South France has to be absolutely amazing. Consider us jealous!
So much easier on the eyes. Nice update.
Thank you! <3
I would love to paint my cabinets! Have you had any issue with the paint chipping?
No issues yet. The paint + primer combo has been great for us. The cats scratch this one piece of moulding, but there’s not much we can do about that
Oh my gosh! I’m in love! First of all we live in our renovated RV as well. Second I love your blog name! Simple but genius! Third I also have multiple cats and dogs. I also run a FB group I’m not sure if you’ve heard of called RV Interior Ideas. It’s all about well RV interiors and so many people have done overhaul renovations as well. What’s funny is I hear people all the time not want to paint and say “just add pops of color” like with pillows or a rug or something and I just go NO “pops of color” idea is so out of style but wow you totally brought it back! I adore the yellow cabinetry! That’s so cool! I watched the video and said “now that’s what I can approve of being a “pop of color” in an RV” . You guys did a fantastic job especially with the idea wth the cat litter box. People are always wondering how to manage that! Please please email me so we can talk more! I love meeting new people too especially who have similar interests and lifestyles! And if you haven’t joined please join my group and post this YouTube video or before and after picts cause people would love to see them! http://www.facebook.com/groups/rvinteriorideas
Thanks for all of the kind words. You’re making me blush over here, although Mandy deserves all of the credit for the interior.
Your renovations are GORGEOUS + so happy, bright, + colorful! We just bought a camper that is very similar to your layout. I am worried about the room to replace the sofa without removing the dinette. I know you said you purchased yours from IKEA, do you know specially which piece it is? It looks perfect + so comfy! Thank you so much for sharing!
Hi guys! Thank you so much for the love! Congrats on your new camper! This is the couch we got: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20262901/ It is a futon! We did cover it with a mattress pad and fabric to match our home. It isn’t super comfy… But it is $100! lol I hope this helps!!
Thank you so much! We love your page!
It’s lovely! We are in the middle of remodeling our RV in south GA. We would love to know where y’all got your lights from! Thanks in advance.
Good luck with your own renovations. It’s fun, but hard work and you’ll love it when it’s done! We got our wall sconce from IKEA. Our dangling lights above our dinette and day bed are fixtures we made ourselves from something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Globe-Electric-1-Light-Designer-65114/dp/B00L5KWNCM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487102760&sr=8-1&keywords=edison+bulb+cord We added a toggle switch from Home Depot and spray painted them.
How do I subscribe to your website? You guys are adorable and I would like to see your journey!
Right now, we don’t have a good way to subscribe to our website. I’ll get to work on building an email newsletter and sign you up. Thanks for reading!
It looks beautiful. How did you refinish you table and counter tops. Im in the middle of our renovation and im looking for tips. Thanks
We skim coated them with concrete. Here’s a post about it: http://188sqft.com/diy-concrete-countertops/ Good luck with your renovation!
Hi,
We just purchased a 31′ 5th wheel for our first ever foray into “glamping”. We definitely want to replace the carpeting in the camper with vinyl planks as it will be so much easier to keep clean with our dogs. What did you use for the flooring and how did you handle the installation on the slide? The transition looks great would really like to know how you did it. Thanks
Amazing Brigitte! You’ll have such a great time. We used vinyl snap-together planks. On the slide out transition, we just overlaid the flooring to hang off the slide out subfloor while it’s pulled in. When the slide out is out, the slide settles so that the last flooring plank covers most of the ramp-shaped white plastic piece that runs the length of the slide. It’s been great so far, although when the slide out is in, you have to be careful not to step on the edge of the slide and break off a piece of vinyl flooring. We’ve done that a couple times.
Hey! I think you guys did a fabulous job!! I’ve been researching changing the flooring in the slide and came across a great suggestion. One person did it with vinyl trim. Might be worth a try!!
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p.1000755084.html?eid=PS_GOOGLE_HD+%7C+PLAs_Shopping+%7C+Building+Materials_Building+Materials_aud-285174652682:pla-328498387420&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5arMBRDzARIsAAqmJex5ME4xeieK4tZIo7JTE913XawVI1DXKK-_T_d5LDLIDlMtratYEjwaAg0eEALw_wcB
Hmmmm! Looks interesting!
Love the upgrades and the video! We just bought a 23 ft. Class C motorhome that we’re going to upgrade and would LOVE to turn the ugly couch into the futon/bed that you have.
Was there storage underneath the couch? Was that a tough change?
Thanks and looking forward to following you guys!
Thanks! Good luck on your adventure.
That futon is from IKEA and fit perfectly. The couch before didn’t have any storage underneath and this one does. Enough for our shoes, a broom, and some other random bits.
This looks lovely! We are currently in the middle of remodeling our 5th wheel with a similar lay out. I was curious to how you painted it..did you just primer and paint it or did you have to do some sanding before painting?
Thanks! Good luck with your renovation! To paint the walls and the cabinets, we sprayed two coats of Kilz Maxx primer, then three coats of Behr paint+primer. For the cabinet doors, we sanded them first, then did the same paint. A year and a half later and the paint is holding up flawlessly, even with a constantly changing climate.
Hi Kevin, love the pics. You did an awesome job. I’m heading north to redo my camper. I’m hoping I can get the walls and cabinets done in a week. (Hoping is the key here)
How many gallons of paint did you end up using? I will be in a very remote area so have to bring all my supplies with me. Don’t want to run out of paint in the middle of the project.
Thank you in advance. Again beautiful job.
Congrats! How exciting! Sorry for the delay! We don’t remember how many gallons we used. 🙁 Sorry!
I absolutely love your reno! We just purchased a new to us fifth wheel. Your post helped my husband, also named Kevin, get a visual of what I wanted as I want white cabinetry as well. He’s totally on board now. We are concerned about the flooring through. We are not handy. At all. However, we want to keep the costs down by doing it ourselves but that slide really intimidates me. Does your slide scratch or dent your flooring? Did you use Allure flooring? Any tips on the floor install – maybe something you wish you knew when you started. Thanks again!
Hey Maria! We used a cheap click-lock flooring. Vinyl. The slide did scratch it in a few places, but Slide Slickers really help. We just color in the floor every once in a while and we never notice the scratches. I’d plan on putting down some quarter round where the floor meets the walls to make it look cleaner. That’s something we haven’t done yet, but would look much more professional if we did.
Good luck with your renovation!
what did you do to the counters!?
Concrete! http://188sqft.com/diy-concrete-countertops/
Hi Mandy and Kevin. Your Reno is amazing! I’m so curious as to how you removed the carpet from under the slideouts. Did you have to take the slide out all the out? I just purchased a 32ft Layton Skyline travel trailer and am in the process of demolition. I’m like you Mandy. OMG…did I take on too much…lololol. If you didn’t remove the slides, how did you get the old carpeting out so you could install the gorgeous floors you have? What type of flooring did you use and how much did the entire renovation cost? Thanks in advance for answering all my questions!
Thanks so much Essie! Removing the carpet was really easy. Just slide out the slide out all the way, then rip up the carpet. Then we put click-lock vinyl flooring down all the way to edge of the where the slide comes in. We spent about $2,000 right off the bat and have been steadily adding improvements as we travel.
Good luck with your reno!
Hi! I absolutely love what you did to your fifth wheel! We are just getting ready to renovate our trailer and I had one question, did you peel off the trailer wallpaper before painting the trailer walls? Or did you just paint right on over?
Thanks a bunch!
We just painted right over it. We didn’t even rough it up with sand paper. Used Kilz Maxx as a primer, which stuck really well.
Good luck with your renovation!
She’s a beauty! Y’all did a wonderful job! Can you tell me about the backsplash in the kitchen? Is it a stick on? Where did you get it? Thank you!
It’s stick on that we bought on eBay actually because it had the best design. Overall, it hasn’t been that solid and needs some regluing every few months because of the heat from the oven. It’s still much easier and lighter than real tile though.
Love your renovation!! My husband and I were forced to replace our floors (due to a leak). We tore up carpet and replaced with laminate, just like it looks like you did. ANYWAY, we have had problems with leaking every since. It only happens when the slideout is in. Not fun to travel in the rain and come “home” to a sloshy house! Been to several rv repair places to adjust slideout and have been told that we need to put carpet back because it accommodates for the space tohave the correct seal. Did you have this problem? Thanks so much for your input
Sorry to hear about your leaks. We’ve never had an issue actually, but I can see how the carpet would affect things. Your slideout is probably resting a fraction of an inch lower because of the thinner floor. I’d recommend getting a pair of Slide Slickers to help raise the slide back to its original height when its in. We use those to protect our floor and it might help engage your slide seal. I hope that helps!
Y’all are cute…really!
Thanks!
Do you remember what color you used for the walls and cabinets? Also, is the backsplash peel and stick and where did you purchase? It looks amazing and totally plan on copying it!
Please do! We used Fallen Snow from Home Depot. The peel-and-stick tile was SmartTile brand. We bought it on eBay, if I remember correctly.
Fabulous re-do! I also have had great luck with peel and stick wall tiles in my camper kitchen, even with the ever changing climate. So…my question is…did you paint or replace the cabinet door handles and hinges? I’d love to know your game plan on that project. THANKS!
Thanks Judy! We painted all of our hardware with a couple coats of Rustoleum. We had to repaint them after about a year, but the paint is holding up quite well. Good luck on your renovation!
This is amazing! We have a similar camper in regards to layout. Do you happen to have the link to the exact futton you purchased from ikea? I would love to purchase one! It fits in the space so well!
Yep! Here it is! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00376932/ I hope you enjoy!
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You’ve done a great job with your renovation. I would love to know the color of yellow paint you used for your cabinets. It’s such a great shade!
Hmmmm let me see if I can find it! We didn’t take a lot of notes for this reno.
My boyfriend and I are moving into a trailer soon, (when we find the right one). I couldn’t decide if we should by a nicer one or one that needed some updating. Was it hard/expensive doing all of the updating? I’m all for doing things myself but I’m in college and working part time so I don’t have a ton of time or money, but a trailer is cheaper than renting an apartment. Any suggestions?
Hi Monica! We had no idea what we were doing when we updated our camper, we used youtube videos and read articles. We figured it out, though made a lot of mistakes. It wasn’t expensive though! We spent $5k on our camper and probably $2k to $3k on renovations. We loved making it our own. When you are in such a small space it is important to make it yours. 🙂
Hey Kevin,
We have the same RV. When you painted the inside did you just paint over the existing material that is stuck to the walls? Also what type of white paint did you choose? Did you prime it first? Thanks. You have inspired us to renovate ours instead of buying a new one. Thanks for sharing!
Just saw your previous reply about the paint
My husband and I have been full time RVers for over a year now and we are really wanting to go white with our walls and cabinets! What kind of paint/primer did you use? Our cabinet doors are wooden but the other parts are some other vinyl-wooden looking material.. Was yours the same?
Hi Beccah! We used Behr Paint & Primer in one! Yep, cabinet doors wooden and wallpaper everywhere else! The paint is 2 years old now and still works like a champ!
[…] we are, and I owe a lot of thanks to Mandy. She gave me a lot of advice on our RV renovation. They renovated their fifth wheel (named Keystone) and from looking at the pictures of Keystone, I knew that Mandy has the sense of […]
[…] This remodel was done in just 2 weeks! Just look at how much different this trailer looks now. via 188 sqft […]
Hello Mandy and Kevin, I am currently deciding how I am going to paint my oak cabinets in my camper. Kevin in an above post you said you sprayed the cabinets. Did you use a paint gun with an air compressor or just spray paint in a can?
We used a paint gun with an air compressor! It saved us a ton of time.
You guys are ADORABLE! Love your video and your place looks awesome.
omg… Thank you!