I had initially wanted to use penny tile
on the small kitchen counter and the
back splash. But all the colors I liked
were too expensive. It was going to be
about $300 for such a small area. So I
ended up decoupaging the back splash
with scrapbook paper, and I sprayed
the counter with a textured spray paint,
then polyurethaned it. I love the way it
looks. The two cupboard doors were flat
and boring, so I bought 2 picture frames
from Hobby Lobby (at 50% off) and
glued them on, then painted, sanded and
stained them and then added hardware
to all the drawers and doors. The whole
kitchen ended up costing about $65.
Now the next step was the floor. I initially
wanted to do a red and white checker
board pattern, so I purchased some VCT
tile only to find out from friends that
that wasn’t a good idea, because the
floor needs to be able to move and they
said the VCT could possibly crack while
traveling. So, I returned that tile and I went
on the hunt to find a vinyl red and white
checkerboard. I went to Great Floors and
found exactly what I was looking for,
but unfortunately that was going to be
about $600 for only an 8-foot space. Are
you kidding me? So, nix that idea. But
while I was there, I found a floor that is
called Flexi plank. It is a weathered wood
pattern and it went down so easy. No
glue, no clicking, can easily be replaced,
it took us about an hour to do the whole
floor. And that now seems to be what
everyone likes the most about Chantilly.
After the painting, the kitchen and the
floors were all done I was able to start
decorating. That is the easy part - at least
for me. I just used most of what I had
in my home. I had to buy a table (from
Hobby Lobby) and I purchased a 33”
mattress for the couch/bed. Being as I
was going to be the only one using it, I
didn’t need to worry about having a large
bed. A twin mattress is 38” wide and 5” is
a big difference in a small space.
I spent a whole day decorating her and after
I was done I just sat in her and thought: “I
knew she would pretty again!” and I think
I heard her whisper: “Thank you!”
Inside Chantilly I have my baby doll that
I have had for fifty years. I cut all her hair
off when I was little so she has to wear
a bonnet all the time. I also have an old
pink hand mixer and an old pink sewing
machine (that must weigh 50lbs). I’ve
had those forever. For the curtains I just
cut some tablecloths that I had in half
and sewed a simple seam for the rod. I
basically tried to save as much money as I
could. My biggest expenses were the floor,
paint (inside and out) and my awning.
Once the inside was done, I moved onto
the outside. I ended up painting it myself
just using an outdoor metal siding paint.
I primed it twice then I painted another
two coats on the top half cream and the
bottom half in Vintage Teal, but it ended
up being too dark for my liking so I added
some cream to the blue until I got the
vintagetrailermagazine | 29