Vintage Caravan Magazine Issue 36 | Page 31

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