Designing on a Dime:)

Okay, so I borrowed a phrase, but seriously, when living in a travel trailer, one must be practical. For one, there is little excess space and who has a budget for renovations these days? We bought our 1992 travel trailer for 3000 last November, a steal considering the popularity of the model. I don't have any pics, but if you go to http://www.trailmanor.com/WebDocs/Showroom/BuildRV/SelectModel.html and look at the 3023 model, you will see our trailer, for the most part. You gotta know though, with the older model does come some differences.

Some good: for instance, instead of two couches, ours has two chairs that are removable and a couch that makes a bed. It sleeps 4 comfortably (1 Q, 1F bed), but you could easily get two more kids in on the couch. We have a "garden tub," which just means it has an actual tub (not just a shower) with a built in seat and a four burner stove, which they don't make anymore.

Some not so good: When we bought the trailer last year, all the cabinet knobs and fixtures were brass (think 80's). She had pink dirty carpet and a funny blue print (again, think late 80's country blue and mauve) couch with a different, but coordinating fabric on the chairs. Some things had to be changed!

Some folks may ask, why would you want to put so much into a travel trailer, and I could understand the point, but this is our home. It's where we live and its the first "home" I have ever owned (small steps). It is my passion and my heritage (ref: my mother). So, my beloved husband promised I could do what ever I wanted to make it look the way I wanted. Umm, probably regretting that decision now.

One of the first things we did was replace all the cabinet knobs (18 in all), going from brass to "venetian bronze." Not a big deal. I went for the most modern look I could, but stayed simple. All in all, I believe I spent about 30 dollars. My husband was okay with that.

The next project was much bigger and cost a little more. Since we have a son who has been known to have allergies to carpet and dander, I decided what was in there would not be staying for long. Robert suggested I wait a little while until we get settled, but when he pulled up a corner b/c he thought the water heater was leaking our first weekend in it, I used it as inspiration. Up went the rest of the carpet, carpet tack strips, etc. I replaced it with wood plank linoleum in "hickory." Since I was alone that first week (Robert was still working in Lufkin and kept Alex), I got to do it myself. I didn't exactly tell him what I had done, either, until it was done. Thank goodness he liked to results!

At first I thought it would be a large project, but overall, not that difficult. When the Home Depot salesman asked what room I had that was only 60 sq ft and needed new floors, I guess it was then that I realized, this was not that big a deal. It literally took me less than 24 hours of work and about $120 to do the whole trailer (and we have leftover materials). The results were worth it (I must get you pictures, I know). Hopefully, that is the most we spend on any one item, after all one day we will likely sale this thing:).

My next project was the 80's blue couch since that is basically the second thing you see as you walk in the door. First I recovered the end caps/arms and foot board/front in a leather-look vinyl ($3/yd). Once again, with a small child and a dog...My husband insisted on some soft, expensive looking fabric for the cushions, but we live in a trailer for a reason. There isn't much of a budget for incidentals. But, I finally found the solution: This weekend, on clearance at Wal-Mart, I found a futon cover in a tan microfiber suede for 30 bucks! Jackpot! Its relatively easy to clean, looks and feels great, and fits perfectly over the couch cushions. Honestly, it totally looks great.

I must have been especially blessed, because I also found my dream rug: a shag runner (21"x72") to go down the "hall" in a dark red for $21. Since our "hall" is only 23," that is a heck of a find and at less than 25 dollars it's a steal!

I also have found a bronze finished toothbrush holder to replace the old rusted brass soap holder in the bathroom. Got it as King Dollar for 1.09 and its Delta!!

Finally our trailer is beginning to feel like a home [Again, pictures would be good here]. And beginning to look a little better than the Bundy's :). Unfortunately, the great new finds this weekend have only inspired me to make more changes. For instance, I need another rug to go under the table that is durable (again, the child and dog), but matches the red shag (not too matchy, matchy). The bathroom faucet is brass and kind of rusty. The two chairs are these weird blue-green, office-type, rotating things that will do, but could be better and now don't match my rug or the couch. There is this awful framed copied picture that someone has literally epoxied to the wall. I would love to replace that with a real canvas, or at least a decent looking print. I may have to pull half the wall down though. That's okay, because I could replace the wall with...Just kidding!

I am content with where I live, but I do like the changes we are making. Hopefully, when the day comes that we need to sell, we can at least get what we paid knowing we have put in the work to update it:). I am sure there will be repairs and other upgrades that need to be made. Again, our hope is that we can do it all on a small (think non-existent) budget and with just a little hard work. And, hey, all of this will be great experience for that day when we move into the 1800's Victorian fixer-upper, huh? If I can renovate a travel trailer, I can do anything:).