New Table: Part I

The motorhome did not come with a dining area or table or any kind of useful surface. That really left it up to our imagination as to what we wanted for our family. I went through dozens of ideas of my own as well as pouring over photos of other table remodels people have done before we decided on a winner.

Before: No table behind passenger chair, just carpet. Fridge is on right reflecting old sofa-bed behind driver's chair.

My dad pulled out the old hardwood floor that was in the kitchen area and built a half wall that will help support the table. I took inspiration from this family's website who needed to be able to seat 6 at their table. We're using unfinished upper cabinets, that will be painted to match, as the seating bench. The table is built much like the bed/sofa frame but with a decoupaged map on the top. I had been trying to decide where to incorporate the map feature and thoughts of putting it on the wall in the bathroom flitted in and out of my head, but I think the table is a better place.

 I took a few liberties with the world in order to have everything fit nicely on the table top, but I kept the latitude lines so if someone wants to get picky they can re-align the latitudes and figure out where Australia really is.
Decoupaging this baby was a nightmare! I wouldn't recommend it. In theory it seems easy...until you apply the glue. At which point the whole map stretches, in all directions. Gah! I even cut the thing in half at the last minute so it wasn't so unwieldy. Then it bubbles, a lot. After you've smooshed down all the bubbles with pins and spoons (great burnishing tool!) and you apply the first coat of poly, it bubbles up all over again! This is SO not cool. I don't know how people decoupage an entire wall!

 

Wretched bubbles!

To be continued...

Remodel Progress

I'm getting so excited because things are really starting to come together. We have about 75% of the painting done, the bunks are built and the full sofa/bed is constructed--we're just waiting for the foam to arrive. Some of the lighting has been replaced and we bought new faucets and a toilet seat that are ready to be installed as soon as the painting is completed. We also picked up the wood flooring today and its gorgeous! Can't wait to finish the painting so we can install it. (Noticing a trend here?) Got some peel and stick stainless steel tiles to create a backsplash in the kitchen...So many changes!!

The painting has really brightened everything up dramatically. I went with the color Swiss Coffee #1812 and had it color-matched at Sherwin Williams; its a delicate ivory color.  I've typically used their zero VOC paint, Harmony, and had good results with only one coat but this time, maybe because there is very little colorant, the coverage is frustratingly poor. It takes 2 coats, sometimes 3, over a primer to get even coverage.

I'm waiting, not very patiently, for my Sunbrella fabric samples to get here. I really want to order the fabric for the mattresses and curtains. Because having materials that won't off-gas in such an enclosed space is important to me, we shelled out a lot of money for a healthier natural latex foam for the mattresses, not stinky-petro-chemical memory foam or formaldehyde-off-gassing urethane foam. Which means I need to cut costs by upholstering them myself. Maybe I can convince my mom to help too.

My dad has been indispensable to this whole project! Between Captain's consulting work and me homeschooling the kids and skating, its challenging to find time to work on our to-do list. But my dad is out there building away nearly everyday and making amazing progress! Maybe he's just in a hurry to get his quiet house back ;)

The Trashing, I Mean, Transformation Begins

We are really good at demolition! So much so, that even as I have a plan of how everything will look once its put back together, I really start to panic when I see it so far gone. My parents had started some work over the winter pulling out the stuff we didn't want and starting to prime all the dark wood. Once we figured out that we could have shore power hooked up and have a/c in the 97 degree heat and humidity, then the fun really began. The carpets have been ripped out, the captain chairs are temporarily relocated, the sofa bed and platform are gone, the nasty old mattresses are removed, half of the woodwork is primer white, most of the doors have been removed to paint, a whole section of cabinets have been removed to make way for the new bunk, a mouse nest has been removed from the engine...and so much more. Ruby is tired overseeing it all.

Across Country Storage

I'd like to say that everything went smoothly from California to Florida, but I can't. Nothing horrible, mind you, but many unexpected bumps along the way. Captain and Mr. T planned on taking 10 days starting the day before Thanksgiving to drive slow and methodically across the country so that we could store the (still nameless) Barth in Florida. However, it had been 3 weeks and it was still at the mechanic's shop, apparently waiting for a part.

So we arrive the day before Thanksgiving, planning to just leave from San Jose instead of back-tracking 45 min to our house and then leaving again, pick up the Barth and leave the mechanic's to fuel up and the steering column begins a very nasty shimmy. Back to the mechanic's. Turns out it needed another part to stabilize the steering column. After several panicked phone calls, the mechanic managed to have the part shipped from Vancouver second day air--due to the holiday that means Monday. (Now we are freaking out a bit because we are losing valuable travel time...) Monday we show up at the same time as UPS and the supplier only shipped one of two pieces! Ugh. So the decision was made that the trip would be made without the new part.

Eastward ho! The first day went remarkably well, but by the end of the day there was little cabin power. Weather was clear but there was a storm front on the way. Turns out they stayed right out of arm's reach of inclement weather the entire trip. When they stopped they parked at rest stops and never had a chance to plug into shore power. Evidently the batteries have issues and by the second day the heat no longer worked, nor the radio. The last 2 nights they chose to book a motel room than endure the dropping temps with no power. Wise choice.

Anyway, long story short, they made it to Florida in one piece on Friday, just in time to catch their flights home on Saturday.

Let the fun begin!

Its official. We are the proud owners of our first motorhome, a 1990 Barth Regal 31'. Its a little scary but even more exhilarating thinking that this is really going to happen.

We have always moved from place to place. My parents think I have gypsy blood. Usually hubby's job takes us from one place to another and we just follow obediently and make the best of it. 14 moves in 16 years of marriage. I don't wonder why our friends and family think we are nuts. Now we are choosing to embrace the nomadic lifestyle and live simply but so much more richly while slow traveling across America with the kiddos.

Welcome to our blog, in hopes that you can live vicariously through us and try to keep up with our life if you choose.

Happy trails!