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...

Hurricane Isaac

With the possibility of Hurricane Isaac passing through and causing rain, wind and flooding along the coastline from Miami to Louisiana we've been battening down the hatches for potential external flying hazards. We should be perfectly fine here even if we lose power since we have a well and a generator and enough food for an apocalypse. It does mean, however, that I most likely won't get to skate this week since Tampa may or may not get hit hard depending on whether or not the American model or European model for storm tracking is correct.

Either way we've been getting lots more accomplished on the RV since the weather has finally been rain-free and beautiful for the last couple of days. I'm sure our days are limited though for this week which adds a bit of pressure to the mix. I'm not keen on pressure. Up next we need to install the carpet in the cockpit area.

Next week officially starts our full schedule of lessons for the kiddos. We've been in the swing of things for a month now but only in limited subjects: Reading, Cursive, Writing for the older boys, Music, Art, History and Mine Craft. Oh wait, Mine Craft isn't a subject! Although more time is spent on that game than on their lessons I fear. (Not for much longer...<insert maniacal laugh>mwuahaha)

On a related note, I'm a little miffed at Am@zon because I've been trying to purchase some of the free e-classics and free e-textbooks I've had on my wish list for school (some I already downloaded, some I was on the fence about) and now they are no longer free or they are in a format that can not be downloaded in the US. What!? Are you kidding me? We are really making an effort to conserve resources and adhere to weight limits. With limited access to libraries we can check out books from on the road (browsing will be unlimited) I was counting on finding suitable alternatives for the Kind!e. Boo, hiss Am@zon.

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.