RV Remodel Part One: Removing the Darkness

OK. Yeah. So it was decided. We were going to take out all of Monty II's leather furniture and replace it with Ikea stuff.* And, like usual, the project had "scope-crept" into us removing the valances, switching out the dining room chairs, and even changing up some of the fabrics. And no, this wasn't just my idea. In fact, Sam was pretty excited, too. I think we both realized that with the proper furniture, not only would our RV be bright and cheerful, but it would also be more useful.

So I measured our space and came up with a color scheme and some inexpensive furniture items:

Most was from Overstock & Ikea

As best as we could, we started removing the RV stuff from our RV. Since we couldn't open the slide-outs at our storage facility, we removed some of the lighter items first:

The chairs and valance match Larry the truck!

We realized we could take the backs off the chairs and sofa to help fit everything through the door:

Sam with a recliner back

Sam even figured out how to remove the valances! It required a special tool, but it was worth it--the windows looked a bit naked but the space felt lighter:

The valances weren't bad, but they felt heavy and dark

It's hard to imagine, but it started to look brighter already

We also tested out how we were going to cover up the top of the blinds. We decided to be brave stupid and screw curtain rods into the RV wall. Luckily we didn't hit any wires.... My plan was to buy inexpensive curtain-style valances to add color to the trailer. Unfortunately, like the photo shows, much of what I found was too long. It turns out, however, we had a top-secret valance angel in the works! More about that later..

Oops. This hot pink Lowe's valance would cover the entire slideout window!

Since we couldn't open the slide-outs to remove the bottom of the sleeper sofa and the two recliners, we decided to spend a weekend at the Oasis RV Resort in Las Vegas to perform the actual transformation. And that's where all the fun happened!

* So... Juliette and Sam realize that a) we are grateful and privileged to have such a nice trailer (with or without the remodel, and b) it's not about the trailer--it's about the adventures we take in it. Just sayin'.