Pink My Ride - Vicky's Makeover

This is part of an article from Issue 3 of Vintage Caravan Magazine

Recently I decided that my caravan Vicky's original cream coloured beige walls did not work with my thoroughly pink interior, so although I appreciated her originality, it was time to “pink my ride” and give her a bit of a makeover.

Before: Stripped bare - Vicky's thoroughly original cream & beige interior

I stripped out the entire interior and sanded all the walls back and repainted them in clean, crisp white, which has made the inside look so much bigger and cleaner.   

The first coat of white paint goes on

 I also ripped out the original beige and brown sparkly floor tiles and replaced them with traditional black and white check and have reupholstered the dinette with hot pink fake fur and sewed pink curtains. After I had stripped the van out I decided I quite liked the front end being open and opted not to put curtains back up there to maximize the effect of the classic curved panoramic Perspex windows. For privacy and dark sleep ins I have the “bedroom” end of the van curtained and a privacy curtain in between the front and back halves of the van.

The black and white floor tiles ready to go down on the sanded floor

After - The lino tiles look awesome!

What I have learned since decorating Vicky is that not all pinks go together and that there are about a million varieties of pink! So I kind of gave up trying to coordinate it in the end and just let it become a crazy mixture of things I like. After all, that’s what vintage vans are about – individuality! What I have ended up with is a somewhat strange mixture of Gidget’s Hawaiian holiday meets Barbie’s pink campervan, but I just love it to bits.

I had the metal plaque Mum got me made into a full size sticker for the fridge

My van has become like a cubby house to me now. Even when I am home, I’ll sometimes go out and just sit out there with my computer or a good book - I just love the coziness of that little space so much.

Thank you to pinup photographer Helen McLean for the fabulous photos taken at Garterbelts & Gasoline Nostalgia Festival and for loving Vicky as much as I do!