Happy summer! I have gotten out of the habit of writing this spring and early summer and I have no excuse, except for…life. Writing is a great outlet for me and I hope to get back into a better routine, but we’ll be traveling quite a bit…which brings me to this blog post and one of the reasons I haven’t been posting many photos or posts recently. I will warn you that this is quite a long post but there are LOTS of before and after photos!
Happy Camping
For my husband’s birthday this year, he wanted to buy and renovate a vintage camper. I went along with it – it was his birthday, he is talented in all areas of home renovation, and I was curious to see where this could, both literally and figuratively, take us. He also rationalized the project – he could take it on his hunting and fishing trips and save money on hotel rooms – it would pay for itself over time!
Here is an inspiration photo of what he planned to do with an old camper; I think it was part of his campaign to sway me to say yes! It’s so bright, neat, cozy and clean – nothing like my impressions of the very few campers I had been around. I didn’t spend family vacations growing up camping so all of this is very unfamiliar and new territory for me. My only request as he researched campers was that it needed to have a shower.
After doing lots of research and messaging lots of people, on December 22nd, 2018, my husband, Arlan, and brother, Adam, drove to Correctionville, Iowa (I never knew there was such a place and that name makes me assume so much), 5 1/2 hours away from our home, to pick up a 17′ Forester camper that had a shower. 🙂
They negotiated the price down once they got there because the camper was in even worse shape than the photos showed. What landed in our driveway was a trailer full of water damage, old wallpaper peeling off the walls and lots of dirt, dust and grime. So pretty much, in its original state, it was an affordable piece of junk and Arlan hadn’t done a project like this before…this could have gone either way, but, if you ask our friends and family, if anyone could do this, it would be him!
Here is an original advertisement for our camper brand from the 1960s. I love that the gentleman is in a suit and the lady in a dress outside of their new camper – definitely what we would wear today! 🙂
The camper parked in our driveway on Christmas morning.
You can check out my video tour of the camper in its original vintage state below!
The Evolution of Ol’ Blue – Exterior
First, to explain the name Ol’ Blue. The camper came with original copper lights that Arlan salvaged, rewired and re-installed. He used the copper from the lights as inspiration throughout the camper, creating shelves and pulls from copper pipe fittings he bought at Home Depot. He then decided that navy blue looks pretty cool with copper and decided to paint the kitchen cabinets navy when he was ready.
Before – original copper reading lights 
After – copper lights rewired w/ LEDs, cleaned up and reinstalled
Because the exterior of the camper was not in great shape either, we decided to paint half of the outside navy to compliment what we had going on inside – thus, Ol’ Blue was born. Here are before and after pics of the exterior. The type of paint Arlan used is listed below.
Before – Dec. 2018 
After – June 2019
Source:
The Evolution of Ol’ Blue – Interior
The most fun part of this process (for me) has been collaborating on the design with Arlan and coming up with the decor. I love a vintage summer camp vibe or old lodge feel and since this camper will be used for hunting, fishing and general outdoor adventuring, I found different nature-inspired art for the walls at both antique and thrift stores – nothing was new. All told, the wall decor was less than $60.
Here were some photos I found on Pinterest for decor inspiration!
In such a small space, we went for light and bright – white walls, light natural wood on the ceiling, counters, and dining table. To contrast with the light and bright and to complement the copper accents, we chose navy cabinets and used a denim fabric to upholster the benches, and I added some bright and cheery decor details.
Here are some before and after shots. I’ve tried to share where we found or how we made everything!
Dining Table & Bunks
Before – the spare tire was in the entry & the old fridge in the dinette 
Before – with the bunk pulled out 
After – dining set up (new table built & benches were built but we used original hardware) 
After – bunk bed set-up (the original bunk was salved – just cleaned & repainted) 
After – all 3 beds ready for sleep! The camper can sleep up to 4 people.
Sources:
- Bed linens – All of the bedding is from Ikea.
- Striped blanket – This is a 1940s Hudson Bay wool camp blanket. I found mine locally on Facebook Marketplace (you will find vintage ones listed on eBay or check local antique stores). The camp blanket was a splurge item but I used the colors in the blanket as inspiration for the rest of the camper. I also enjoyed researching these blankets – their history is rich. You can find all kinds of Hudson Bay striped items on their website and you can also find a version of this blanket (Glacier National Park Blanket) on Pendleton.
- Canoe paddle – Vineyard Vines for Target.
- Kitchen table – made out of 2x6s and used the original fittings that came with the camper’s original table.
- Oriental rug – vintage and was given to us by my parents (thanks, Mom & Dad!)
Kitchen
Before – original pea green oven 
Before – sink, cabinets, counter 
Before – shelves & a teal full-lenth mirror (?!) 
After – the sink was salvaged & new counters built 
After – the stove was salvaged, cleaned up & sprayed a heat resistant copper 
After – the upper cabinets were ripped out, new shelves built with copper supports, & wooden milk crates added; all cabinets were refaced
Sources:
- Classic wooden milk crates – WAAM Industries. Arlan built the open shelves (with a lip to hold in the baskets) to fit the dimensions of the crates perfectly. It helped that WAAM is owned by our nephew, Andrew, and his wife, Hanna, and they collaborated with Arlan along the way! Thanks, you two!
- Copper pulls – constructed out of copper pipe fittings found at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
- Kitchen counter – made out of 2x4s
- Mini fridge – used; found on Craigslist and sprayed with the same copper paint as the stove.
- Pots & pans – found at Savers and scrubbed clean! I love the colors!
Bench seating/twin bed
Before – the original bench was removed, along with the cabinets above 
After – the bench pulled out into twin 
After – new bench 
After – a cozy spot to read a book!
Sources:
- Classic wooden milk crates – WAAM Industries.
- Bed linens – All of the bedding is from Ikea – throw, yellow striped pillow, and gingham pillow sham.
- Gallery wall – A mix of original art, a card and items picked up in antique stores over the years, including the Telluride pennant. I found all of the frames at Savers or thrift stores.
- Upholstered cushions (bench & dinette) – We used dark denim fabric that we already had – it’s very sturdy fabric and will not show stains. Arlan purchased two 4″ foam queen-sized mattresses that were on sale at a local mattress store, cut them down to size with an electric carving knife (not just used at Thanksgiving in our house!), and then sewed the custom covers (thanks to his mom for teaching him to sew)!
Cost
The cost of the camper was $300 and Arlan stuck to a very tight budget, trying to re-use and clean up whatever he could from the original camper. In the end, we ended up spending around $1,500 on the camper itself, supplies and materials. This doesn’t include the cost of decor, linens, and other household items.
This project took about 6 months to complete, with Arlan working mainly on the weekends or on the random day off from work last winter.
We look forward to many adventures in Ol’ Blue in the months and years to come! Nature is so good for the soul and I can’t wait to get out in Ol’ Blue and soak it up.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on our camper renovation and would be glad to answer any questions. Please leave them in the comments section below. Happy camping!