Renovating a Classic Caravan - The Story of Blossom - Part Two

Ok first of all, sorry if I've left anyone hanging since I wrote and published Part One back in September! My sweet husband read it at the time and said he was excited to hear the next chapter - even though he already knew how it turned out, lol!

No excuses, let's just get into it...

So the day we were due to pick up Blossom finally came, after many sleepless nights of dreaming what I'd do to put my stamp on her.

We drove to Taree and I was beyond excited to catch my first glimpse of her as we pulled up the driveway of the seller.  My heart skipped a beat as I saw her sitting in the paddock looking all fresh in pink and mint, the colours I had chosen for the seller to repaint her in.

I thought she looked wonderful although in hindsight I still had my rose-tinted glasses on firmly at this stage! I just wanted to get her home and give her the once-over...something I should have done well before that point, but you live and learn!

We hooked her up and drove home, my husband mentioning that she sat on the road very well and in fact much more so than our previous caravan which was wood-framed and heavier. That was a good thing at least.

Actually before leaving Taree we stopped at Bunnings to grab supplies - a tin of primer and white paint, plus some packs of black and white check lino tiles for the floor. When we withdrew cash to pay for the caravan, we also got out an extra $1000 which was to be used to pay for the renovation. I thought that would be plenty...yeah right! Not even close!  Looking back, I laugh at my blind optimism...

This is how she looked inside before I started attacking her...

Dark, dim and depressing. But I had a vision and I was excited!

As soon as we got home, we parked her up on our front lawn right by the street which was far from ideal but there was nowhere else to put her, our house has very narrow side yards so she couldn't go around the back. I got straight to work removing the old mattress, cushion squabs (which weren't original, and very ugly), curtains, all the random hooks and screws, bed frame (which was some wobbly contraption the seller knocked up using 4 x 2's) and the orange/gold shagpile carpet.

The more I stripped her out, the more light I let in, and the more obvious the extent of what I'd taken on started to dawn on me...gulp...

This was how she looked at the end of day one. I was a little overwhelmed but still positive and full of energy and enthusiasm at this point.

Then overnight, it rained...

To be continued...

Edited January 2017: sorry...you'll find that there is no part three, or any more parts past what you've just read. Life just keeps getting in the way of me finding the time to sit down and write about my caravan building experience. Maybe one day I will...but in the meantime, you may like to check out my Facebook page, where I did document the full renovation in real time. You can find it here at Restyled Vintage Caravans. Thanks for reading!