We have met so many people in our three years on the road, that are now subscribers. Over and over I’m asked to repost RV Renovations Complete The Big Reveal and I’m very happy to do just that right now! So if you haven’t been inside our RV “Ladybug”, or you want to see what it looked like before the renovations – this is for you!!! This originally posted on August 17, 2020. I can’t believe how many places we have been in the last three years.
RV Renovations complete the big reveal was never posted when we finished creating our homey abode on wheels. So sorry to have been remiss but I am making up for that right now! Since I have so many photos to share I promise to keep my word count down. But there are a few important things I need to tell you.
Our 2004 Four Winds Windsport 35D with 2 slides on the day we took possession December 26, 2019 in Franklin, NC.
Our rig is 37 feet long with an 18 foot awning. It only had 46K miles on the Ford Triton V10 engine.
We added some branded graphics to the front of our RV
And more branding in the back!
After running a naming contest our RV officially became known as Ladybug!
Floors
Since our RV renovations are complete and I’m giving you the big reveal, in all fairness you should be aware that the previous owner had already put in the wonderful wood floors everywhere but the bedroom and cockpit. Steve replaced the carpeting that remained in those two places with black and white tiles. He did have to add a subfloor in both areas so that the floor would be level throughout. And because we did not want to add too much weight to Ladybug, he used peel and stick vinyl tiles. Easy and very inexpensive. The hard part was removing the carpeting!
Furniture
BEFORE – Sofa and old window treatments
BEFORE – Dinette area
AFTER – Living room and dinette have a brand new look
BEFORE – Large mirror reflects the RV interior making it feel larger
AFTER – A cool way to display my No Kid Hungry spatula collection!
We did not have to replace everything inside. The man we bought our rig from had just put in new leather seats in the cockpit, a new sofa bed, dinette, Sleep Number bed, LED lighting throughout and surround sound. So most of the work we did was for cosmetic reasons to make Ladybug feel like our home.
Kitchen
BEFORE – The kitchen
BEFORE – More of the kitchen
AFTER – Cabinets painted, new backsplash, new sink and faucet, and all new hardware
BEFORE – The original RV Norcold fridge
AFTER – Our new Magic Chef residential fridge fit perfectly where the old one was. This still needs the frame installed!
Third, since I am a chef, there were a couple of things in the kitchen that had to be addressed. The sink was too shallow and divided in half. You couldn’t even get a pot under the faucet to fill it. In fact my stock pot would not even fit in the sink. So the first major change was to replace the counter, sink and faucet. We used white quartz for the counter. And put in a deep, single bowl sink and new matte black and copper faucet with three spray variations. Steve did the shiny black subway tile backsplash instead of the ridiculously impractical mirrors. We removed the stove cover. And replaced the impossibly small RV fridge, which was 7.3 cubic feet, with a 10.1 cubic foot Magic Chef refrigerator that we bought at Home Depot. You can’t imagine how much more fridge and freezer space that gave us. And Steve installed my large John Boos cutting board as a drop leaf at the end of the counter. We painted the kitchen cabinets and changed the hardware with sleek copper handles and hinges. And hung a rail for plants and ornaments under the top cabinets.
Window treatments
BEFORE – The cockpit of Ladybug
AFTER – With the new drapes that I made for the cockpit
All of the old window treatments, including the heavy burlap covered valences were removed. We replaced them with gloss black mini blinds. I made new drapes for the front windows and all of the hardware in the entire RV made it look much more up to date.
Pantry
BEFORE – Closet in the hallway with mirror inserts in the doors
AFTER – The closets became my amazing pantry with four shelves inside and copper inserts where the mirrors were.
There’s a large closet in the hall that was meant for clothes. Steve removed the rod, added shelves and covered the mirror inserts with textured copper inserts. It is now a fabulous pantry that would do any chef proud. All of my serving pieces are stored in the drawers below.
Bathroom
BEFORE – Boring bathroom
AFTER – It’s amazing what some paint, artwork and a new faucet can do
The bathroom received a coat of paint, new hardware, towel bar and faucet. And since their was no toilet paper holder we added one of those too.
Bedroom
BEFORE – The headboard and valences were very dated. And the day/night shades had discolored after so many years.
AFTER – No headboard needed, just some artwork, made the room feel larger and more vibrant
BEFORE – Drab colors and carpeting just don’t suit us so they had to go
AFTER – Brighter and more colorful the space invites me to sit down and work at the computer that will soon sit in front of that window.
One of the best transformations was in the bedroom. We removed the very dated headboard and replaced it with nothing! Once the walls were painted we hung two of our favorite pieces of art over the bed. A pair of heavy metal lizards that are painted in vibrant automobile paint. Steve painted all of the counters a deeper shade of turquoise. The vanity area became my computer desk and office. And the corner nook had shelves and lighting added for some small pieces that I didn’t want to part with.
Artwork
We were on a mission to take as much of our art with us. Obviously, compared to a house an RV has very little wall space. So we had to be very creative with placement. The only piece of art that we ever commissioned was a set of four zigzag panels. My genius husband came up with the brilliant idea to hang three of those panels on the top frame of our living room slide out. We gave the fourth panel to a dear friend. It was a win win!!!
RV Renovations Complete The Big Reveal
Our bright and cheery living quarters
You can see how spacious our RV is!
That blue tool chest to the left of the entry door actually holds all of my chef tools, towels, napkins, stovetop smoker, salad bowl and so much more. It was something we brought from our sticks and bricks home.
The sofa jack knifes into a queen bed but is very comfy for enjoying TV.
I love cooking in my new RV kitchen. And can’t even put into words how much more I can get into the new fridge.
Our cozy dinette is not only comfortable but has tons of hidden storage beneath the seats.
The little coffee table becomes a great place to put up our feet when we place a couple of those sofa pillows on top.
Plenty of storage in those cabinets for all of my dishes and glassware!
Since we hated carpet we replaced the bedroom carpet with black and white tiles.
Our cheery bathroom filled with light and art.
Our bedroom has a queen bed with storage under it and lots of closet space for our clothes.
Led lights above the bed and Tiffany lamps on the night stands make our bedroom nice and bright.
Lots of artwork in our RV brings us so much joy!
Love the view from every angle now.
My work station complete with printer is in the bedroom so I feel like I have an office.
Just like a sticks and bricks abode, there will always be little things that we will change as we live in our RV to make it perfect for us. And we have learned that Amazon is our favorite source for shopping while traveling. Now that we are living on the road we are so thrilled to be able to live our dream.
I hope you have enjoyed touring our RV by reading (or for some rereading) RV Renovations Complete The Big Reveal!
We saw your rig parked in the Kiptopeke campground near ours. Looked up your website. What fun to read your story and see your renovation pictures! And all during the COVID debacle! Wishing you continued success!
`So sorry we didn’t get to meet you Marianne! I appreciate your kind words so much. We are having the time of our lives as full time RVers. Kiptopeke is really a beautiful park.
I noticed that you followed us on WordPress, and we appreciate that. But if you subscribe to the site via the popup you will get my eCookbook on Easy Small Bites for Entertaining, as well as a whole bunch of other freebees. In any event it’s fun to have you joining us on our adventures.
Sandy and Steve, What you have done is phenomenal!! I love it, love it, love it. You are two of the most creative people ever and I feel blessed to be your cousin. I’m going to bookmark this page so I can visit it whenever life feels a little gray. 🙂
Love, Sondra
Sondra, that is one of the nicest things ever said to us!!! Especially coming from someone so incredibly talented as you are. We are in Raleigh now, spending more time with Brian and Eve. Next week we plan on heading to Asheville, then Atlanta and New Orleans. Working our way to California to visit Gail and Frank. Hopefully we will be able to visit you in Nebraska when we wend our way back east in springtime. We are truly living our dream!!!
Stay healthy. Love to you and the boys!!!
Sandy and Steve,
So wonderful to see the changes and additions you made to the RV.
Your bedroom and bath are beautiful, as the rest of course we saw.
Best wishes on your journey .
See you in the spring of 2021.
Love. Don and Susan
Thanks so much Susan! We really love our new home and nomad lifestyle. We do miss our family and friends back in Florida and look forward to visiting you next Spring for sure.
Wow! Your RV looks fabulous. You did such a beautiful job on everything. I am so happy you are living your dream. Everything is good here. Our house sold in 1 day for full price. I will be moving up to Stuart the second week in October. I am staying with WAS for this year since it’s all virtual. I am holding an art sale this Saturday in my driveway. Hope it goes well. Like you I have too much art to take with me. Miss seeing you but we’re not seeing many people anyway. Stay safe and healthy! Donna
Thanks so much Donna!!! So happy to hear that you are doing well. Moving is no easy task. Wish we could be there to help but we are way up in Raleigh right now. Good luck with your art sale. We are heading to Asheville next week. This nomad lifestyle really suits us. You stay safe and healthy as well!
Good morning Sandy and Steve,
I looked at the pictures of Ladybug this morning while I drank my coffee. What a wonderful transformation! Everything looks perfect. I love the green of the kitchen cabinets with the copper handles. Using the tool chest is brilliant! I want one in my house now.
Love to both of you.
Linda
Thanks so much Linda!!! The tool chest has worked out so well. It holds tons of storage for my cooking and is the perfect height for my Breville Smart Oven Air. Which, by the way, is the best toaster/convection oven ever. It is huge enough to bake a cake which I just did today. It works great for air frying in the basket it came with. It also came with a roasting pan and pizza pan.
I hope you and your family are staying healthy through this awful pandemic. Has it hindered your work travel?
Love you and miss you,
Sandy
Sandy and Steve,
What you have done with ‘Ladybug’ truly deserves a spread in an RV magazine! You guys could have a website/blog/Youtube channel totally devoted to helping others transform their RVs. Just astoundingly creative… kudos!
Thank you so much for the extremely kind words, Elliott!!! Transforming Ladybug into our home was a total labor of love. We enjoyed every minute. Just like a sticks and bricks home, we are always fine tuning our home on wheels.
Love your suggestion about devoting more time to helping others make their RVs feel more like home. Thanks again!!!