Our Complete RV Remodel Before & After | RV Remodel Ideas

Ever since my life got flipped upside down in 2015, I have been serious about defining and pursuing my dreams. In 2017, I was watching a youtube video about a family of 5 who was living in a 400 sq foot tiny house. I turned to my husband and said, “I want to move into a tiny house, like, for real!”. Our theme that year was to SAY YES TO LIFE. He looked at me and “YES, me too. Let’s do it!” Fast forward 2 years later, we have moved 4 times and we finally reached our dream of living tiny through an RV remodel! Let me show you the before and afters as well as hopefully give you some great ideas! 

Meg Harrell | Tiny House Dream Turned RV Remodel Adventure

Hi! My name is Meg Harrell. I live in the Great Smoky Mountains with my husband and two young kids. I have been a Registered Nurse for 10 years but my current job titled is “Travel Blogger”. I make a living through online journalism. It is my dream job and I am happy to “go to work” every morning!

Watch this video to see our Tiny House Neighborhood in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina! Where we parked and completed the whole RV remodel.

The dream of owning a tiny house started with a design and where to park it! We settled on a design through an RV company because insuring our house as an “RV” instead of a Tiny House was WAY cheaper! I suggest you check out RV designs ideas or companies before you hire a builder for your Tiny House.

How to Pick an RV and Buy it! | RV Remodel

We chose the RV brand Wolf Pack because of the high ceilings! The ceilings are over 10 feet. The length of the house is just over 40 feet. The entire square footage is 360 sq feet. The 2 bedrooms are separated and located on opposite sides of the tiny house. The kitchen/dining area is in the center and the cooking set up is the perfect layout for our family. The water, electric, sewer, drain hook ups are the same as an RV.

From the most basic of designs, we renovated the RV space to fit our needs! We painted nearly every surface and added our own little boho chic touches to this minimalist space! Let’s start with the first room we renovated, the kids room!

Kids Room in the Bunk House of the RV | RV Remodel Before and After

When I saw this room for the first time I was like….ew. The wallpaper and dark wood looks so drab to me. But that’s just because I have a different style than the Wolf Pack designers. We did a lot to this space.

This process began by ripping out the queen sized bed that was in here. Then we removed the dark valances. We painted every cabinet and wall. I also refinished the hardware on the cabinets to be a rose gold color. Alex, my husband, build custom bunk beds in the cove space between the closets.

Here is the before picture…

I did keep the carpet and the grey window treatments. They seemed to fit after all the painting was complete! I added the kids clothes, books, and toy kitchen filled with toys! I bought new pillows and bedding. I added a couple of simple decor pieces and kept it minimal!

After renovation photo…

• Cabinet Paint: https://amzn.to/314mtQO
• Linen Bedding: https://amzn.to/31bVSBq
• Rose Gold Hardware Spray Paint: https://amzn.to/31bVF16
• Ikea Kitchen: https://amzn.to/31aZWSk

Watch the whole process here:

RV Full Bathroom | RV Remodel Before and After

Our tiny house has 1 and a half bathrooms. The full bathroom is beside the kids room and there is a half bathroom in the master bedroom. This main bathroom is a very small but useful space. I wanted to keep it bright and fun in here.

Here is the before picture…

The inspiration for this bathroom was the Beverly Hills Hotel. I chose this amazing banana leaf wallpaper for the walls and bright gold paint for the hardware fixtures. The wallpaper process was not as simple as I thought it would be. It took a lot of effort to get it even and matching with other panels. This is definitely a two person job!  So if you’re hanging wallpaper, find a friend!

After renovation picture…

In addition to the wallpaper, I painted the cabinets, I replaced the shower head, added a gold mirror, spray painted the hardware, added a new stained countertop, a new vessel sink and faucet.

There’s something about the gold touches and banana leaves that makes me feel like I’m in an upscale tropical paradise! The bright cherry wood finish matched perfectly and makes me smile when I walk in the room. The vessel bowl sink is a great idea for small spaces. It gives you more counter area around the bowl than having a sunk in sink.

• Wallpaper: https://amzn.to/2ZWu6HK
• Paint: https://amzn.to/314mtQO
• Shower Head: https://amzn.to/2HYQMki
• Gold Mirror: https://amzn.to/2N4YKN1
• Gold Spray Paint: https://amzn.to/2UPnE4s
• Vessel Sink: https://amzn.to/2PZI1Nx
• Faucet: https://amzn.to/2zZfVXM

Watch the whole process here:

RV Kitchen Update | RV Remodel Before and After

The kitchen and dining area for our Tiny House is the largest space. It’s also the space we use the most. I was most intimidated to start this giant chunk of the renovation. But it ended up being the area that I am most proud of. This is the kitchen of my dream. It’s clutter free, it’s bright white, it’s rose gold and I am totally in love with the open pantry. It’s the simple bare necessities of life!

Here is the before picture…

After a million gallons of paint, here is the after pictures…

This kitchen makes my soul happy. I didn’t do much aside from paint, spray the hardware and add my stuff to it. Here’s where you can find my design elements:

• Cabinet & Wall Paint: https://amzn.to/314mtQO
• Berkey Water Filter: https://amzn.to/2UGvltH
• Ikea Bamboo Light Fixture: https://amzn.to/2UJu0SX
• Rose Gold Spray Paint: https://amzn.to/31bVF16

Watch the whole process here…

RV Master Bedroom in the Toy Hauler | RV Remodel Before and After

The last and most cozy room of the house was our master bedroom. Like typical parents we met the kids needs first and left us for last! (We are trying to work on that.) Our bedroom was technically the travel trailer part of this RV. It is a big tall box and that’s exactly that I wanted. I wanted super tall ceiling and a space we could use as a living room plus laundry room.

I’m not sure how all the stars alined but it worked out beautifully! There is a washer/dryer hook up and a bed left system. The king size bed lefts up to the ceiling and our living room couch fits perfectly lengthwise underneath. We lift the bed in the morning and bring it down at night.

Here is the before picture…

We removed the two couches underneath. We also painted every surface. The rolled nets from the ceiling were removed and the floor was covered by a rug.

After Pictures….

As you can see in the first photo, the bed is down, so this is the room in “bedroom” mode. The Edison lights are on, there is a king size mattress with gorgeous french linen. Before you buy a mattress, check out NerdSleep for ideas about different types of mattresses and companies that can help you with your purchase. (If you haven’t slept on REAL 100% linen, you’re totally missing out!) The rug gives this space a cozy feel with some boho chic vibes to it.

When the bed is up, we can see this space is also our living room. This grey couch is also our closet, each section lifts or slides to reveal our clothes. A few more clothes are stored in this tall dresser. The moroccan leather poof is a perfecto ottoman/bean bag chair for the kids. The pillows and cashmere throw make the couch even more “cuddle ready”.

The back wall of this room was black, we added thick white curtains to brighten the space! It feels more homey and less RV-ish.

Bedroom Products:

• Wall Paint: https://amzn.to/314mtQO
• Boho Chic Area Rug: https://amzn.to/2A4pEMA
• Washer/Dryer All-in-One Machine: https://amzn.to/2A29Cml
• White Curtains: https://amzn.to/2zZ3ZW7
• Edison Lights: https://amzn.to/2ZKUwAW
• French Linen Bedding: https://amzn.to/34CFUCH
• Ikea Storage Couch: https://amzn.to/2A8EsJT
• Macrame Pillows: https://amzn.to/34uD8Pz
• Cashmere Throw Blanket: https://amzn.to/2ZKVInU
• Moroccan Leather Ottoman Poof: https://amzn.to/317VGmx

Watch the whole process here…(warning, I cry in this video)

BONUS: There is also a half bath in this area that we renovated. Here is a quick before and after photo. I wallpapered the walls, painted the cabinet, took off the dark leather valence and added a mirror.

Half Bath Products:

• Cabinet Paint: https://amzn.to/314mtQO
• Marble Wallpaper: https://amzn.to/31ak8DU
• Mirror: https://amzn.to/314yAgK

Completed RV Remodel Before and After

There it is! That is our whole RV renovation. I honestly don’t know how to refer to it. In my mind, it’s a tiny house. It feels like a tiny house. It looks like an RV on the outside but we don’t use it as a recreational vehicle. It’s stationary for now, one day we will pull it and travel. So what do you think? Tiny house? or RV?

If you are considering going tiny or just taking steps to become more of a minimalist, I’ve got so much content for you. Check out my article titled “How to Become a Minimalist in 5 Easy Steps“.

 

In fact, our little Rv tiny house was featured in a few articles! This was one of them!

10 Tiny Home Interior Ideas to Help Complete Your Space