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Interior Decoration - making your van your own

CaliforniaVix

CaliforniaVix

Messages
37
Location
Hampshire
Vehicle
T6.1 Ocean 199
We’d really like to give our California interior a bit of love. Our friends have a new lot converted transporter and it looks so lovely inside. We love our Cali, but the grey is very… well.. grey.

What have you all done to the inside of your van to decorate it? Oral Kiely designs seem to go well with the interior, wondering if there’s something we can do with fairy lights or something.

Any pics of your interiors?
 
CaliforniaVix said:
We’d really like to give our California interior a bit of love. Our friends have a new lot converted transporter and it looks so lovely inside. We love our Cali, but the grey is very… well.. grey.

What have you all done to the inside of your van to decorate it? Oral Kiely designs seem to go well with the interior, wondering if there’s something we can do with fairy lights or something.

Any pics of your interiors?
Click to expand...
A Bus And Beyond on YouTube have done a couple of vlogs on this. Might be worth a look.
 
Well, I'm with you on the grey thing. Unless youv'e spent most of your life swabbing decks in the senior service, there's nothing about grey that's either welcoming or homely. Why people want to splash grey paint over everything at home these days giving their pad all the ambiance of one of His Majesty's Category A pleasure facilities, is a complete mystery to me. No wonder so many people say they have mental illness issues these days! There's nothing like sitting in a grey tent or grey Cali interior on a rainy day to cheer you up!

VW does drab particularly well. Drab interiors and a boring and a limited paint palet. Why?

So why not zhuzh things up with a bit colour and personality. Go for it!

Having said all this, personally I prefer the minimalist approach. The van is small enough as it is without filling it with all sorts of busy colours and random personalising accoutrements. Accordingly, we just have a flying carpet, a couple of loose cushions and a quilted bed cover.
20200717_155358.jpg
Yes, I know the grey waterproof seat covers don't help but it was a case of "you can have any colour you like as long as it's"... grey. Anyway they are a slight improvement on the much darker charcoal grey seat facings that VW provided.

P.s Mrs B insisted on making a whole lot of bunting which she likes to put up when we are camping. Frankly, unless there's some sort of special occasion to celebrate, I have never understood why. It just makes the van look like a circus attraction. So unless she grows a beard, I don't see the point.
 
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I’m ok with grey, had the wood floor option, which I covered with Brandup grey carpet!, added some carbon effect protection to top of kitchen units and covered the tables with some sticky back plastic, plus a couple of cushions. Like to keep minimal so no twinkling LED’s or bunting. Even the bedding is grey from Dunelm. No my van is not indium grey, it’s green on the outside, which brings a smile to my face every time I see it and travel in it. I would much rather have a grey VW interior than a converters grey carpet on the wall.

At the end of the day, your van is your own personal space so decorate with whatever makes you happy
 
I don’t do clutter but love the bunting from campervan carpets, just the right size and makes me smile! I think fairy lights hanging near cooker (seen on some you tube vids) are a fire hazard so avoided that and bought this tiny Lamelia light from Gingko, adds a nice bit of ambiance inside or out and takes up no space.
ec62a1b7dcc10848380b543df06e70eb.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Quick way to add some colour is carpet/flooring. I bought two marvel mats from Dunelm which I cut to size and added a couple of cushions and placemats for about £60 all in. Also had enough carpet left to make a door mat for outside :)

IMG_1393.jpeg

IMG_1404.jpeg
 
Yes I leave the bunting & fairy lights for the outside too as think they could be a fire hazard - I love the grey interior but have the beautiful wood floor with just a small rug - white bedding with a zing of zesty green cushions & blankets - use vintage baskets for my storage - pretty oil cloth for both tables.
 
908BE08B-C627-4477-A8CD-EAD52CD5F4A6.jpeg
We’ve gone for a mix of throws, rugs, fairy lights and bunting, but I still find it a bit grey. Any tips for the cupboards??

2B45E219-70D3-4A52-BEAB-EDBCCDBD2183.jpeg

3B93D259-1792-475F-8613-75E2DA1FB097.jpeg
 
California Dreamer said:
I don’t do clutter but love the bunting from campervan carpets, just the right size and makes me smile! I think fairy lights hanging near cooker (seen on some you tube vids) are a fire hazard so avoided that and bought this tiny Lamelia light from Gingko, adds a nice bit of ambiance inside or out and takes up no space.
ec62a1b7dcc10848380b543df06e70eb.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
ThomasHJ said:
Wow, this is seriously nice looking!
Click to expand...
Thanks very much, appreciate you saying so! The mats are great, they’re machine washable and there’s two in the back so one just pops on top of the other when I need to make the bed. They do have a more colourful version as well but I decided to play it safe :)

Marvel Geo Triangles Washable Runner | Dunelm

Boasting an attractive geometric pattern, this Marvel Triangles Runner is ideal for adding a stylish and practical touch to your hallway. This runner has a tough scraper incorporated into the mat, that traps dust, dirt, and mud. With an anti-slip backing, this Runner is secure and easy to...
www.dunelm.com
 
Jimmylondon07 said:
Thanks very much, appreciate you saying so! The mats are great, they’re machine washable and there’s two in the back so one just pops on top of the other when I need to make the bed. They do have a more colourful version as well but I decided to play it safe :)

Marvel Geo Triangles Washable Runner | Dunelm

Boasting an attractive geometric pattern, this Marvel Triangles Runner is ideal for adding a stylish and practical touch to your hallway. This runner has a tough scraper incorporated into the mat, that traps dust, dirt, and mud. With an anti-slip backing, this Runner is secure and easy to...
www.dunelm.com
Click to expand...
We were in the UK a few weeks ago and actually stopped to buy several items at Dunelm (no Dunelms in the Netherlands). We bought a portapotti cover, several fitted sheets (that fit the lower bed and the top bed ) and some other small items for the California. If only I had known ;-) Have been wanting to spice up the grey interior with some sisal matting for a while now. I think your example is good inspiration to start that DIY-project.
 
SarahW82 said:
Any tips for the cupboards
Click to expand...
Have a look at Pixers website , they do a huge array of designs that can be use as vinyl wrap (table veneer) many have covered the tables and work surfaces with Pixers materials and I see no reason why you couldn’t cover the faces of the fixed units And work surfaces.
you can add colour in all sorts of ways
Knife edge trim insert to dash and anywhere there is a recess.
Seats , covers / retrim
Tables
Carpet, step carpet etc
cushions


only limited by your imagination.

9F10BA88-CD37-4E24-A566-61364ACAEADE.jpeg

0DB73D05-D146-4C5C-9792-83FB95FBC1B7.jpeg

C98BFBC7-4568-46D3-9C7C-B9CD93DA28B5.jpeg
 
Jimmylondon07 said:
Thanks very much, appreciate you saying so! The mats are great, they’re machine washable and there’s two in the back so one just pops on top of the other when I need to make the bed. They do have a more colourful version as well but I decided to play it safe :)

Marvel Geo Triangles Washable Runner | Dunelm

Boasting an attractive geometric pattern, this Marvel Triangles Runner is ideal for adding a stylish and practical touch to your hallway. This runner has a tough scraper incorporated into the mat, that traps dust, dirt, and mud. With an anti-slip backing, this Runner is secure and easy to...
www.dunelm.com
Click to expand...
I was about to ask about bedtime (matron!) . They look good, and the joins are barely visible, do they stay in place without gap opening up? Also did you cut the end by the pax seat square of L shape? coz the join looks good there if you did. I might just have to get some of these :)

Edit: haha, just realised these are still mostly shades of grey! (I like the other choice on the website but out of stock :( )
 
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Jimmylondon07 said:
Quick way to add some colour is carpet/flooring. I bought two marvel mats from Dunelm which I cut to size and added a couple of cushions and placemats for about £60 all in. Also had enough carpet left to make a door mat for outside :)

View attachment 113079

View attachment 113080
Click to expand...
Great idea, did you have to do anything to stop the cut edge from unravelling/fraying?
 
chockswahay said:
I was about to ask about bedtime (matron!) . They look good, and the joins are barely visible, do they stay in place without gap opening up? Also did you cut the end by the pax seat square of L shape? coz the join looks good there if you did. I might just have to get some of these :)

Edit: haha, just realised these are still mostly shades of grey! (I like the other choice on the website but out of stock :( )
Click to expand...
They do stay in place, can sometimes move a millimetre or two when opening the bench draw but that’s it. The joins are barely visible, I have four separate bits of carpet (two in the living area, a bit in between the seats and a bit where the bin is). No fraying so far either, the mats have no edging so cutting them doesn’t really make a difference. Haven’t put them through the washing machine yet but with a no footwear policy I think a good shakeout and wipe down with a damp cloth should be more than good enough.

I like the campervan carpets ones but unless you’re getting something personalised I think these are a cracking option for less than half the price.
 
Totally agree for the same reasons @Borris gave.

We did two things which made it more tolerable.
1) installed custom leather seats, green and white, matching exactly our two tone paintwork. Instantly that lifted the mood.
2) Pixer graphics. Keeping to the same theme green white. We covered our tables with them so we see port when we go in.
3) I would like to use the same graphics vinyl on the interior doors too.

It’s not perfect and it may never look as impressive as a custom transporter. But it certainly helps.
 
The Tall Luthier said:
Totally agree for the same reasons @Borris gave.

We did two things which made it more tolerable.
1) installed custom leather seats, green and white, matching exactly our two tone paintwork. Instantly that lifted the mood.
2) Pixer graphics. Keeping to the same theme green white. We covered our tables with them so we see port when we go in.
3) I would like to use the same graphics vinyl on the interior doors too.

It’s not perfect and it may never look as impressive as a custom transporter. But it certainly helps.
Click to expand...
Picture please :)
 
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