Roo Revealed: the Van Refit.
The snow fell in waves, bookended by spells of sunshine. As I put the camera down and sat on the step of the van, clutching a rich, spiced steaming mug of cacao I reflected on how I’d started out with a plan to spend a few days fitting a new worktop and sink in the van but here I was 4 months later with a completely rehauled interior. I’d been promising photos to a few people since I began but somehow never felt finished - while the new kitchen was in around Feb time there was the storage under the bed to build and I suppose my marker of finishing it - cladding inside the back doors.
It became clear I was going to do another round of building when I used the van in Cornwall, one journal entry makes clear my annoyance at things not being as functional as they could be and the mixing bowl sink was just never going to work, what was I thinking? I hated that there was no clear organisation and while the van looked ok it just didn't feel me somehow. Vivivanne just needed a glow up, or glow down. I wanted something a little more homegrown, down to earth and made of materials that were recycled and put together with love. The MDF had started to warp and the cupboard doors kept falling off and I just wanted rid. Here’s a reminder of how she looked.
Refitting a van isn’t easy when you live in the middle of a city - especially with a curtain twitcher neighbour (we’re talking turbo twitching here) so the bulk of it got done towards the beginning of the year with the final power tool odds ands sods at my Mum’s in the Midlands in a few stolen hours the eve before mothers day. In the middle of all that there was slow progress doing the fiddly fittings, measuring and making shelves, racks and posts. At some point soon I’ll get into an in-depth van tour but today I wanted to show you the next part in Viv’s story - growing up into Vivaroo aka Roo!
All the wood was sourced from The Wood Store in Brighton and the Mid Sussex Recycling Project. I used Osmo Acacia top oil for the worktop and the paint on the cupboards is the Rust Oleum kitchen cupboard paint in Half Light (very durable!). The rest of the van is painted in Valspar’s Sling Yer ‘ook.
Kitchen Functionality.
I was keen to get the kitchen area working seamlessly, I’m a keen cook so it’s important to me my space is organised and everything is on hand. I used a Joseph Joseph cutlery drawer insert screwed upside down inside my cupboard which works so well as it’s out the way and doesn’t rattle while driving. Another unexpected hack were these brilliant cotton/linen boxes from Muji which house mugs and glasses beautifully because they are soft and squishy and at the same time rigid.
Having oils and utensils out stops me from having to rifle around for them and I had a lovely pot at home with holes in the bottom that I could screw to the worktop.
Having the spices in a rack up top saves so much space and makes cooking a breeze. I also keep washing up bits in a little basket I got from a charity shop for a quid for easy chucking in the cupboard when we move on.
Under the bed.
Previously this space was open and it drove me up the wall. I wanted a divider to help me organise the loo and other bits and the fridge to have a pull out for easy access. At the back is where I store beddings and blankets as well as a small tool box and my Hozelock pump shower (that I never use). I gained some bed space by losing the tall cupboard, it was so worth it as everything I had in that cupboard now fits in the overhead space above the bed and gives me so much more relaxing space (well, Monty).
The back doors.
Cladding these was a fairly easy job and has made so much difference. I stained two Ikea Bekvams (you can’t have a van without them!) for my journal and toiletries on one side and added hooks for towels and some canvas pockets on the other.
The front.
Adding some sherpa seat covers has cosied up the whole space so much, it’s made the whole van look so much more fresh and forced me to have sort out under the seats - forever trying t minimalist my life! I love them. Find them on Etsy here.
Phew!
I’m so looking forward to having a break from sawing, screwing and measuring this weekend. It was so nice to sit with my face in the sun and enjoy a hot cacao. Here’s to many more moments like this!
Join me on Instagram.
