My Little Bread Loaf

I’d like to introduce you to our newest family member, “Miss Belle”. 

She has taken up way too many weekends of our time.
She has sucked up most of our disposable income.
And now we even pay for her monthly “day care” at a local storage unit. 
But we love her anyway. 

You see, we’ve caught the fever.  And now we can’t get enough of our
18’ Go-Tag-A-Long. 

She will always be a “work in progress”.  But I think she’s polished up enough for her debut today.  (Get a look at that orange pin stripe…I just love it!)

Of course, the interior is my favorite, since I L-O-V-E decorating and DIY more than life itself.  So enough of the exterior stuff.  Let’s get down to business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We loved the fact that this little 1980 number was 95% original.  Only the fridge had been replaced.  So we started off with lovely wood paneling and cozy earth tones, even the cushions were mod (and in amazing condition I might add).  We were saddened by the fact that the 8-track tape deck had bitten the dust.  And I had just found the mother load of 8-track tapes at my local Good Will…darn it. 

My husband, Randy, gives me a long leash when it comes to decorating, but he had a few requests…do not paint the paneling and do not make the trailer too feminine.  He’s not a big fan of ruffles and gingham.

Reasonable enough…he wanted to maintain his male pride as we pulled into the trailer park.  I can dig it.

At this point, I think you can see the look I am going for.  I call it my “updated, hip, retro, mod, “Brady Bunch” feel.

I was thrilled to discover original orange laminate hidden for years by contact paper on both the dining table and the counter tops.  What a hoot!  Probably one of my favorites, though, is all four of the original wall sconces (glass shades in perfect shape) flanking the dining table and by both of the lower bunks for reading lamps.

So with my color scheme basically determined by the trailer itself, I went to work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hammered copper backsplash, IKEA wall storage, wood slated sink cover (compliments of hubby), fun updated pillows, awesome Target quilts, new carpet squares, built in microwave, fold down flat screen TV…and more than I can even remember at this moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s still so much left I want to do (thank goodness). 

I have only about half of my window treatments sewn. 

And I haven’t begun to touch the small bathroom.  But I’ve got some ideas swirling around in my head…Pinterest being my primary source of inspiration. (Possibly birch trees painted on the bathroom walls?)  So although I will have more updates to share later…this gives you a good idea of what’s going on.

And now for the part that always amazes me.  The “Before” pictures.  Wow, we’ve come a long way.  Hope you get a kick out of them!

And to think we drove her from Atlanta to Chattanooga on THOSE tires!

I thought the “IN TOW” sign was a brilliant move…until we had to try to get the tape off weeks later.  Thank goodness for Goo Gone!

Dining table on the right before “granite” contact paper reveled the oh so Brady orange laminate hiding underneath!

Be sure to compare this before of the sink area to the same exact shot after copper backsplash was installed.  What a difference!

I can hear Jeff Foxworthy now…”You know you’re a redneck when the bracket for your LP canisters requires several good square knots!”

R.I.P. little 8-track tape deck.  You would have been so cool.

And here we are…beaming.  This was our first trip out (before renovations). 
Just for one night. 
Just to see what worked and what didn’t work. 
Just to see what leaked and what didn’t leak. 
And that’s also the night we learned the valuable lesson of balancing our appliance use and counting our wattage use very carefully, because when you don’t…

Thanks for checking in!
I’d love to see some of YOUR before and afters!