I regularly receive emails from fellow caravan enthusiasts (from the UK, all the way to Australia) with questions about Dolly 1 and, more recently, Dolly 2. Very often, they’ve stumbled across my DIY caravan blog posts — or Pinterest pins — and ask for tips on decorating a caravan.
I’m asked what is the best paint for interior caravan walls. How to paint caravan cupboards. And what we used to hang the wallpaper. So finally, I’ve decided to make a little list of tips for decorating a caravan interior.
It’s super simple and the look that can be achieved is fabulous.
I’m going to split each DIY project into various posts. Painting and wallpapering the interior. Then all the fiddly bits like sinks and fittings, the upholstery.
And, finally, revamping the exterior.
There’s way too much content for one post — and there’s also a LOT of photos!!
Whether you have a vintage caravan that you’d like to freshen up or a static caravan that needs an overhaul, these tips should help you create the old ‘new caravan’ of your dreams!
Caravan renovation can seem daunting initially. But over the years, I’ve discovered that if you treat it in the same way that you would any other home DIY project, you can’t go far wrong.
Hopefully, my tips for decorating a caravan for beginners will help you on your way!
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Insider Caravan Inspiration
Whether you have a motorhome, a camper van, or a caravan, you can transform your recreational vehicle into the perfect tiny house on wheels. Ideal for family holidays and weekend getaways.
With a few simple updates (and a little bit of elbow grease) you can turn your van into a cozy place, to kick back and relax.
Keep reading to find out what caravan interior paint to use,
Decorating a Caravan » Part 1
Painting Woodwork and Veneer Covered Walls
The interior of most older caravans and travel trailers — even some new ones — seems to be a sea of brown. Or — worse — orange wood.
In some cases it’s real, in a lot of cases it’s chipboard; covered in a plastic wooden-look coating. The doors in both our vans have been solid wood but the surrounds have been constructed from a veneered MDF.
Either way, it can all easily be given a fresh, clean look with paint. Painting a caravan interior is one of the quickest ways to overhaul a tired-looking van.
How To Paint Caravan Cupboards
You can read my method for painting caravan cupboards plus all the woodwork here in this post.
You’ll find all kinds of info, including on what paint to use for painting caravan cupboards.
Annie Sloan chalk paint would also probably work well if you were after a flat, matt finish.
Especially as it seems to cover most surfaces without the need for priming. That said, although I’ve used it on furniture I’ve not tried it myself on a caravan, so don’t quote me on that!
Painting The Walls and Ceilings of a Caravan
We used the same cupboard makeover paint on the walls — and ceiling — of Dolly 1.
But for Dolly 2 we decided to try a different approach and although we used the cupboard makeover primer to undercoat the walls and ceiling — we did the second coat in standard white emulsion.
This was a triumph.
It saved us quite a lot of money and looks amazing — especially on the ceiling. It gives a lovely matt finish.
You’d expect it to flake or crack but a couple of years on and it still looks fabulous. I’m so delighted with the finish.
We painted all the plastic struts with the cupboard makeover paint first. Tthen went over the whole lot with the emulsion paint and a roller.
Decorating a Caravan
Now, there will be a point — probably when you’re half way though the renovation — that a sense of panic will begin to set in.
Don’t worry!!! This is perfectly normal!!!
Decorating a caravan is fun but can be a bit of a messy job. Particularly as you’ll be working in a very tight space.
Plus it doesn’t help matters if you’re a bit of a chaotic worker (like me). I don’t do things in order. I always start with the very best of intentions. But invariably things start to look like a total bombsite; as I don’t work in a logical sequence. It drives Mr D nuts.
Opening the door to chaos can be a bit overwhelming but — trust me — just work through it. Keep painting. It will look amazing eventually.
To give you a little spoiler alert — these are the kind of scenes that you may be faced with when you’re midway through decorating a caravan.
Not pretty.
And definitely alarming.
When you’ve spent a substantial amount of money on purchasing the van in the first place, it’s a slightly scary prospect to see looking like this.
But stick with it.
Give everything a couple of coats of paint and — bit by bit — the sea of orange wood will begin to diminish.
Eventually you’ll have painted every surface. Apart from the ones that you plan to wallpaper (if you’re going down that route).
Wallpapering a Caravan Interior
We’ve wallpapered both of our vans. Not sure what made me think that wallpapering a caravan was a good idea but it is.
It totally works.
I went for a shabby-chic feel for Dolly 1. It has been said (on more than one occasion) that it looked like Cath Kidston had thrown up on her. But I take that as a compliment.
Here’s how she looked before her makeover.
And after a little bit of elbow grease — a lot of paint — and one roll of wallpaper, she looked like this.
I went for a more graphic Orla Keily-esque look with Dolly 2 and used a range by Layla Faye from Wallpaper Direct.
Pop and have a look at the original post for more info.
What Tools Do You Need For Wallpapering a Caravan Interior
Wallpapering a caravan follows the same process as papering anything else to be honest.
I used standard tools — ruler, scalpel, brush, sponge and a papering table. And on both occasions I used a standard wallpaper paste; Polycell Maximum Strength, if memory serves.
The trickiest thing about wallpapering the interior of a caravan is trying to cut around tricky angles. But apart from that it’s no different from wallpapering a room in a house.
I wallpapered the ceiling in one of our bedrooms a couple of year’s ago so it’s something I’m quite confident doing.
I also quite like working on small surfaces — as opposed to large rooms. So in some respects I find it easier than wallpapering a house.
Some Tips For Decorating a Caravan
Here are my top tips for painting a caravan interior.
Make sure the walls are grease free.
Caravan walls can sometimes get a little greasy, due to cooking in such a tiny space. So making sure you give the surfaces a good wash down with sugar soap is always a good idea.
Paste both the wall and the paper. I always hang the paper from the top edge and trim the overhang at the bottom.
Make sure you smooth the paper down well and buff out with a dry wallpaper brush. This will get rid of any bubbles.
It can look a little bit alarming when the paper is wet. But the bubbles tend to settle down and disappear when the paste is dry.
I remember feeling so nervous when I wallpapered Dolly 1.
Would it be a waste of a £30 roll of paper? Will the paper stick? Would it last?
I had visions of the opening her up after the first winter to find the wallpaper hanging off the walls. Or peeling paint everywhere. But that never happened.
We had Dolly 1 for almost 6 years and the paper and paint looked as good when we sold her as the day it was put on.
So there we have it! A few tips on decorating a caravan. Next time I’ll talk about painting a caravan exterior.
Thanks so much to everyone who’s got in contact about Dolly 1 and Dolly 2. I love receiving your emails and would be thrilled to see how you get on with your own van makeovers.
Please do drop me a line with any before and after photos! Caro xx
Some More Posts on How To Decorate a Caravan
Looking for more tips on how to decorate a caravan? Check out these posts below.
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
Hi Caro, we have just bought a 3 bed static caravan in Spain. It’s in good condition but has the horrible fake wood type cupboards and walls so I am absolutely delighted to find your blog on renovating the caravan. Looking forward to doing ours and looking forward to your finishing touches blog. Anne x
Hi Anne! Aaah I’m so delighted you found my blog! And yes — I stayed at my parents’ static caravan last weekend and was itching to get my paints and brushes out on their cupboards and walls too!!! Good luck :) Let me know how you get on!
Oh this is great … I have recently bought a rather old and battered motorhome and I was considering “prettying” her up a wee bit inside…. I have saved this post for tips when I decide to do it! Thanks for the tips and inspiration!
Thanks so much! I’ve got a couple of follow up posts to write too — so stay tuned! :)
Hi. Absolutely love both your caravans. I’ve just bought myself a 2 berth 1990s caravan as a project and have just reached the overwhelming chaos phase of the renovation. Its so nice to see the journey you went through with your vans and comforting to know this mess isn’t forever! ?
Stick with it Ami!! The chaos bit is really disconcerting — with both vans I’ve reached a stage where I’ve suddenly regretted starting!! But keep going and — all of a sudden — things begin to take shape and start to look much better!!
Hiya, I’ve recently finished a renovation on an old caravan and it looks fabulous, however, after a bout of hot weather the wallpaper is lifting at the edges? Any ideas? Thanks so much x
Hi Vicky, did you paper both the walls and the paper? I always tend to use lots of paste on the edges of the paper, to make sure they really stick down well. Also, did you wash the walls down before you started? It may be that they were a little greasy?
If I were you, I’d use a scalpel and gently peel back the paper, then add more paste to the wall — and the paper — and stick it back down again, using a decorating brush to smooth it down well. Good luck! :)
hi caro just started my project ha,wish me luck its a 2 birth abbey 1996 shes a lovely old lady but needed brightening up stumbled on your site and so glad i have as its given me the confidence to go for it as your make overs are amazing.gone for a shabby chic look so fingers crossed
Aaah BRILLIANT!! Good luck Sharon!! Please let me know how you get on!! :)
I have also been inspired, I am buying my first caravan (v old 5 berth 1994 van and it needs a total revamp)
My question is did you bother to paint inside cupboards or only outside and doors etc???
Hi Ed! Brilliant — old caravans are the best kind!! It’s so nice being able to revamp them and turn them into something lovely :) And in answer to your question — no!! I painted both sides of the cupboard doors — but not the inside of the actual cupboards. You definitely could though — if you could be bothered. But in my case, it’s ‘out of sight, out of mind’ Good luck!
Hi all my plastic fitting around caravan are cream and I want to paint walls white. How would i go about this apart from buying new plastic fittings. eg plastice round sunroof, sockets
Hi Karen, we sprayed ALL of our fittings white! I am in the middle of writing a post, showing how we did it. Stay tuned! xx
Ooh just seen this Caro. Where can I find your post about how you sprayed the fittings and the materials you used? Many thanks for your posts – they are just fab and very inspiring. I am itching to get going and we haven’t even bought the van yet!
Hi Katie, I haven’t written it yet I’m afraid! I’ve written posts on flooring, painting the exterior and decorating the interior. I still have a few posts to go. Thanks for your lovely messages! :)
Love love love what you’ve done with both Dollies.we bought a 2 berth last year and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her!!! The other half objected as he said it would devalue or make it problematic if /when we come to sell her. I feel it would be easier to sell as not all of us want hideous fabric and brown brown brown!
Did you find it easy selling the original Dolly ?
Mel X
Aaah thank you SO much Melanie! And YES!!! I could have sold Dolly 1 a hundred times over — she was SO popular I had people fighting over her and we eventually sold her for almost £1K more than we bought her for.
I suspect that if you have a new van, you’d be pitching to the wrong audience — the staunch ‘caravaners’ love the shiny beigeness of new caravans.
But if you’ve got a tired old van (like both Dollies), a makeover is only going to increase the value as they’re not worth very much in the first place. People are drawn to the quirkiness of them! And the fact that they look so homely. We’ve had offers on Dolly 2 — even though we don’t plan to sell her on just yet. But I know that when we do, we’ll make a profit again, just as we did with Dolly 1. Hope that helps!! Good luck with your makeover! xx
I totally fell in love with your caravans a couple of years ago and they are the only reason I agreed to buy a caravan in the first place!! Two years later and we’re finally ready to get started. A couple of questions- did you spray your plug sockets, plastics grills etc? And if so, what paint did you use? And also, did you paint the inside of the main door? Ours is a shiny plastic finish and I was just wondering what paint you used for that. Thanks in advance! Can’t wait to get started now!
Hi Elizabeth!! Aaah what a lovely message to read first thing in a morning! Thanks so much. I have a post outlining all of this info. Along with what I use to paint the exteriors too. Once the summer’s out of the way, and the twins have gone back to school, I’ll post it on the blog! :)
Hi Caro, I absolutely love your caravan restorations. I have just bought a 1991 Sprite who despite her age is in pretty good condition but in need of a revamp!
I plan to paint and use wallpaper, so I can’t wait to see your post on that because I’ve never used wallpaper before!
I’m interested to know how long it took you to complete your project from start to finish?
Thanks so much Emma!! That’s so lovely of you :)
Dolly 1 took just a couple weekends from start to finish! We didn’t have children then so it was a lot easier to just crack on and finish the job!!
Dolly 2 took maybe 6 weekends… but we were trying to juggle childcare with decorating the van!!
It’s been spread out over time too. We finished the interior before starting on the exterior on another weekend. Weirdly, Dolly 2 (even though it took longer, cumulatively) felt quicker to complete, as we knew what we were doing!! Good luck with your van makeover!!!! :)xx
Hi, love the finished look and a definitely going to redecorate my van, so glad I stumbled across your blog! Can you tell me though, what you used fo flooring? Thanks
Hi Caroline! Thanks for your lovely message. We used laminate flooring in Dolly 2 — you can read all about it in this post.
This is a great post but can i just check, would you recommend using cupboard primer to paint all walls and ceiling then put paper on top? We have recently purchased a static caravan and i need to remove the dressing table from the bedroon to create enough space for a cot so im going to need to redecorate the room as id imagine it will mark the wall, thank you x
Hi Claire, You can almost treat it as you would a house. Fill and sand anywhere that needs it first — if there are holes left by the dressing table etc.
I painted every surface of our van with cupboard makeover paint, then emulsioned over the top with a roller, or wallpapered. Good luck! Let me know how you get on! :)