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.
This is amazing thankyou for sharing ?
Just bought a Genuis 500/5 for a project an all questions I had you clearly answered through both dolly 1 and 2 I’m soooooo excited
Brilliant post ??
Aaah that’s so kind Evelyn! Thank you :) I’d love to see your van when you’re done! Keep me posted!!
I have a static and found the wall covering seemed like plastic which paper wouldn’t stick to but I took it off and left the backing it stool great
Hi Valerie! That’s great to know! :) Thank you.
Hi, can you advise us on painting the rubber seal around the top of the wall before the ceiling begins. Can we paint it using the Dulux difficult survives then emulsion just as we have done the walls of the van please?
Many Thanks
Jacqui ?
We’ve just bought a 1998 Abi Dalesman almost identical to Dolly 1. Please can you tell me how you recovered the upholstery?
Hello! Thanks for your message — I have a post in drafts for the upholstery — will publish soon!
Hi I’m amazed at both dolly’s & so inspired ! We have just started on a very dilapidated caravan, lots of broken parts, do you have any advice on broken cupboard door stays ? I can’t find a video anywhere to show me how to fix those ! & I too am after upholstery covering advice & curtain advice please
Rachel
Hi Rachel, it depends on what van you have. We bought replacement door stays for both Dolly 1 and 2 — but can’t find anything suitable for Dolly 3 (although we haven’t looked very hard, to tell you the truth!!).
If it’s an old van, you can try a breaker’s yard — or speak to a caravan spares company like Venture.
Hey
Loved looking at your dollies :-)
Myself and husband are looking at buying an older caravan mainly to see if we enjoy caravanning. I would love to know how you did your sofas as they look amazing!!
Hi Hollie! Thanks so much! I have a post on covering the sofas in my drafts — still need to publish it!!
Love your updates!! Did you ever get round to posting how you covered the sofas? We’ve just got a freebie caravan that needs a LOT of love!!
Hello! No — I still haven’t written a post!! I must do it when I get around to covering Dolly 3’s seats — and take lots of pictures!
Hi there, we have just started our caravan project.
I am looking for advise on the best way to cover the cupboard and covered MDF boards.
I can see you used crow makeover cupboard primer, is this the only paint you used? or was this as an undercoat and another paint as the top?
thank you would really appreciate the help.
p.s love your van!
Hi Tammy — exciting about your caravan project! I used the undercoat and primer as an undercoat — with a topcoat of eggshell.
Hi
Another massive fan! Beautiful makeovers!
I have just bought a pretty immaculate van to live in but it’s just not homely enough! I am planning to paintball the wood (or not wood) cupboards and there ALOT of them.
You talk about cupboard makeover paint and I’d be massively grateful if you can be more specific? I just don’t know what I’m looking for! I want to keep it water based if possible, for the sake of fumes (I live with two big dogs as well-not sire how that is going to work out, but still….)
Very many thanks for your inspiration x
Hi Jane, Thanks for your lovely message!
I have used a variety of cupboard makeover paints over the years but I’ve just started giving Dolly 3 her makeover and have been using a primer that I’ve been using in the house for my home DIY projects. It’s called Zinsser Bin — there are two kinds (red and blue) but I prefer the blue one which is water based. I used the white version for paler topcoat and the grey version if I’m painting a darker eggshell. I’ve even used it on plastic — it looks fairly alarming when you first apply it… the first coat is very patchy!! But once you give it a second coat — then a topcoat with the eggshell of your choice — it looks amazing!
Good luck with your makeover! Send me some pictures when you’re done :)
Just bought my van but it has the original wallpaper on.Do I have to take the old paper of first and do I have to buy special wallpaper and paste for wallpapering walls in a caravan
Hi Ellen, if the wallpaper is on firmly — not peeling anywhere — I’d wallpaper over the top. And no, I’ve used ordinary wallpaper and wallpaper paste when decorating all of our caravans.
Hi , love your posts
I am currently trying to make a 1985 eldis whirlwind into my craft room and happy place . Just got to the halfway panic stage and OMG ! What have I started.
Glad to know that’s how it’s supposed to go. X
Oh bless you!! I know that feeling all too well!! Just concentrate on a bit at a time — don’t feel overwhelmed by the bigger picture. Eventually you’ll come to a point where all the smaller areas will join up and you realise you’ve nearly finished!! :)
I loved reading this post, we have just moved, more or less full time, into out static caravan. It’s 4 years old and the walls are covered in the usual boring beige hessian pattern vinyl wall covering. All the floors and worktops are brown. I really won’t to change the whole look of it to a light beach hut theme as we are right by the sea, but not sure how to paper over the vinyl walls. Did you have the same stuff in your caravan?
Any tips gratefully received.
Linda
Hi Linda! Thanks for your lovely message! Yes — the walls in both of the vans were vinyl. But not highly textured — they were wooden veneer in most places. The ceilings were textured though and we painted those.
If the walls are highly textured in your van, and you feel that it might show though the wallpaper, you could always line them first. That would give a great finish.
If it were my static, I don’t think I’d hesitate to do it. Maybe try on one wall in one of the smaller bedrooms first, just to try it out.
I keep trying to persuade my mum and dad to let me decorate their static van. They’ve got horrible textured candy stripe walls! LOL!! They’re not having a bar of it though — they keep saying they like it because it’s ‘original’!!
I can’t wait to get my hands on it — there’s so much scope to make it beautiful! Letv me know how you get on. Good luck!
Hi Caro
I am so happy to have found your posts. We have just bought a very dated van with lots of (inspired by you!) potential.
I was just wondering where you got your seat fabric from? I love it as it is so versatile – I could stick all sorts with it!
Also, do you have any posts on your newest van?
Thank you for all the inspiration
Julia
Hi Julia, thanks for your lovely message! The original seat fabric was a roll bought from Clarke and Clarke. It wasn’t upholstery fabric but did the job perfectly. They were fully washable and held up really well. I have barely written anything about Dolly 3 yet as we haven’t really got stuck into decorating her yet. As soon as I have, I will absolutely share it on here. I have started the shower room, so that will probably be the first thing I’ll post about :) Watch this space!