Inexpensive Fix-Up Ideas for a Vintage Trailer

After you get a vintage travel trailer, you can spend a small fortune fixing it up inside--but you don't have to. Here are a few ideas to borrow.

If your trailer has a rear bed, you can use a tension rod and curtain rings to turn a favorite throw or blanket into a sliding drape in front of the bed. Close it once you're in bed, and you have the warmest, coziest little sleeping spot you can imagine. Or, pull it closed to hide a messy bed in a hurry...or just leave it pulled to the side, to create a sense of visual depth to a small space.

This trailer has an upper bunk that folds up and latches. To decorate the underside, which shows when the bunk is not in use as a bed,  a pair of screen-printed placemats (found at a thrift store) is affixed with upholstery tacks. The placemats can come down in a flash with little harm to the surface. You could use maps, souvenir pennants, or other items in this fashion.

The cabinet doors were taken off, spray painted with high-gloss black paint, and put back on. The wooden picture frame, from a dollar store, is screwed into the door. The cowgirl picture is a photocopy.

The trailer's original, dark-brown paneled walls and ceiling were painted with a fauxing technique to resemble a lighter wood grain. The ceiling-edge trim is jute rope, applied with a glue gun and secured every few inches with an upholstery tack.

The cabinets over the dinette feature pieces of old leather belts, connected with a belt buckle and then nailed on with upholstery tacks.

The gingham curtains are home-sewn and trimmed with rickrack. The curtain by the entryway door has a row of pockets at the bottom, great for keeping things like reading glasses within easy reach.

 The backsplash is basically a sandwich. The first layer is a section of metal roof flashing, cut to fit with tinsnips and sprayed with high-gloss black paint. The middle section is a collage of favorite vintage cowgirl graphics. The top layer is plexiglass. The 'sandwich' is fastened to the wall with mirror clips.

A number of the toss pillows, like this one, were made by using the fronts of themed, screen-printed cotton tops. This is a great way to repurpose those cute, blinged-up tops that you may be ready to recycle out of your wardrobe for one reason or another.

Here's a way to use some of the belts that may be lurking in your closet: Buckle them around pillows. You'll never have to do the 'pillow chop' again!