Photo Tour: Our 40 Foot Diesel RV After 4 Months

It’s so lovely to make any place into a home, and an RV is no different. Though Eric has owned a few homes over time, this is my first, so I’ve had a lot of fun “nesting” since we purchased Meriwether in January 2014.

Some of you may have seen my photo tour of Meriwether when we purchased him. Four months later, the interior looks quite a bit different! I hope you enjoy the walk-through – I certainly enjoyed setting up for photos!

(Note: Eric was enjoying a quiet Sunday afternoon of Gold Rush, so I did my best not to disturb him! You may notice the TV screen in a few photos…)

Living Area

Come on in! Here are comparison shots of our living and dining areas at move-in and today. I updated the dinette cushions and trim with upholstery paint and recovered the cornice boxes. Those two changes revolutionized the room!

I love having our family photographs up. They’re mounted with either Scotch or 3M velcro mounting tape. I won’t go into detail here, since I’m considering writing a whole blog post about mounting! Bottom line: the project was easy, and the frames have stayed secured through all our travels.

Here is the before and after from the opposite side of the living space. We replaced the original box TV with a flatscreen Vizio smart TV, which is Wifi capable. Weeks like this one, when our RV park has Wifi, we’re able to plug the password directly into our TV and stream Netflix or other apps.

Below and behind our TV is our HP printer, our Xbox (which we use as a DVD player) and a power strip. This ended up being the perfect spot for our rather bulky printer – no idea where it would’ve gone otherwise!

When we purchased Meriwether, there was a large ottoman and a recliner behind the passenger seat. We sold both through Craigslist. Trogdor’s terrarium now sits flush with the kitchen cabinetry, and we have room to extend the fold-out table behind the passenger seat.

Dream changes for our living area:

• Get an ottoman that can fit underneath the fold-out table. I’m envisioning brown faux leather.
• Get new day/night shades. The ones we have are original, stained, and starting to break!
• The fold-out table was broken by the first owner and glued back together. I’m working on collecting postcards from our travels, and I’m going to lacquer them onto the table with pour-on (not an affiliate link – just for your information).
• We have talked about painting, but I think this project is pretty far into the future, and I’m not sure I would attempt it myself.

Kitchen

I enjoy my kitchen. My counterspace has been downsized considerably, but learning how to be more efficient is not the worst sort of lesson in life!

I appreciate my fold-up counter (it’s amazing what a difference it makes!), paper towel holder, and convenient lighting.  I also love my microfiber rugs that keep my feet happy while I’m cooking.

The convection oven isn’t so bad. I’ve learned the importance of preheating. Other than that, I’ve just been frustrated at how it seems to dry out food. We’ve noticed this especially with garlic bread (a Highland Family staple) and frozen pizza. Not sure whether I’m doing something wrong – it’s quite possible!

Dream changes for our kitchen area:

• To the left of the kitchen area, you may have noticed the wall scar where an ugly and broken old clock used to hang. We need to get something hung back up there!
• I don’t mind the mirrored “backsplash,” but I wish it extended up to the oven, and went across to the window. I’d consider a new backsplash.
• New cabinet hardware – I could do without the gold bling!

Laundry

When we were RV shopping, having a washer and dryer was not a priority for me. Now I don’t know how I could live without it! And I absolutely love having this huge counterspace right above it, not to mention the huge storage space right above that!

Bathroom and Shower

Opposite the commode is a small sink and vanity with a large storage area underneath. Both Eric and I love having our own spaces for getting ready – actually an upgrade from our apartment living!

I store all of our cleaning supplies in the space below, along with a small trash can.

Dream upgrades to bathroom:

• We’d like to redecorate this space. We’re thinking paint or wallpaper and maybe a colorful curtain or valance.

I am crazy spoiled. I’m not even beginning to use all of the storage space here! The space under the sink goes all the way back into the corner!

In all our shopping, this is one of the largest showers we saw. It also has a shallow tub (perfect for Trogdor bathtime) and a built-in seat. The previous owner added brass fixtures that he was pretty proud of!

Bedroom

No complaints about our bedroom. As in the rest of the RV, the storage space is excessive, and we’re hardly beginning to fill it. The second owner (who added the brass fixtures and a ton of other things) installed a new mattress. It is probably the most comfortable mattress we’ve ever owned, and we always look forward to bedtime because of it!

Dream upgrades to the bedroom:

• I have high hopes for our bedroom! I definitely want new day/night shades – the one behind our bed doesn’t open at all.
• I want to either recover the cornice boxes or do curtains instead.
• I’d like to paint – it would be a small job because most of the room is cabinetry, but I think it would really change the mood of the space.
• I want a new bed cover and pretty decorative pillows!

Thanks for joining in on the tour of our home. All in all, we love it and are extremely happy with the way our changes have turned out. But there’s always room to keep dreaming, right? I’d love to hear your comments, any questions, and even recommendations! -B