Seaside Retro: Back to the drawing board

Its easy to get a bit down when you are part way through a project, that's about where I was with Daisy. Our 1969 Bluebird Caravan. A huge to list and was very unmotivated. Mostly due to the rain and cold!

When I was pulling rotten wood out of her last year, the thing which kept me going was thinking about what she would end up looking like. I almost pulled that look off, but along with a that long to do list, was a huge problem with fabric. My last blog was about how the fabric I had picked out for her had been discontinued.

Daisy has seven big windows, its a lot of fabric and will make such a huge impact as to how she looks. Get the colour wrong and she could go from light and airy to dark and cold. To bright and it will become to busy and take away from all the beautiful retro fabrics we use. Months, and months of looking for fabrics! To try and find true retro fabrics is really hard as often there is only a small amount available. Which I was going to get around by adding a few different patterns but be close in colour. Well I tried and failed. So back to the drawing board it is!

The fabrics that I have found so far are beautiful, and I wanted them to still work with the new theme.

So I put the fabric problem to one side and worked on what we where going to paint her (on the outside.)

At last, after hours on the Dulux app, we have agreed on a colour!!

I love the Dulux app, no they haven't paid me to say that! When you find a colour you like, they will show you others which work with it - low and behold, orange!! So the main colour, if not all of the outside of Daisy will be the main blue above -I love it, its calming, fresh and not too dark. We may may use some of the other matching colours, I think we will have to keep her current orange strip!

She is going to look, very, very different!

So the fabric!!! Well, going back to the drawing board, as taken me all the way back to the first ideas I had....

I saw this wallpaper months and months ago. I had saved it and kept coming back to it. Like with fabrics, its hard to find patterns I like, which are retro but also that have the amounts I need. This wallpaper is not a true retro pattern but its really close to some of my favorite geometric 1960 designs. It also fits really well with the outside colour of the caravan (This wall paper is going to line the inside of the door, so when the door is open you will get a pop of this wall paper.) Am also thinking of using it to line draws, and cupboards. depending on how much is on the roll.....

Here is Daisy's new mood-board! Am so excited, this is pretty much the first look I wanted for her (before the fabric pulled me away..) As you can see, the curtains will make a lovely calm back-drop to bright fun retro pillows and bedding. The flooring will be very busy, and I had thought about going white.....but I love the vintage feel of these tiles. They really remind me of my Grandparents caravan! (Am awaiting a sample, so this may change!)

All this will be with plain off white walls. So there is going to be a lot of painting to do...... I need to undo all the blue paint in side, possible changing the units too. I love how we have left the units as they are (on the outside) but a summer of use and they are looking very very tired. Am going to have to try and repair quite a few bits, if I want to hold off from painting them.

Its so lovely seeing all the colours together and thinking how well they will work together!

I have a crazy big to do list, curtains to make, a floor to lay, repainting the inside, sanding down and resealing the outside, then painting, then building a new bunk-bed.......So stay tuned as I better work out how much of this fabric I need to order before it gets discontinued!! Am sure my list is way longer than that! I cant wait to get painting, the awning rail though....that's giving me nightmares!!

Have a look in Daisy, shes all empty for winter and ready for the next round of works......a complete rethink...Goodbye blue....Yes even all change from the above as I found new fabric!

Here is a very mini tour, before mattresses, and fabrics.

What happened I hear you ask...where has the orange gone!!

So, I was set on this modern wallpaper and really liked the modern fabric I had found to match...........when......I found in my many hours on ebay......the MOST AMAZING FABRIC.........

Eight meters, of 1970's fabric (uncut) which had been found in a guys parents loft. Brought back from South Afrea, in the 70's (still in its shopping bag!!)

Is it curtain fabric, no. Its a net, so see through. Is it the best thing for caravan curtains....well no. If I was to do it age I wouldn't pick this type of fabric but I knew what I was getting my self into...as well.....look at it!!

Its amazing!! It was worth the complete nightmare it was too work with! If you are going to use a light weight fabric, use like I did a dim out fabric to back it and look at doing two separate curtains (nets over blinds.)

Finding the right amount of fabric to cover all seven windows was such a find, I had to go for it!!

At the same time, I was watching this amazing 1960's wallpaper. I had already paint cream for the walls and white for the ceiling. So now I moved away from blues.....to greens.....Not my first pick, and yes the fabric would have matched the new style wallpaper, but I loved it to much not to run with it! (I have at last found where to stick my rally tags!)

I love this fabric so much, and its in perfect condition. It looks and feels brand new!! Am a very lucky gal! (Note to self, in fact, to all. Do not cut curtains late at night, when you have had no sleep/broken sleep for a week....I did waste a lot of fabric by getting the two large window size completely wrong!!)

They are not a perfect match, but I love the look! Don't worry I have plans for that knob!

On the two large windows I have added a second line of wire. This means when they are drawn, they will hang close to the window. Without this, due to the angle of the window, they hang away from the window and allow light to seek in below!!