So this weekend marks a year since we went on a crazy adventure to collect
our 1969 Bluebird Caravan, Daisy.
When I say crazy, I mean crazy. My husband jokes, that I said 'hey bubba, fancy going on adventure on Sunday.....' Yes, I had brought a caravan, over a 6 hour drive away....
Our three mini's where fab, we packed lots of snacks and headed north. From sun up to sun down we where all in the car, just getting home as the sun was setting.
My first time ever towing, was on the windiest day ever!! (I hung onto that stearing wheel and was so mindful that everybody I love the most was in the car.)
Its amazing how quick you get used to the bleeping noise of the indicators or taking a more room to turn.
We arrived home, with this big, rotten, damp, almost 50 year old dirty, for want of a better word shed! We had only 8 weeks before we planned to use her so it was all go! I knew I couldn't get all the jobs done in that time but wanted her to be safe, dry and usable. (Not pretty but usable.) If you had told me then that we would spend New Years Eve, in the caravan, I would have laughed at you! I never thought we would be camping over the winter! (It was amazing!)
Daisy is a 1969 Bluebird Europe Three mk4 and she changed our life. I know that sounds a big thing to say, its just a caravan right? Nope, not to us, to us, shes freedom. Who would have thought a family of 5, would fit so happy into such a small space and some how feel so untapped. My house feels smaller than went we are sat in a field with Daisy! There is something really magical about old vans. She has no running water, no heating, (the oven needs work, we just use the hob) no bathroom, yet I smile as soon as I open the door and feel like a weight has been lifted off me when we are away!
She was damp, rotten, and had a hole in the floor but even at the point I took this photo, I still loved her!
This was the fabrics I had picked out and all the paints.........But half way through, after painting, the fabric was disconnected!! Its one of my favorites and has a retro vibe and still quite modern. So all year I have been on the hunt for orange retro fabrics.......
This is when we showed her at Retro Fest. I love the cool blue and bright orange but try as I mite, I cant find a retro orange fabric in the amounts I need :(
As you can see, she still has a huge list of jobs to do.....and now the longer days are coming, its time to start back on all the jobs we missed off last year.
Its really, really hard..........We asked friends, we asked Retro Club Members what they thought, but at last we have made up our minds!
My main problem was that, I couldn't find a fabric. I have 6 windows to dress, that's a lot of fabric. Everything will be affected by the colour and pattern on the curtains!
So for a year we have lived with temp baby pink fabric up on the windows. I love pink, don't get me wrong but it was not the look I was going for!
This was my first mood board for Daisy, as you can see, taking her name and working from there.
Here are some of the beautiful fabrics I have managed to find.
The huge problem with looking for retro fabrics, is you may find one you love but their is less than a meter of it! The blue was imported from France, I love it and it matches my Nana's 1960's table cloth. But I haven't been able to find what I need for the curtains. When you have time on your side or well, your just plain lucky, you can find the most amazing fabrics! So after a year of looking, and getting out bid or spending way to much on one meter of fabric, am giving up! Back to the drawing board.
The main problem was that the owner before the owners we brought Daisy from, had stripped her out. I mean everything, curtains, beds, everything. I understand why, when things smell damp, people often thing that they cant save them but often thats not the case. So it means, we had to buy all new mattresses for her, and fabrics. This doesn't sound like much, but when mattresses can be anywhere up to 3000 pounds!! Its a big extra cost. Don't worry I didn't spend anything like that, thanks to Ikea!
Starting again is a little scary, as well, we have loved the cool blues and fresh feeling of looking out of the windows to the blue sky. When I said about changing the inside colour, my husband was a bit worried as the blue has really grown on us. But I want to get it right and now having at last found a fabric which has a vintage feel but I can buy it by the meter, means a re-think.
Its easy to get lost in the make overs, of these sort of retro vans, but I love that we have kept what didn't fall to bits! I didn't want the van to look like a big flower bomb of over cuteness had gone off in her or that she didn't look like she came out of the 1960s. Some make overs I've seen are amazing, but its easy to change a van which maybe one of the last left like it and never be able to undo that. Daisy though, needs a lot of work and keeping her from not looking, heading on for 50 is hard work!
No matter what colour, or fabrics we pick Daisy will be perfect for us. We do show Daisy a lot and I was so proud of how far we had come in 8 weeks last year but this year I need to work a little harder. Get sealing her right and get my big list of jobs done!
Would I recommend buying a retro van? Hell yea!
My to do list is huge.......from curtains, electrics, paints......Am very excited and a little scared (the awning rail and skylight are giving me nightmears!!!) but very soon she will be looking a lot different!! Yay, to the start of our second year of being retro caravan owners!
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