The DIY Plan: Paint and Budget Friendly Design Choices

We bought this 2005 Wildwood by Forest River for $4500 in 2021. It was dark, dated, had dry rot in the bump out and had absolutely no design whatsoever. Click through the slideshow above to see all of the before pictures of the camper, including the last slide with the slideout being completely dismantled. As soon as I entered the camper, I started tearing down all the ugly window treatments. Already it started looking better.

It truly looks like a completely different camper after only spending $1800. This includes purchasing a new awning, new floors, new kitchen sink and faucet, new mattresses, new hardware, paint, new sofa, bedding, roller blinds, peel and stick wallpaper and tiles and wood trim.

How did we do all of the renovations for under $2k? Careful planning, intentional purchases and a lot of DIY sweat equity.

Paint 101 Tips: Brighten It Up

The biggest impact for transforming this camper was painting the dated floral wallpaper walls Simply White by Benjamin Moore. When painting a camper’s interior, it is really important to choose the right primer. A shellac or bonding primer like Kilz linked here or Bondz linked here is what we have found works the best. You can find both of those options online or at your local hardware store.

These particular primers bond well to any surface. If you want to use a paint sprayer, then I recommend using Bondz primer as it’s not shellac based and easier to clean from the paint sprayer. We rolled the walls in this project and used a shellac based primer, but the fumes were VERY strong. The next RV we renovated for a client (post coming soon), we used Bondz and I would use that moving forward as it’s more user-friendly and the fumes are not as harsh. You can find the paint sprayer we love linked here.

For painting our camper’s walls and cabinets, we color matched the Benjamin Moore Simply White at Lowes using their Valspar paint in a satin finish linked here. We did lightly sand before painting the cabinetry, but if you are using Bondz, you don’t necessarily need to sand. To prevent paint from chipping, we did apply a thin later of polycrylic on the cabinetry. You can find polycrylic topcoat here.

Sofa: The Best Budget Find

I found this adorable camel faux leather sofa at Walmart for only $309 here. So many people have asked me about this cutie couch-even for their own homes! It fits in the exact perfect spot where the old dated couch was and a child easily can sleep on this couch. We added in roller blinds from Lowes linked here and board and batten on the walls of the slideout to add character and modernize the space. Mitch also wrapped the slideout in stained wood and I found a $12.99 accordian hook on Amazon linked here for added functionality. We use this hook system for beach towels, hats and coats.

Dinette: From Boring to Stylish

The dinette was functional but not my style. We ended up just wrapping the cushions with easy to clean fabric by using a staple gun. We added in a new pressed particle board tabletop and a Boho style light from Amazon linked here. This table still functions as a bed and is a cozy place to eat meals and play cards when it’s raining.

Kitchen: From Dark to Light and Bright

Adding Character

For the kitchen, we painted the cabinetry Simply White by Benjamin Moore, painted the refrigerator Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams and added in peel and stick tiles to the backsplash linked here. We also updated the kitchen with a new stainless steel farmhouse sink from Amazon linked here and a new modern black faucet linked here from Amazon. Mitch ended up making a pressed particle board countertop with a custom cutting board that fits nicely in the farmhouse sink.

Throughout the entire camper, we added in vinyl plank flooring from Home Depot for only $2.39 per square foot. The color hides dirt so well, it’s durable, neutral, so easy to clean and very affordable. I highly recommend this flooring. You can find it here. We loved it so much that our clients decided to put it in their RV renovation as well.

Master Bedroom

For the master bedroom, we bought a new mattress on Amazon linked here, painted the walls and cabinetry Simply White, added in gold pulls and some fun $4 hooks from Target and attached a fun piece of art from Hobby Lobby. Here are some similar options linked here. To save money, I used bedding from our home linked here and Mitch built those cute custom nightstands that attach to the wall.

I love having two doors that at the end of a day traveling with four kids, we can gently shut and have some privacy. Those doors make a world of difference!

Bathroom: Tiny but Cute

For the bathroom, I loved the modern geometric patterns that were so popular at the time. We removed the mirror cabinet and replaced it with a modern gold mirror linked here.

I found these peel and stick tiles on Amazon linked here which went well with the peel and stick wallpaper linked here in the hallway. I ended up painting the cabinetry Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams as well as all of the doors. Mitch built some shelves using gold brackets and leftover scraps of wood similar to these shelves online. I added in some boho touches with a black fringed shower curtain linked here.

We ended up painting the countertop with marine grade paint which has held up well over time. Marine grade paint is waterproof which is important when painting bathroom countertops. A rope basket from Target linked here holds all of our quick dry bath towels linked here, which are a mom’s lifesaver when camping with lots of kids!

Bunk Beds: Modern and New

We purchased new mattresses from Amazon for the bunk bunks linked here. And I found black modern comforters for only $20 at Target linked here. Mitch added the same wooden trim (stained Early American by Minwax linked here) on the base of each bunk and I painted the back wall to make it feel cozy. Our kids loved cozying up in their bunks to read with headlamps on at the end of a long day hiking.

Saying Good bye in 2024

After enjoying this camper for 4 years, we are selling our sweet Wildwood. We just bought a cabin in Northern Michigan which we are renovating and will be renting out on AirBnB soon. We just listed our camper on Facebook Marketplace linked here and Love that RV linked here. We have had for 40,000 clicks and so many direct messages daily. I am hopeful that there is a couple or a family out there who is ready to enjoy our camper for years to come! If you are interested, please drop a comment below.

Happy Travels!