Van Build Interior Design

Updated on September 29th, 2020

It is hard to believe that we have finished up all of the major projects in the van.  The very last thing is our van build interior design! These last few small projects are really what made the van feel less like a vehicle and more like a tiny home. It is also where Andy passes the baton to Gwen!

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Materials:

• Target Plastic Bins Medium
• Target Plastic Bins Large   
• Target Clothing Bins   
• Mattress 
• Queen Short Sheets   
• Queen Comforter–I picked ours up at HomeGoods!
• Curtain Wire   
• Curtains  
• Counter Top Stove  
• Ottoman Seats 
• Fabric–We used 3 yards of the headliner fabric and 1.5 yards of the trim fabric
• Spray Adhesive
• Staples
• Nails
• Small Magnets
• 2 Sheets ¼” plywood for the headliner
• ½ Sheet of ½” plywood for shelves
• Construction Adhesive
• Screw

Tools:

• Jigsaw
• Staple Gun
• Nail Gun or Hammer
• Drill
• Caulk Gun
• Sewing Machine

Check Out Our Van Build Interior Design Video!

Headliner

We used ¼” plywood that we upholstered using spray adhesive and staples.  We cut the sheets to size using the same scribing method we’ve been using since the beginning.  You’ll find a detailed description in our [Subfloor Post]. One the wood was cut we cut the fabric to size leaving about 4 inches of overhang.  We used spray adhesive to hold the fabric to the plywood and then stapled the fabric in place on the backside.

We also installed our recessed lights into the headliner which was very simple.  Prior to upholstering, we cut the holes to size. After the fabric was in place we installed the lights following the instructions in their package. We made sure to figure out if we needed to extend their wiring before nailing the panels in the van.

We screwed wood stripping on to the roof of the van so we would have a place to nail the upholstered panels.  Our nail gun left marks in the fabric as the nails entered so we put masking tape on the fabric before putting the nails in and that made the nails barely noticeable.  We needed to add a few small pieces of wood and nails where the corners of each panel met to cut down on the sagging of the plywood.

Trim

Trimming where the wall panels meet the ceiling was one of the most difficult problems we needed to solve for when it came to the vans interior design. We wanted a solution that was lightweight, didn’t take up much space, and was removable to make the wiring accessible. Plywood corners didn’t mean any of these needs.

For several months we tossed around ideas and finally settled on the idea of using fabric. We cut fabric strips to the height and width needed and then sewed a hem at the top and bottom. We slide small magnets into the hem and ta-da! We now have removable trim! The magnets make it really easy to get to wiring. This solution also makes zero noise when the body of the van flexes which was a major concern with wood trim.

Finally, the fabric adds a nice pop of color in the corners of the van. We’ve talked about adding “mood lighting” behind the fabric, AKA Christmas lights.

Cabinet Shelves

We purposefully waited until we had used the van to make decisions about how to organize the tall cabinet.  We wanted to try and figure out what we wanted to store before we added a bunch of shelves.  After our short trip in August, we were feeling pretty comfortable with knowing what we wanted.  

The top two shelves are shorter but are slightly taller than a standard US aluminum can.  The three bottom shelves are tall enough to fit the large baskets we bought to hold linens and to act as a breadbasket.  We also made sure that one of the shelves was tall enough for our countertop stove, and another was tall enough for our Instapot.

The shelves were cut and scribed to their spots.  We installed them using screws and construction adhesive.

We also added some door mounted storage to the sink cabinet.  The water tanks take up quite a bit of room and we wanted to squeeze as much space out of them as possible.  We went with screw mounted instead of over door hanging solutions because we thought there would be less rattle.  They are quiet as a mouse!

Curtains

We hung curtains at both the back and side doors and between the living area and the driving area.  We used wire curtain rods from IKEA. They are not obstructive from both from a visual perspective and a headroom perspective.  Our curtains slide easily on them!

We hemmed the curtains to just barely touch the floor.  Andy fashioned curtain holdbacks from a couple of magnets and some rope which is doing the trick until we decide on something more permanent.

Seating

We did not plan for any built-in seating.  It just wasn’t a high priority for us. We did, however, luck into a pair of indoor/outdoor ottoman cushions I had purchased for our patio.  They fit in the van perfectly, and can slide under the bed or between the driver and passenger seat when not in use! It was just a bonus that they matched the rest of our van build interior design.

Bed

Both of us are pretty terrible with a sewing machine, so it was important to find a mattress that we could buy standard sheets for. We made the bed frame fit a queen short RV mattress and found a great 8” memory foam mattress on Amazon.  This bed is ridiculously comfortable.  We purchased queen short sheets (these ones are sooooooo soft!!) and a standard queen comforter.  

Storage Solutions

For now, we have gone with only under bed storage solutions for clothing.  We bought four collapsible fabric bins to store clothes. A simple set of zip-ties hold them together in sets of two.  The cloth means they slide easily on the vinyl floor and they also break down if we need to store something larger under the bed.  We have smaller plastic boxes that fit inside to put smaller items like underwear and socks in. We may eventually choose to put something more permanent in but for now, this is more clothing storage than we have on the boat!

We are so happy with how the van turned out and we cannot wait to take her on adventures! Stay tuned as I am sure we will have improvements to make over time and we will be posting about our travels in her!

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