February 28, 2014

The Vintage Caravan Interviews - The Pearl

My name is Kerrie Sanderson and I live in Northern California.  I grew up in a the Bay Area near San Francisco.  Now I live further North, but always near the water.  My Dad had a high stress job as manager of the F.A.A.  To relax he fished on the weekends.  He fished in bass tournaments and even won the Western United States Championship.  Needless to say, I grew up camping almost every weekend.  When I was a wee one we camped in our baby blue VW bus,  Then we got a real canvas tent with cots, and then a Dodge moterhome(all of which are vintage now!).  I love camping!  Thankfully I married a man who likes to camp too.  We raised our four children tent camping along the coast.  I even camped while 8 months pregnant in the rain!  Ten years ago our camping turned to glamping when we were able to purchase our vintage caravan 'The Pearl' from dear friends. 

The Pearl is a 1972 Timberline 16 footer with two double beds, a single bunk, kitchen, diner and outhouse(potty).  She is fondly named after my favorite Great Grandmother Nora Pearl.  We also have a soft spot for Jack Sparrow and his Pearl.  

We have decorated The Pearl in a beachy shabby chic style.  We painted an aqua stripe on her exterior using Krylon #1512 'Blue Ocean Breeze'.  The interior came already painted a fresh creamy white with seafoam green trim.  Would you like to come inside for a peek?

The first thing we did was replace flooring with laminate wood from Ikea.  I filled her with feather down blankets and lots of rose covered quilts and pillows from Rachel Ashwell Simply Shabby Chic.  The rose cottage curtains are from Homegoods.  Unfortunately they did not have enough for all the windows so I used white sail cloth curtains from Target for the rest.  

The kitchen countertops, stove, oven, light fixtures, and vintage shower with toilet are all original.  The previous owners made the crescent moon on the outhouse.  Isn't it cute!  I try to use vintage retro accessories like the aqua radio, fisherman's basket, tin artwork, and clock.  

We have enjoyed glamping in her for 8 yrs. along the California Pacific Coast.  We often drive the 2 hrs. through the Napa Valley wine country to our favorite destination The Sonoma Coast.  We like to camp on the peninsula between the sea and bay or in the dunes.  The furthest we have ever gone is Yosemite Valley which is a 5-6 hrs. drive.  The Pearl loved being tucked in the redwood forest with views that only Ansel Adams can capture.

Unfortunately The Pearl came with water damage and the dry rot has caused the wall that the door is on to come loose.  We are afraid that it might fall off if we travel anymore.  So she sits and waits for her renovation.  We also discovered that the stove had a gas leak.  During our first few outings in her, my daughter and I became very light headed while sleeping in the bed near the stove.   There was also a stinky odor that we just thought was the toilet.  Thankfully my hubby realized what it was and disconnected the stove from the gas.  So be careful to check everything for safety after purchasing your  vintage caravan.  

Our plans for renovation are to rebuild the entire side of the caravan where the dry rot is.  My hubby and son are both carpenters and will be doing all the work themselves.  they will build new kitchen cabinets in a weathered style wood, add a vintage tin backsplash, paint the stove and oven(if it can be repaired) white or aqua, remove the bunk and build a captains bed with storage underneath, and re-do the floors in a weathered wood.  

The style will be what I call Nordic Coastal with lots of white, driftwood grey, and sea blue.  I envision faded blue sheer curtains blowing in a sea breeze.  The rose floral linens and pillows will remain...I always have to have roses.  

I also am collecting a mismatch of rose china.  The decor will be minimal with a few sea and rose paintings( I am an artist) and scatterings of seashells.  Hopefully a tiny chandie too!

If you would like to read more about The Pearl you can visit her blog at HERE 

Thank you so much Kerrie for sharing your lovely Pearl with us - I hope you can share pictures of her again soon, once she has undergone her make-over...she sure looks lovely now and I love the way she has been loved and used on so many holidays away...

...and folks if you want to check Kerrie out, she has her own blog HERE and a Blog for Pearl HERE which both makes for interesting reading ;)

 So tell me...what do you think of Kerrie's Caravan?
Has she inspired you to buy one this Spring? or have you already bought one?
What colours do you want to paint yours?

Or do you have a Caravan that you have already 'Made-over' and would like to share with us here...either way...tell us about it :)

Looking forward to receiving your lovely comments :)

Bye for now my lovelies xxx