Turning a Leprechaun into an Imp

At the start of this current adventure, we bought this almost new 2017 Coachmen Leprechaun RV:

Keep that in mind - this is a 2017 model.

We then set about gutting the poor thing since the interior looked like something out of the 1970's.

Brown, dark brown, tan and gold ?!?!  WTF?!

We also had specific ideas about what we wanted and needed in a tiny house on wheels, so the first things that went were the gold and brown drapes, vertical blinds, cushions and the microwave.  (We didn't have a microwave in our stick house either, so ditching this one was a no-brainer.)

The next things gone were the swoop and swish decals on the exterior.  We'll be replacing those with personalized, custom-made decals shortly.  (Did you know that an RV with no decals is called a snowball?)

Then the husband demolished the dinette. We wanted a more open main sitting area in the RV. We didn't get any pictures of the space immediately post-removal since we were in a bit of a crunch for time.  We had 6 weeks from the day we drove the it off the lot until it had to be move-in ready for us and the kittens. (Keep in mind that we were both still working full time while the renovation project was going on - AND we were trying to get our condo ready to go on the market for sale as well.)

We painted all of the brown stuff white to make the interior feel larger.  (We've actually got about 162 square feet of space, though some of it is storage only.)

Original bed nook - ick.

Cozy bed nook with new privacy blinds!

Even the refrigerator was covered in brown paneling!  We fixed that too :)

New fridge with dry erase board and magnets!

During the next crazy 6 weeks, we practiced driving the RV by driving to Fort Collins to visit the ever accommodating Ginny and Zach.  

The husband and Zach had been talking about the various things that needed to be built to make the Imp a little more livable.  But first - Zach made a custom door frame for us to replace the original dark brown leather frame (Trust us, it was hideous!):  

New door frame with Cthulhu, Dude or Fish coins and a Rad charm.

After a few more weeks, the condo closed, the jobs were exited from and we headed up to Fort Collins where the RV and the kittens would be staying while we went to Greece.

We had 3 days before we left for the guys to plan out the new kitchen. They also did a bunch of ripping out and roughing in.  (Bye bye scary tiny gas oven!) 

Two weeks later, we were back and the kitchen project was going full steam ahead.  The stove was gone, the leaky sink removed, resealed, two new cabinets with doors built and installed. Then, the piece de resistance: The Countertop

Two layers of nicely finished plywood, framed by lighter oak wood with a inset for the sink AND a matching cover for the sink so that we have that area usable when we're not actively using the sink.

So, for reference, here's what we started with:

Original kitchen. Counter space?

New kitchen with LOTS of counter space and storage

And this has made all of the difference in the world for livability.  25" x 43" of wide open level, beautiful counter space.  

We've still got other projects to tackle, but for now they're on the back burner as we take the winter to test out living in the Imp.  (And enjoy the counter - thank you Zach!)


(Yes, that is an Instant Pot you see on the counter - we joined the "cult" since we knew that we would be cooking in a small space and we'd heard almost nothing but rave reviews of the thing from other folks, especially RVers.)  If you've never heard of the Instant Pot, Google it - they're cool :)