If there is one thing that you want to feel when you walk into your RV it is the feeling of home. Whether that be from the smells of cooking your favorite meal on the stove, a picture of your latest travel adventures or the comforts of a throw blanket laid across a couch. The feeling of home can come in so many ways and the key to having that “feeling” is to add those touches that mean home to you and your family.
Decorating and designing any space can sometimes feel overwhelming, the big question is always where do I start? So, let’s jump into what makes something feel like home? You all know the saying “home is not a destination it’s a feeling” and that could not be more accurate when describing a home on wheels. It will be important to identify first what does home feel like for you and your family.
As humans we are all moved by different emotions and most tie back to our senses. Touch, taste, and smell this why by simply walking into a restaurant or shop you can instantly recall a feeling of your home or perhaps a grandparent’s home, that feeling of awe this feels like home. We are centered by what we see, touch, and even smell so often. So, once we identify what will “make” my RV feel like home we then can get to work on designing.
Some of the larger and more obvious items will be your everyday usage items, for example the comfort items such as a stove, microwave, shower, storage and even where and what you sleep on. These will be the items that are blaring you in the face to design immediately to make your RV feel more like your home. Depending on if you live in your RV fulltime or are a weekend warrior will decide on how important these larger items are to you. For someone who wouldn’t cook at home normally, having all the kitchen gadgets may not be top of the list.
Identifying what areas in your RV are important to you will be your next step. A great example for us to share is our kids bunk room. We knew immediately that we did not want to be making couches into beds every day of our lives while fulltime living in our RV. This was something we wanted to work on first. Creating individual spaces for each of our kids was top priority to make it feel like home for them. By identifying this as a need we were able to design this area right away to make things feel more like home for them.
You may know that the kitchen, or closet area perhaps the master bedroom or bathroom are your must re-design areas to have all the feelings of home. By identifying your needs, you can then put together an action plan. Do not be fooled by the fact that an RV is small- smaller does not always mean less work. In fact, when designing or decorating a smaller space with different walls, texture, and challenges it can in fact create more work.
Once you move past your larger design areas you can dive into the fun part of designing through decorating. One of the major perks of decorating a tiny space is, it’s just that it is tiny! It does not require a lot to make it into a space that you love. Some of our top items that touch all those senses and can really fill up your room with that home feeling are inexpensive, customizable, and interchangeable! All things we love in RV Life!
In your living areas and bedrooms by simply changing pillows, blankets and bedding you can completely design and redesign your space. I am a huge fan of fresh flowers to add that home feeling in any space, do not be afraid to add those flowers to the bathroom and kitchen as well. There is something about fresh flowers in any space that says home. Candles are a wonderful addition too; they can create a calming mood and beautiful lighting in your home on wheels in the evening.
Lighting and rugs, I saved the two best things for last! You would be amazed of what simply placing a rug can do in an open space, besides creating a grounding feeling it can also pull an entire room together. In a very similar fashion those bright RV overhead lights replaced with a side table lamp can instantly set a similar grounding feeling and mood. These two items can have the most impact on your space, do not forget those hallways and kitchen alley ways, setting a small rug in those areas can create a great transition from room to room.
Lastly, have fun and play with placement of items, an RV space is so unique and creating your own space will come in time and as you experience day to day life in your RV. The task of design and decorating can feel overwhelming so go to the drawing board and start with what makes something feel like home to you and your family and start to create that feeling in your home on wheels.
Happy designing and happy camping.
With Love,
