This is going to be a lot of work.

So, my hobby? It's going to be a lot of work. So far, hubby has been managing the project. I'm more of what one might call the creative director. Or, at least the gal with the camera, the blog posts, and the opinions. And, through it all, the love of my life keeps smiling.

I'm sure that somewhere behind this sweet smile is a man who is a little worried that his wife's hobby is slowly becoming his renovation project. I'll get in there, eventually. When it is warmer outside (or at least in the garage) and when we figure out how to get that weird smell out of there.  It's just an old stale camper smell that I'm sure is par for the course when you set out to restore a vintage camper. But, come on! It's a little overwhelming. Dear hubby thinks getting a little paint in there and adding some cleaning products and elbow grease and we'll be just fine. Again, with the optimism. In the interim time, I might search "removing weird smells from vintage campers" so that we're prepared.

As you can see we've sweet hubby has taken out the drawers and removed all of the cabinets. He pulled that creepy (slightly moldy?) contact paper from some of the drawers and shelves. I, on the other hand, just keep taking pictures so we have evidence of what will be an amazing transformation.

One of the things I've been trying to decide is whether or not we should put a larger mattress in this space (that seems to be the trend on many of the Pinterest-inspired renovations) or whether or not we should keep the flexibility of the couch/pull out bed with a flip cushion like mattress. I haven't actually made it back in there since taking these pictures to measure the area but I think it would probably handle a full size mattress. That would reduce the "seating area" in this space, but really, having a larger mattress to sit on would probably work fine, too. And, likely be more comfortable when we actually spend the night in the camper versus a seat cushion. What do you think?

Hubby removed the freaky-looking water damaged area under the window. It's starting to look better already. Oh, and check out the turquoise stove. That just has super cute written all over it. If nothing else, I'm finding that encouraging. 

Looking forward to the weather getting above zero so that we can make some more progress. Until then, I'll explore some fun fabric options for curtains, pillows, and cushions.