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Elinor Florence (Company name) Elinor Florence

Vintage Camper Renovation

Dear Friends: This vintage camper renovation took place after our daughter Melinda decided to turn our old 1989 Starcraft into a palace on wheels!

Young woman in denim shirt smiles up at camera, a power drill in one hand.

The old camper, sometimes called a tent trailer, a fold-down trailer, or a pop-up trailer, served our family well over the years.

vintage camper renovation, 1989 Starcraft

 

Vintage Camper Renovation

Melinda, who lives in Calgary, spent several consecutive weekends visiting us and working on her project.

She began by scrubbing the exterior and caulking all the seams.

Young woman in jeans and denim shirt bends over a camper with a caulking gun in her hands, caulking a seam along one side.

She then opened it and washed down the canvas walls, which were in perfect condition.

The interior, however, was very dated with fake wood grain, and (admittedly practical) sandy-coloured flooring stamped with a leaf pattern.

Wooden cabinet inside camper with fake wood grain, vinyl flooring has brown squares with stamped leaf pattern.

She decided to ditch the rusty cooktop. I can’t remember EVER using it. Who wants to cook with propane inside a small space when you can cook outside on a campfire or a camp stove instead?

Two-burner propane cooktop on stove inside camper is covered with rust spots.

However, she kept the sink. At one time it was possible to pump water into the sink from a small holding tank. Melinda removed the tank, but she can still pour warm water into the sink for washing dishes, and allow the dirty water to drain through a pipe out the bottom.

Small square stainless steel sink with single tap, set into counter inside camper.

The blackout curtains were wrinkled but otherwise in good shape. She decided to recover them rather than replace them.

Dusty blue drapes hanging inside camper are very wrinkled but otherwise intact.

At one end, the larger pop-out has a double bed with mattress.

Double bed covered with blue mattress fits inside one end of portable camper with canvas walls.

At the other end is a smaller pop-out with a single bed mattress.

Single bed covered with blue mattress fits inside one end of pop-out canvas wall in camper.

In the centre are two bench seats, facing each other.

Bench seat with blue striped upholstery sits inside camper.

Under the bench cushions are plywood boxes painted brown.

Bench cushion in camper lifts to reveal brown painted plywood box for storage.

And inside the benches, there is ample storage. We found some interesting items in there, including beach toys, a propane lantern, and an old Ouija board which we used on camping nights. Spooky!

Storage area under bench in camper reveals assortment of plastic beach toys, propane camp stove, and Ouija board.

We also found a set of old Melamine dishes (complete with dead bug) which I will now take to my mid-century cottage on Vancouver Island. To see more photos, click here: Palm Tree Cottage.

Dark green plastic dishpan holds an assortment of orange Melamine plates, bowls, and cups.

We even found the original manual, which might come in handy someday.

Tattered, scorched booklet with cover identifying it as a Starcraft 1989 Fold-Down Camping Trailer Owner's Manual.

There’s a portable folding table. You can use it for dining or, when lowered to the level of the bench seats and covered with the bench cushions, it creates a third double bed. With four kids, we needed every inch of sleeping space.

Folding table inside camper has white melamine surface, lifting away at one corner, and black metal legs.

There’s even an icebox, the old-fashioned kind. By placing a bag of ice or a cold pack inside, you can keep your food cold, or at least cool.

Small icebox in one corner of camper has fake wood siding and a white melamine surface.

Melinda decided to go with a black and white colour scheme. She began by priming all the woodwork.

Young smiling woman in oversize plaid shirt and jeans stands inside camper, beside benches primed with white paint.

She removed all the bench seats and cabinet doors and painted them white.

Vintage popup camper in background sits in garage, and beside it an array of cabinet doors are spread out on sawhorses, painted white.

She meticulously lined all the benches and cabinets with sticky shelf paper. (I would have skipped this step).

Camper renovation in progress shows all inside surfaces of drawers and cabinets covered with attractive grey and white abstract pattern of Mactac.

She then reassembled the benches. She knows how to use power tools, but good old Dad was on standby if she needed any help.

Young woman with blonde ponytail, wearing plaid shirt and jeans, bends over bench seat inside camper, screwing the white painted wooden lid back on with a power drill.

Then she went to work on the cabinet.

Young woman with blonde ponytail wearing black hoodie bends over dismantled camper cabinet resting on two sawhorses inside garage, shelves filled with gardening supplies in the background, as she carefully touches up white paint.

My job was to recover the curtains. I cut up two white sheets and created gathered white curtains, attaching them along the tops of the old ones.

The biggest nuisance was removing all the sliding plastic clips and sewing them back on by hand, but Melinda helped.

Closeup on woman's fingers feeding white fabric through sewing machine needle as she attaches white overlay to old blue fabric drapes.

Here are the new white curtains hanging behind the benches.

Melinda had the bench cushions upholstered in charcoal black fabric by a professional seamstress, since my portable sewing machine wasn’t up to the job.

And she replaced the bed curtains at both ends with simple white sheers from Fabricland.

Old camper has new black upholstered seat cushions, and white sheer curtains hanging over sleeping area.

Her fiancé Andrew was tasked with covering the old floor with new floating vinyl flooring.

Smiling young man in navy T-shirt and paint-stained jeans, dark hair and glasses, sits on floor of camper covering old leaf-patterned vinyl flooring with new gray vinyl planks.

We think the new floor looks great with the white woodwork and black cushions.

Camper interior after renovation shows white cabinets, black cushions, new grey vinyl floor, and black and white striped area rug.

She also removed the mattress on the single bed, and covered the base with the same flooring material. Now they can use this platform as a countertop and replace the mattress if needed.

One end of vintage camper has grey vinyl-covered bench instead of mattress in sleeping area, the plastic window over the bench shows tree trunks and green leaves.

The white sheers cover the bed areas, but allow natural light into the camper.

Renovated interior of vintage camper shows white cabinets with black hardware, black upholstery on bench seats, and white sheer curtains concealing the sleeping area at one end.

The double mattress was covered with a white fitted sheet, and a white duvet. Doesn’t it look cozy and inviting?

Double bed at one end of pop-up camper is covered with white duvet and white pillows, windows on three sides show green trees and grass.

The greatest transformation was the cabinet, painted white with new black hardware.

Old cabinets inside renovated camper are now painted gleaming white with new black drawer pulls.

Even the old icebox got several coats of paint.

Icebox in corner of renovated camper is now painted white with a glossy new black surface.

The tabletop was painted white, and the metal legs sprayed black.

Folding table inside renovated camper has a fresh coat of white paint on the surface, and the metal legs are sprayed black.

Now they are all ready for their first camping trip!

Two speckled enamel mugs, one painted lime green and the other blue, features illustrations of campers on their sides.

I searched out this old photograph from 1989 — it is Melinda herself, standing in her playpen outside the brand new Starcraft on its maiden camping voyage in 1989!

Old color photograph dated 1989 shows white VW van parked at campground beside Starcraft camper, with a playpen on the ground and a baby's head peeping over the edge of the playpen.

We hope Melinda and Andrew will enjoy as many happy hours in the camper as we did!

Attractive smiling young couple, he dark-haired, wearing glasses and her in jeans and black tank top, stand together outside door of camper holding sign that reads: "This is our Happy Place."

* * * * *

Friends, we’ve had a busy summer filled with lots of home projects, like the camper renovation, and many memorable family activities. We even managed to squeeze in a few socially-distanced visits with friends. My new novel had to take a back seat for now, but I’m hoping to tackle it again in September.

Please feel free to share Letters From Windermere with your friends, or post the link on your social media.

Here’s wishing you a safe and enjoyable autumn. Fondly, Elinor

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