Being active in a few RV forums, specifically full-timer groups, I see photos of the way folks have redecorated the interior of their rigs. Some of these rigs really come out looking like the interior of a well-appointed apartment. Just about anything goes, apparently, from hanging curtains to painting walls and cabinets to installing residential furniture (one full-timer even has a dining room table with a glass top!) to . . . well, you name it.
I did all sorts of things to my Texas home – ripped up carpet, painted the cement floors, painted the interior (including taking off huge kitchen cabinet doors to paint and putting them back on again), replaced a toilet and faucets, hung various items on walls, replaced blinds . . . you just about name it and I did it if physically capable.
Funny thing, though . . . I realized I have been sort of “scared” to tackle something like that in our 5th wheel. Guess I am afraid I will “break” something ?? Not sure, exactly.
For a while now I have been wanting to take down the window valances and replace them with rods and curtains. From the photos of others, this really makes the inside of an RV look very cozy, homey, updated and upgraded. I bet it helps with insulating against heat and cold, too.
Well, yesterday was the day. Faithful Black and Decker cordless screwdriver recharged and in hand, into the rig I went. That B&D and I have logged a lot of hours together over the past 12 years. Guess what? Removing the valances was a piece of cake!
Valance over daybed – not a great shot, but you get the idea
Better exposure, complete with Maggie photo bomb. The window in the top photo is the one to the right in this shot, with just part of it showing.
After removal of valances
It has only taken me about 4.5 years to tackle this. I really did not mind them at first but, after living with them (and cleaning them . . . grrrr) for that long, I was ready for a change. I took down six of them (five in the living room and one in the hallway) yesterday with two in the living room still to do. The day/night shades will stay in place for the time being; they are in good shape. Our kitchen has mini blinds with the same valances. Those will come out at some point, but it I can already envision having to lay down on the kitchen counter to be at an angle to get the screws out!
Yes, I have Dave’s support in tackling this project. His response was this was not his “thing” and I should go for it. Sweet!
The window dimensions of an RV differing quite a bit from those of a regular house, the necessity of hemming curtains was a foregone conclusion . . . or so I thought. I was actually able to find some curtains and valances at <gasp> Walmart today that should do the trick.
It will most likely be the weekend before I have some quiet, uninterrupted time to start hanging rods. I plan to do the hallway window first as a test run. No one sees that window from the inside besides us; it is not a window that one sees when walking into our RV.
I’m excited and looking forward to the project itself and the end result!
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The past couple of weeks have certainly felt like the fading of Summer and the beginning of Autumn. Overnight lows are in the upper 40s and low 50s with daytime highs in the low 80s to upper 70s. Wow. Sure has felt like a short, mild Summer. You’ll hear no complaints from me about that.
Right now, though, we have the Season of the Gnats. Swarming gnats, even. The swarms are at their peak (worst) in the morning hours. It is annoying, even to the point of being icky. Keeping in mind that these swarms are usually indicative of mating behavior, well . . . we have massive gnat orgies going on. It really isn’t something one can enjoy walking through, let me assure you. Did I mention it is icky? Ha!
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I fired up the grill Saturday and we ended up with hamburgers for dinner. I have to admit, they were pretty darn good. Like Mexican food around here, we can’t seem to get a decent burger, so I’ll just make our own. (We have not eaten Mexican food out here. I won’t even attempt to do so.) I have grilled burgers before, but Dave said these were the best yet.
That’s about it for tonight.
Thanks for stopping by!
I'll be interested to see how those windows turn out. I don't really like the valances either, but I've got MCD shades in a lot of them.
ReplyDeleteM y daughter in MD was telling me last week that it's been a cool, rainy summer there too. You think gnats are bad, wow on the mosquitoes when we were in Yukon and Alaska!
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