my tiki RV (new pics pg2)

My husband and I are full-time RVers. Before becoming full-timers, we had a tiki bar in the loft of our home. Now all of our tikis have sat in storage for the past year while we were on tour (we are roadies). Recently, we decided to convert our RV into a tiki-bar-on-wheels (everything just seemed to be going to waste). The furniture, valuables, etc. obviously will not be travelling with us. We are however, redoing the floors, walls, cabinets, etc. And will be decorating with anything tiki that is not breakable (no mugs, but plenty of art, statues, masks, etc.)

Has anyone tried anything like this before? My main concerns with the travel is how does grasscloth (the wallpaper we have chosen) react to moisture? ALso, does anyone have any suggestions on where I can buy tiki cabinet doors or drawer pulls?

And how does one go about making a tiki steering wheel?

[ Edited by: Pyro 2007-06-11 17:05 ]

I know a lot of peeps will weigh in on this....sounds like a lot of fun. Here are some drawer pulls.

I can't help in any way. But I can't wait to see pics of this!

I will certainly post pics once we get more done. RIght now we are just stripping wall paper and removing furniture.

Next week, the new wall paper comes in, then things will really get moving.

What a fun design project! I can't wait to see pics.

Unfortunately, real grasscloth is a poor choice moisture-wise: it's easily damaged and repeated exposure to water will cause rot.

There are moisture-resistant printed or dimensional vinyl wallpapers that will give you the look you're after. If you're working with an RV renovation company they'll be able to make wallpaper recommendations, but if you're a DIY-er, give wallpaper manufacturers' customer service a buzz and they'll be able to answer your questions. Try contacting Blonder Home http://www.blonderwall.com/index.html as they had a really nice vinyl grasscloth I used a few years back.

Hope this helps!

Gina (Martiki-bird)

While not a full scale Rv nor Tiki RV, my wife and I have a 1977 Starcraft pop up camper that was in rough shape before we bought it. Our goal was to make something that was us and not your standard country decorating RV feel. Thanks to TC, tiki images are not in shortage at all. So we printed out a bunch of classic images that most that have been around here for awhile have seen and then applied a number of coats of poly over them. Notice also the table legs, bamboo. With respect to tiki, well when we bought the camper, it was sans table so we made our own. Here are a few pics of what we came up with:

And here is a pic of my dream camper:

It might be the coolest thing I have seen in forever.

tikisobayli,
Oooooh...your dream camper is pretty neat...nice styling. Wouldn't that just match up nicely with a couple of little green Vespa scooters!!! Where did you get the monkey sans fez towel....I'm having a "must have that" attack....too cool? You did a great job on the table too.

Hey pyro....don't forget to post pictures of the whole process from beginning to end...we want to see the ugly wallpaper doing the strip. :)

I will definitely post pics once we get more done. Spent today taking out all the furniture (finding the bolts for the couch took forever). Should have everything cleared out shortly. We looked into getting the couch reupholstered today, but would be beyond our budget, so I'll probably just make a slipcover for it. We started redoing the window treatments tonight. We're using fuzzy cheetah print cloth to replace the hideous teal corduroy that was there before.

Still trying to figure out what to do with the ceiling, it is carpeted now, and for insulation purposes, we don't want to remove it. Might possibly use netting. And we are working on our design for the bar that will replace our dinette. (Of course, my in-laws think we're crazy that we would rather have a bar than a table to eat off)

I'll try to take some pics tomorrow for the "before" shots.

And tikisobayli, that camper is great. I love the color choices.

Sounds like a cool project, can't wait to see some pics :D

The printed vinyl is a good idea. A mate used to own a country craft store, they got the floor done in wood-look vinyl. It was hard to tell it was vinyl, I was very impressed.

I did get some brown plastic tiki mugs from stufforama which are pretty cool and non-breakable. Usually they just come in ghastly flero colours :( Not sure if they have any left though.

Here are some "before" shots. (Don't have much, I rarely take photos inside the RV)

the bedroom BEFORE (notice the really ugly window treatment...that will be getting replaced)

The dinette/kitchen before (the dinette will be taken out for the tiki bar...the dogs stay)

The ugly couch before

[ Edited by: Pyro 2007-06-11 16:54 ]

What is it with RV builders and their absolute lack of taste?! I look forward to following your progress.

tikisobayli - Your pop up is SICK. I am considering getting an old one myself for surfing jaunts down to the Outer Banks of NC and would love to find one to redo in an awesome retro theme like yours.

Hey, thanks everyone..not to take away from the main theme of this topic, but I have really enjoyed every ones comments. That is truly the benefit of RV'ing...making you own theme and letting the road point you in a direction. We love the pop-up because it is so light and easy to tow. The beauty of buying an older/vintage camper is that resell is low and no matter what mods you make, they are your own. In the bigger picture, why buy something that you cannot make into your own. Again, thanks for the kind words and I cannot wait to see the final outcome of the project. By the way, the monkey/fez towel came from Target.

Jeff

[ Edited by: tikisobayli 2007-05-16 18:46 ]

(I'll be checking out Target for those towels...thnx.) :)

Nice RV.....that is going to be fun to remodel. I agree...blech to the window treatments. That reminds me that I have some remnants of curtains my Mother's mom made for the station wagon we had as kids. They were white with red and green mexican print...I remember taking trips in that car with those kewl curtains. This also reminds me that I have a great book (somewhere) with pictures and info on vintage trailers. I have dreamed of owning an Airstream. :)

Here are some links you all might like surfing around on.
http://www.timelesstraveltrailers.com/?gclid=COiOhu2XlIwCFRdLYQodE2C2eg
http://www.retroteardrops.com/
http://www.lindertech.com/btp/index.html
http://www.postcardguy.com/store/WsDefault.asp?Cat=TopicPostcards&Sub=152&isThumbs=No&Thumbs=
http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/?Click=2446
http://www.vintage-vacations.com/
http://www.thepolishingguruinc.com/
http://www.meltrailer.com/
http://www.vintagetraveltrailerart.com/VintageTravelTrailerArt.htm

ooh, I love airstreams. We considered buying one, but they are just too small to live in year round like we do.

I did live in an old one when I first got married back in the 70's. It was a stationary one with a wooden addition on it in a ranch setting. It was indeed small...but neat wooden walls and cupboards. Divorced now...and the trailer I'm sure has been demolished....shame it was a classic.

Hey Guys,
been a while..(had to re register :wink:
Here a link to our Modernaire Trailer......
http://tikibycc.com/id12.html
CC-ya -=CC=-

PS Pyro ,
I've made a rattan/bamboo steering wheel for a golf cart :).I also made the "cocktail table" & my wife upholstery the leopard couch & we used grasscloth wallpaper in "Modernaire". .If ya got any Tiki /trailer Q's... even though our "RV" is 50years older then yers...
[email protected].

On 2007-05-23 07:32, tikibycc wrote:
...
Here a link to our Modernaire Trailer......
http://tikibycc.com/id12.html

nice picture - the "tiki"trailer looks very cozy:

[ Edited by: icebaer69 2007-06-07 14:14 ]

Ooooh...love the pink built-ins and your little bar area. Very nice. :)

Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments and suggestions!

Here's an update on where we are so far with the RV.

The bathroom is completely done :)

The wallpaper and flooring are done in the living room/kitchen :)

The basic structure of the bar is complete :)

We are waiting on matting we have ordered to finish the bar, and by the end of this week, the ceiling will be done (with bamboo and netting).

Still not sure what to do with the exterior, but that is along way off anyway.

Here are the pics.
Here is the bathroom (it's pirate-y, not tiki) ... and yes that is me in the mirror

the floor looks so much better now than it did before!

THis is a before pic of the living room wallpaper & flooring

THis is the floor now

THis is my hubby working on the wallpaper

The start of the bar (where the dinette used to be)

We even bought palm leaf coverings for the bedroom windows.

And the living room window frames have been covered with leopard print. (the one underneath is the before, on top is the after)

Still lots more to do!