A stunning coffee table book for DIYers, interior design lovers, as well as vanlife and tiny homes enthusiasts, This Old Van is the complete how-to guide to plan, renovate and style your own vintage van to give it a second life.

We have received countless emails from keen renovators around the world asking for advice on refitting a vintage van or RV. So we’ve compiled our tips, tricks, and the wisdom we have learned on our own projects and distilled it into one helpful and beautiful book. Learn what to look for when purchasing a second-hand van, follow detailed information on planning and construction, and discover plenty of design and styling tips, alongside beautiful photos of our many van conversions to help provide further inspiration.

For many, a van or RV is much more than just a holiday home – it’s a vehicle for freedom and adventure, or might even be your permanent home. We address every consideration from budgeting and spatial planning to colour palettes, so you can create your dream home on wheels.

Shop an exclusive signed copy from us of This Old Van here.

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After 4 years under our house patiently waiting for her moment in the sun, our 1970’s vintage Viscount, Goldie was our chance to take what we learned from our previous 4 vans and create something truly just for us.

Goldie’s colour scheme feels like a step back in time and pays tribute to golden hour, our favourite time of day and when the Gold Coast is at its best. We used the Taubmans Coloursmith app to come up with some seriously special paint colours, in White Knight Paints products that are designed to withstand small space living, life on the road and everything that comes with van life.

Painting the interior

Unlike some of our other vans, Goldie was a full strip out. There was nothing to be rescued inside so we used the opportunity to come up with a completely new layout that served our lifestyle and the way we like to use our vans. We lined all the walls and made all the cabinetry with light weight, bracing plywood, which was cost effective, durable and brings loads of warmth.

We sealed the top half of the walls with a polyurethane sealant and the rest we painted we primed with White Knight Renew Tile and Laminate primer before following with White Knight Renew Tile and Laminate paint. We could have used a standard interior wall paint on this surface, but we know from our previous vans that this paint is designed to be incredibly hardy and can take the knock about lifestyle that comes with small space van living. It can also be tinted in any colour. I came up with an earthy, dusky pink colour that I created with the Taubmans Coloursmith app which complements the timber as well as the exteriors colours.

Goldie’s interior colour Coloursmith QR code.

Painting the exterior

Before we could get to the fun part of getting colour on the exterior we needed to prep and paint the chassis. We got rid of any loose rust and painted the steel with White Knight Rust Guard Hammered finish in Charcoal. It’s anti-corrosive, super durable and is also ideal for disguising stone chips that comes with van life.

Coming up with the colour scheme for our van exteriors always feels like a big deal. It sets the tone for the entire scheme. I wanted Goldie to feel like you’ve been transported to the 70’s, warm and toastie like a sunset and little bit different from what we’ve done in the past.  I used the Taubmans Coloursmith app, I came up with two unique, complementing colours that I can only describe as sort of peach and sort of berry. The colours contrast each other but still feel part of the same family and therefore keep it feeling tonal which, I love.

Coloursmith QR code: Goldie’s exterior bottom colour

Coloursmith QR code: Goldie’s exterior top colourPainting metals

There is always a few metal surfaces to address when it comes to our caravans. As we’ve done with all our caravan windows, we painted Goldie’s windows with White Knight Squirts which is perfect for fine metals like this. And we opted for the colour Mocha which helped the windows blend rather than pull focus.

Then there is our fridge. Rather than squeeze our food into a caravan-specific fridge when camping, we use a small domestic fridge which sits under our awning but the black was not going to fly with our new van colours so we painted it with White Knight Rust Guard Epoxy Enamel tinted in a Taubmans Coloursmith colour that complements the van. There is no primer needed for this when used on new or only slightly rusted metal, so it was as simple as wipe and paint.

Another vintage belle ready to hit the road!

Carlene 

This blog was brought to you by White Knight Paints. All words and ideas are my own.

Images by Mindi Cooke.

Michael and I have been long time campers, way back from when we were kids but the pace of our lives has been gaining speed in recent years, making it more and more difficult to find the time to prepare for camping trips. You know what I mean, all the packing, all the unpacking! A caravan was the answer. We can keep it stocked, locked and loaded and ready to roll on out of town for short or long getaways.

Last year, we renovated our first vintage caravan, Millie, a 60 year old Millard Florida in need of some serious TLC. Millie set our hearts a racing. She was super cute, practical and her transformation was hugely satisfying, inspiring us to give it another crack, which brings me to the meaning of this post………Meet Vonnie, our beautiful, renovated, vintage Viscount.

Unlike Millie, where we nearly all but gutted the interior (leaving only dining area and wardrobe), with Vonnie we reworked what was there, leaving 85% of the cabinetry and simply painting inside and out using the White Knight speciality paint range.

For the exterior, we used White Knight Rust Guard, which, as its name implies, is ideal for painting metal surfaces and protecting them from rust.

Inside, there was a whole lot of laminate, not only on the cabinetry but on ALL walls, benches and on the table top. We chose to paint all the laminate cabinetry and walls with White Knight Laminate Paint and although we could have painted the bench and table top too, visually we wanted to break up the painted surfaces with some pattern, thereby replacing the benches with a marble-look laminate and a marble mosaic tile on our table top. To add some texture and break up the flat surfaces we installed  VJ panelling on the ceiling which we had custom made from MDF and on the floor we laid vinyl plank flooring from Decorug for its light weight and durability, an ideal flooring for caravans.

Millie’s colour palette was Nautical-inspired blues and whites and paid homage to the Australian coastline in an overt way. And like Millie, I wanted Vonnie’s colour palette to be tonal but more of an interpretation of where the coast meets the Aussie bush/rainforest.

The muted green of the exterior and interior cladding, to me, says vintage coastal (cemented when I found this pic of an old EH Holden, snapped by Kara Rosenlund) and paired with the richer, forest green of the upholstery inside, it absolutely hits my brief.

We learnt from Millie how no caravan is complete without a decal. It’s like putting the icing on the cake or the cushions on the sofa or the bedside lamps on the bedside table (you get it) and it’s hard to go past a fine stripe and a name in cursive font. I’m contemplating whether or not on our next van renovation, we mix it up or if this be our signature look.

I selected the font from Dafont and worked with Advanced Signworks who measured up and superimposed the design on an image of the van so that I could see exactly what it would look like before signing off. These guys also came up with the super cute ‘V’ on the door which I LOVE LOVE LOVE and is so in keeping with the scheme.

Inside, we love that in addition to the dining area, bed, kitchen and wardrobe that this caravan came with the sweetest little nook. It was different from any van we’d previously seen and we loved the idea that it could be used however we wanted; breakfast nook, study nook, dressing table nook…….

The stool for the nook is a $20 stool that I found at an opp shop and I up cycled it by spraying the frame in Satin Gold with White Knight Squirts (the same product that we used to paint the dining table frame) and we covered the top with fabric we had at home.

Well that’s Vonnie in a nutshell but keep following us to see our ‘How To’ videos and we’ll show you how we used White Knight Squirts; Rust Guard; and Laminate Paint to bring this vintage belle back to life. I know so many of you are renovating your own vintage caravans, which makes these videos well worth the watch. I’ll also be posting a more detailed breakdown of the renovation in the coming weeks.

Carlene xx

Disclaimer – If you are after some vintage caravan renovation inspo and just want to see some pretty images see here. But we’ve had a lot of interest from followers wanting to know about the nitty gritty of our renovation of Millie and keen to know details such as, materials used and costs etc. If this is you, read on.

For Michael and I, some of our fondest childhood memories are that of our beachside camping holidays. Naturally, we wanted to create the same memories for our own kids and whilst we’ve have been taking the kids camping since they were babies, life has continued to pick up speed and we needed to simplify our camping getaways. We needed a way to get up and go without the fanfare that comes with endless packing and unpacking required to set up a campsite. The idea of it alone makes me shudder. A caravan was the answer.

After some searching what we bought was a 1966 Millard Florida that had had one owner and had not been used in 20 years. We called her Millie.

At 50 years old Millie had great bones, no rust, and was without a dint on the exterior but she was tired, both inside and out and needed a thorough overhaul to be up to serving our holiday needs so we got to work creating a mobile holiday home that was inviting, comfortable and one that we could be proud of.

My original plan was to paint the van and add some decals for interest but some friends talked us into polishing up the aluminium for a finish closer to the van’s original state. After consulting with multiple panel painters and polishers, we learned that the job was a tedious one and no one was very keen to take it on. The ribbing in the aluminium would just made the work really laborious and it wasn’t something we could do ourselves and achieve a professional look. So that was that, I made the decision to paint and I’m so glad I did. The result demonstrates my original vision for the van and I know I would have been disappointed with the polished finish. Just to be clear, we love vintage caravans but we aren’t in the vintage caravan enthusiast category. Our goal was to create a van that worked for us. And that’s just what we did.

The Exterior

Exterior before

The darker markings on the van are our attempt at polishing. Not good and not what we wanted. Ps. I had a soft spot for the pink decal but it conflicted with my blue vision.

We had the van painted by Lowco Customs on the Gold Coast and they worked with us to get the job done in a much tighter time frame than they would normally work in because we had a holiday planned with said van. Eeeeek! We love a tight deadline! These guys actually specialise in car painting and this was their first caravan job.

Exterior in progress

The two tone of the white and blue was bang on but it wasn’t finished. She needed stripes and a name decal.

I actually chose my Millie font from dafont.com and had Thrive Web, the same guys who designed our website, work it together with Cedar + Suede. From there, I contacted a local signwriter, Advanced Signworks who were sooooooooooooo easy to deal with. They made the process incredibly streamline and did exactly what they said they would do (this is not a sponsored post, I’m just a happy customer). They used my measurements and drew up the graphic to scale so that I could see what the the stripes and name would look like on the van before committing. This meant I could tweak the size etc to my liking.

Exterior after

Ta da………. she’s so quaint, ain’t she?! I love the simplicity of this shot. Life appears so calm in this image. Goals!

On to the interior. I think the interior is even lovelier than the exterior. There’s something so calming and peaceful about walking into this van and I don’t think it’s just the colour scheme. It has just a really serene, quiet energy which I’m going to put down to the energy of the previous owners because peaceful is not how I’d describe us or our lives.

Kitchen and beds

Kitchen/sleeping area before

We ripped out most of the interior and replaced the cabinetry with cheap and cheerful Ikea cabinetry.

Kitchen/sleeping area after

That navy blue panel in front of the bed slides up so that we can store items that we don’t need to access frequently.

My colour scheme was always going to be shades of blue for a cool, coastal vibe. For the walls I went with Resene Botticelli, which is just a really perfect shade of light blue. It’s light but not insipid, which I love. The beds, we painted in Resene Prussion Blue, which has very subtle green undertones that you can’t see in the photos but which is bold, rich and delicious.

Hot tip: Make sure you use a hard-wearing semi gloss paint for painting furniture such as beds because a low sheen finish will end up grubby and banged up.

I wanted to include some classical pieces in the van, which, we achieved with the decorative tapware, the brass-look shell handles, the VJ panelled cabinetry, all from Ikea. And of course, the marble brick pattern subway tiles, which are actually a mosaic that come in sheets and have a classical-inspired bevelled edge which you can’t really see in the photos. They’re from National Tiles.

Beds in progress

Where there were originally overheads cabinets over the single beds, we installed bunks. These work for the kids given that they’re still young but as they get older I can see us banishing them to the annex so that we all have more room.

We included internal drawers (Ikea) in the internal of the lower half of the wardrobe, as well as a new door, but otherwise, the wardrobe remained intact.

Beds after

I got a little crazy with the patterns on the bedding, which I could do because the colour palette was so tonal. The kids polka dot fitted bed sheets are from Cotton On Kids and the striped quilt covers and pillow cases were from Linen House. Our bed is made up of a combination of Lorraine Lea quilt cover, a throw blanket from Kira & Kira and Citta Design cushion.

Dining area

Ahh, my favourite part of the van, the dining zone. It’s this part of the caravan that remained most intact.

Dining area before

Dining area in progress

Michael laid Natural oak hardwood timber floating floors from DecoRug

The banquet seats in the dining area were in good shape, which was a bonus, as it saved us the cost and effort of having to rebuild them. It also would have been a real shame to not have been able to retain the sweet curves of the timber detail.

My pint sized shopping assistant, Paddy, helping me out. We didn’t go with this fabric but it was a contender.

Dining area after

As for the bench cushions, we got rid of the inner spring inserts and purchased new foam. It was a good opportunity to reduce the weight of the van. For the back cushion fabric, initially I had set out in search of a stripe but when I saw this pattern (below) I knew it was the one. The design screamed 60’s to me, which paid respect to Millie’s origins. Michael was not so impressed with my selection but I was resolute. I’ve learnt to not let others weigh in on one aspect of a design choice when they aren’t across the bigger picture. So I just listened to his concerns, nodded my head in acknowledgement (not agreement) and carried on.

In hindsight, I wish I had opted for a patterned fabric for the base cushions because even though I used a durable outdoor fabric, being a block colour, it shows up dirt quite easily, which isn’t ideal when you’re beachside caravaning. Aesthetically though, I love it.

Gold Coasters might be interested to know that I get my reupholstery done by Foamworld, Burleigh Heads, for their competitive prices and good work. Anyone who has ever had anything reupholstered knows that you need to shop around for a good price because it can be cost prohibitive.

The shelf was accidental but is ideal for storing books

Michael nearly died when that rattan pendant arrived but I vowed that as long as the cabinet doors opened without hitting the light then it was staying. It was a victory for me. It’s hard not to love oversized lights. This one is from Wisteria Design, who are a wholesaler and don’t sell direct to public but you could always contact them re their stockists.

Credit where it’s due, it was Michael, who opted to use brass trims throughout and we all know that blues and golds are just the ultimate combination. He used it on the walls and under the overhead cabinetry to disguise LED strip lighting and around the dining table to finish off the table edge. He sprayed the original table legs gold to replicate brass.

Tall blue vase from Kira & Kira; Blue/white jug is an op shop find; Gold cutlery from Zara Home; Small bowls from Liquorice Moon.

Now, let’s talk about this dining table, my favourite feature of the whole van. This is, in fact, the original table that we shortened in length slightly and recovered in white gloss penny round mosaics and medium grey grout from National Tiles. I’ve wanted to try this for a while and the caravan provided the ideal opportunity. The pattern is just so so good. I love that it contrasts with the pattern of the banquet back cushion and unlike hexagonals, penny rounds won’t date. The gloss finish on the tile also makes for easy cleaning. I don’t think a matte tile would withstand heavy use.

Michael looking pretty next to my pretty linen look striped curtains.

Ha you’d think that with all that pattern and texture that I’d stop at the curtains. Nope, I went with a polyester linen look with a subtle stripe, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE! I sourced the fabric from Warwick Fabric, who are also wholesalers and don’t sell retail so you would need to have your sewer order your fabric. I purchased the curtain cord and hooks from ebay, and had the curtains sewed by a local sewer. As a sheer, they don’t do much more than filter the light coming in but they do provide enough privacy and sure do look pretty.

Some approximate costs

• The caravan – $3.3k (a steal from Gumtree)
• Panel painting – $3.2k (this process isn’t cheap but it was worth it, as it’s not something we could do ourselves)
• Decals – under $500
• Bench seat reupholstery – $750-$1000 (for labour only – I sourced the material myself)
• Ikea cabinetry, benchtop, wall lights, tapware – $2k (very roughly)
• Curtains – $250 including material

Trades/Services required

• Carpenter (Michael)
• Electrician – Contemporary Electrical
• Plumber – Fusion All Plumbing
• Auto painter  – Lowco Customs
• Signwriting/decal – Advanced Signworks

You can see more images of the final product here and watch the video below to see the renovation unfold.

That’s about it but if I haven’t addressed something that you may be curious about, feel free to comment below.

Carlene xx

Images by Carly Brown Photography.