What makes a home? That means different things to different people. But part of it is feeling comfortable with our surroundings and being with our loved ones. For a full-time RVer, it’s wherever your RV is parked, too.
Before we started this journey, and I have been LOVING it, we lived in homes we purchased. I did what I could to make these houses into our homes by decorating with colors and items that mean something to us and making it feel comfortable.
In preparation for this travel life, we sold most of our belongings. Our child, thankfully, wanted all the antique pieces we had but for one or two, which I passed on to other family members. It made it much easier to let go. I did keep some items that we have in storage, but I have to admit, the hardest thing to give up was my books. I had two large bookcases that almost reached the ceiling, another more than half that size between them, and another on the other side of my home office that was double-shelved and just a single shelf shorter than the largest ones. Why were the books so hard? I’m a reader and a published author. I’m also an editor. Don’t judge my posts, though. Editing yourself is no easy task!
I kept some of my favorite things, and if they didn’t fit in our RV, they now await me in storage when we are too old to travel. The other thing you need to know about is Quake Hold Museum Putty. This is the greatest invention since…sliced bread! At least for Rvers. It keeps me from having to pack up a ton of decor before each travel day.
Now let’s see what I like my home to look like. I am a bit eclectic, but in such a small space, we’re going with shabby chic, country, farmhouse, with maybe a little English cottage popped in here and there. And my tiered tray, which only goes up if we are staying someplace longer than a month. This is the ‘bar’ between the kitchen and the living room. This entire shelf area has to be packed up every time we move. I’m too worried about one of the items falling, and I really like them. So, I pack them up. The tiered tray is being replaced by a fully wooden one (when I finish it). The one in the picture I made from Dollar Tree items, and it took a beating as we traveled. I also have some washed dishes standing behind the shelf, the pink items sticking up, so the photo isn’t that good. It’s hard to see things.
A lantern, some hummingbird figurines, white houses with lights with a little red truck in front, the Christus, and a plaque that reads, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” then the tiered tray. Below are two family pictures. The one on the left is when our child was a newborn, not even a month old. The one on the right is from 2015. The one in the center is a favorite from our house. And the skeleton key. I collected skeleton keys and have some packed in storage. I love the look of them. Pictures stay up with Command Strips. They are powerful, and none of ours have come down since I hung them. The key is screwed in.
This is oddly angled because it’s on top of our dining room slide-out, secured with Quake Hold.
Directly across is this one, on the sofa slide-out, also secured with Quake Hold.
Above the dining room window, my husband put up a shelf for me. This is it in three parts because currently our blind is off. Just one of those constant repair issues, and it was easier to take the picture this way and avoid the blanket that gives us privacy being in the picture. These are all held with Quake Hold. The white lantern has two candles that are knocked over in it, but are remotely controlled. I haven’t bothered to put them upright because I have to put my fingers between the holes to do it. Not easy! Once we’re in Colorado for a couple of months, I’ll get them set up.
Two of these pieces, the ones with flowers, were not in our home. I made them for the RV. None of these items have to be packed up due to Quake Hold.
This wreath greets you as you come into the RV. Lavender. And this little sign above it:
Neither of these ever comes down. They are secure enough as is.
This is our TV and fireplace. Nothing here has to be packed up, thanks to Quake Hold. The flowers have little hummingbird lights mixed in with them and there are fairy lights in back of the small space under the TV, with a candle on each side. All candles are electric, of course. You don’t want a regular candle in an RV for obvious safety reasons. I have a few but they will only ever be lit when we are outside.
Where I have a metal plate with a glass door knob, I hung a set of Mardi Gras beads. The beads come down when we travel but the knob remains in place.
We have a beautiful coffee table that holds our extra blankets. On top of it, I’ve got two decor pieces. In our house, I changed the flowers in my truck every season and holiday. I don’t have constant access to that right now, so they’ve been the same for a while.
And these candles, also remotely controlled:
We wrap up the main section of the RV with the clock above one side of the sofa and the owl painted on a feather on the other side. Neither ever comes down.
I managed to put a lot of ‘us’ in our RV. It feels like us, and when people come in, they remark how homey it feels. My sister, of course, says it looks like me. Jay is happy with whatever I do for decor. He always has been. After we married, my very feminine house was redecorated a bit to fit a big man in it. He’s six feet, three inches tall and around 240. Now that we’re in a little space, I’m returning to more of a feminine look. He’s happy with it. He’s easy to please that way. Thank you, Honey, for being so accepting and letting me do what my creativity leads me to do. I love you.
Next up: What’s in the other rooms???
On Hummingbirds Wings 