Our Old Camper Remodel: Transformation of a ’99 Damon Hornet ⋆ Golden Circle Homestead

Because we sold our house in order to move to Tennessee and homestead, we needed a place to live while we waited to get our land and a house. We decided to do an old camper remodel for the six months we expected to be out of a house. After stalking Facebook Marketplace for a couple weeks, we finally found a 1999 Damon Hornet for sale at a good deal and fixed it up on a budget. Spoiler Alert: from experience, I can say an old camper remodel is definitely possible (and worth it) – in case, you were doubting.

What is an Old Camper Remodel?

An old camper remodel can be defined as specifically remodeling a vintage camper that is at least 20 years old … or as simple as remodeling a camper that is old to you that you want updated. A lot of times this means dealing with vintage upholstery, valances, flooring, and wallpaper which might require special techniques for removal. While we didn’t fully strip the camper in a demo, in part because we only had a month to transform our old camper, a lot of people do decide to go that route.

How Much Did Our Old Camper Remodel Cost?

We paid $3,000 for the camper and put an additional $3,000 into the remodel which not only included comfort and aesthetic, but also necessary maintenance and camper supplies. The cost can vary greatly depending on how good of a deal you get on your camper, how thrifty you are with decorating, and what camper/RV supplies you already have. Part of our cost elimination had to do with repurposing and using items we already had like curtains, rugs, and even some paint.

How We Modernized Our Old Camper

This is the most fun part! I explored Pinterest for a while to get an idea of what I wanted to do and implement. Considering style and color scheme is important. Since I wasn’t buying all new materials and I was repurposing a lot of what we already had, I was locked into the blue color scheme. In general, we painted, wallpapered, and tiled walls. We put in new flooring, replaced all of the hardware and blinds, and updated the furnishings and textiles. We added personal touches and researched ways to make everyday living more convenient with tools and organization methods.

The Entertainment Corner

There was this odd dabbled wallpaper all over the camper walls including an accent strip. Everything I researched insisted that you need to remove the wallpaper before painting or putting anything over top of it. And from a longterm standpoint I don’t disagree, however because time was not on our side and I wanted to know what would happen if we broke the rules, we painted over top of it. Now, I did try to remove the wallpaper, but it was a very time consuming and tedious task which if you decide to embark on is most easily (though still not really easy) done by using a knife or Xacto blade to score the wallpaper in strips and then heat it with a hairdryer so you can slowly pull the wallpaper strip away. The heat makes the glue release and to an extent the wallpaper more flexible so you can more easily pull away larger pieces. I have yet to have a problem with our decision to pursue painting over the wallpaper or wallpapering over the wallpaper, but time will tell.

Most of the wood pieces in the camper were painted black and that has easily been scuffed away with wear and two young boys. We think the paint would have held better had we sanded the surface.

We also incorporated (repurposed) curtains for “privacy” at our doorways. We used curtain hooks to hold them back during the day. While this has been an aesthetically nice addition, it’s been an extremely difficult challenge to maintain in a day-to-day living environment with two adults, two kids, and two dogs pulling on them and stepping on them as they trapse back and forth.

Additionally, we got these wireframe baskets to hold fruit, mail, or other misc oddities.

The Living Space

For this old camper remodel, we covered all of the cushions with stretchy coverings of various sizes that would fit the cushions. Long term, with more time at hand, I would have liked to actually make covers/reupholster the cushions. One nice thing about buying the covers we did is that they are so easy to remove and wash if need be. Unfortunately, the fabric picks up a lot of debris and holds onto it, but I think that might be the nature of the fabric being water-proof.

There were lights above the couch and dinette tables too that we replaced with new fixture s.

All of the windows had yellowed and oily blinds that we replaced with new ones. Additionally, each window had vintage floral valances that matched the couch and the dinette seats which we removed and replaced with some sheer gray curtains from Walmart – also the cheapest place to buy blinds. We wallpapered the slide out with a standard wallpaper that had a white shiplap design.

Next to the window were wall sconces that we also replaced to match a similar design to the fixtures above the couch and dinette room table.

The Dinette

The benches were painted black and the cushions were covered using the same covers as the couch. We used a b utcher block style adhesive for the tabletop. This is the same vinyl we used for the kitchen counter as well.

The Kitchen

The kitchen wasn’t too bad with the white cabinets, but we updated all of the cabinet hardware and the faucet to keep with the modern look throughout. The faucet was not just for aesthetic … I needed a spray faucet for dishes since we were lacking a dishwasher. (I’m sure ya’ll can empathize!) Aside from the countertop being updated, we also tiled the wall with a marble and gold accented backsplash.

I would have painted the fridge black anyway, but with two kids and limited options for things to do as a result of space, I took it a step further with chalkboard paint so they could have fun coloring.

The kitchen is one of the areas that needed the most creativity for organization and conveniency’s sake. A few things we added to help in this regard was a magnetic knife block for the wall, shelves for spices, a Dollar Tree hook rack for mugs and Dollar Tree paper towel holder above the fridge, AND a K-Cup holder for the beneath the cabinets.

The Queen Bedroom

In the bedroom, the walls were painted white, the cabinets were painted gray, and the side table top was covered with the marble adhesive. We took down the valance and backboard and put up the white shiplap wallpaper and completed the window with blackout curtains. We realized after only a night of sleeping on this mattress that it just wasn’t going to do so we ordered a mattress topper that has done wonders for sleeping and comfort.

Figuring out what to do with clothes has been a challenge both from a space and organization standpoint, but also from a laundry standpoint. We got these organizers for the closets and this washer/dryer combo (though it doesn’t really “dry” it just spins the water out so the clothes are not sopping wet). Both have worked well enough and I can’t say I have a better solution.

The Kids' Bunk Beds

If you have kids, you probably know that blinds don’t stay in tact so we went with a privacy mirror film for their windows. We covered the walls of their bed with a brick wallpaper adhesive. It took about 4 rolls to complete. Lastly, I cut a shoe organizer and screwed it to the wall for toy storage.

The Bathroom

Not only did the vanity get painted white, but the countertop was updated with a marble vinyl, hardware and the faucet were replaced, shelves were added, a mirror was hung, and the walls were tiled with subway tile adhesive.