A savvy Scots couple spent £3,000 transforming an old, drab caravan into a stunning 'hotel on wheels' to help them save on holidays. Joanna Adamson, 30, used YouTube videos and Instagram tutorials to learn some DIY skills that helped her transform an old touring caravan into a stunning holiday home on wheels for her and her husband, Ross, 34.
Joanna, from Falkirk, who says she previously couldn't even use a screwdriver, shocked herself with her first-ever DIY project and the completed caravan now helps the couple save money on staycations amid the cost of living crisis. She added: "Buying a new caravan just wasn't in our budget, so we knew we'd have to get a second-hand one and do it up ourselves.
"I started researching lots of different ideas and came across lots of other renovations. We kept our eyes out for a second-hand caravan in our price range, until we eventually came across the one we bought.
"This caravan ticked all the boxes, and I knew straight away that this was the one for us. It cost us £7k, we stripped the caravan back to its bare bones and started all over again.
"I'd never done anything like this before, so I used YouTube and Instagram to teach myself how to do things and to discover hacks on the best and cheapest ways of doing things. We bought it in June 2021 and started working on it straight away.
"We then had a break from October until March 2022 due to the bad weather, but we managed to get the caravan on the road by August last year. We did everything ourselves and did it all for as little as possible.
"The only thing we had to use professionals for was the flooring. We managed to make huge savings through DIY. For example, for the upholstery throughout the caravan, we were originally quoted £1800, but I managed to do it all myself for £250 using rugs from Ikea and a hack I found online."
Using sticky back tiles and paper blinds from the likes of Amazon, Joanna has been able to totally transform the run-down caravan into a stylish holiday home on wheels for a fraction of the price. She said: "I managed to recover the worktops in vinyl myself, and it was a lot easier than anticipated.
"I found such useful tips on social media, so I was able to use a hairdryer to help me and it made such a difference. I used sticker tiles which cut the cost loads and they look exactly like normal tiles. I also removed all of the old-fashioned blinds and fly screens.
"I spray-painted them and planned to put them back up, but in the end, I bought black paper blinds from Amazon, cut them to size and velcroed them up. They look amazing, I love them, and they saved me a fortune.
"I can't believe how everything turned out. The living area is my favourite part of the caravan. The reupholstered cushions are so comfy and bright. Before it was all so orange and not to my taste at all.
"Sometimes, Ross and I just go and sit in it on the drive to have a coffee. It's like our little oasis. It's so calming. Before now, we've never been travelling in a caravan but it's something we always wanted to do.
"We are also doing it in memory of my mum who I lost to Covid in March 2021 as she always wanted a caravan. So far we have been travelling around Scotland, but we are planning to go south this summer.
"It's like having a hotel on wheels, so we also make huge savings when we go away now. It's just been amazing."
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