Route5

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Since the very beginning I knew I wanted to find some kind of easy (cheap!) option for cleaning up the kitchenette - making it a little brighter and a little more "me". While I am all about embracing vintage charm, there are a lot of little changes that can be made that maintain that charm, but also make you go, "yeah, this feels like home."

I went on a bit of an Amazon deep dive to find these peel-and-stick tiles and I ordered them WAY BACK at the start of April. As this was near the beginning of the horrid 2020 Pandemic madness, any order that Amazon didn't deem essential, was delayed 😭 - so I didn't see my order until mid-May.

Eventually they did arrive and I was able to get to work.

Ecoart Peel and Stick Tile Backsplash

These were pretty easy to work with, though not without headaches. There aren't a lot of straight lines within the van so I had to make a lot of cuts. Thankfully, in The Time of the Pandemic [dun, dun, DUN!], I had lots of time on my hands to slow down and approach this carefully.

In an ideal world I would have removed the entire window frame, but our pretty lady has had her face out in the world since 1981, and let's be honest here: anyone (or thing) that's been stomping around that long has got a few wrinkles here and there. Pearl's happen to congregate around her screws. Let's call them her laugh lines. Some of her "laugh lines" are entirely fused to her structure. I have no idea how to remove them. We'd have to call in a plastic surgeon and replace her laugh lines with new screws and her crows feet with newborn windows and yeah, that's not in the budget this year.

So I removed the screws I was able to, and for the rest, I tried to manipulate the tiles underneath the frame with a flat-head screw driver as best as I could. You know, like the professionals do it.

Before I go too far, I want you to understand what I was working with. Here's a fancy before shot:

This is at the time of purchase WAAAAAY back in 2019.

You'll notice the sliding panel that once-upon-a-time could cover the kitchen window. It was quite warped and damaged from moisture coming in from outside - or from cooking - who knows. It was one of the first things I removed when we initially got her home and it immediately improved things - letting more light in and cleaning things up. This left us without a window covering, which only poses a problem if you're shy and using the toilet, or getting changed. The closet doors open up to create a little room, separating off the bed at the back and the traveling cab at the front - making a bathroom/change room. We've found that two of our little throw cushions fit nicely against the window and give the privacy we need when necessary, so we have no intention of replacing the slider.

The old propane stove is still there (I removed it when prepping for the walls because we never used it) and that GORGEOUS wood pattern wall covering that is/was EVERYWHERE was not in the best shape in the kitchen zone.

My original intention had been to cover all the kitchen walls with the tiles, but I didn't measure first and only bought one box, thinking 6 10"x10" squares would be enough. Ha! Joke was on me. So I decided to use it only on the backsplash.

My solution for the rest of the kitchen wall was to grab some decals from my local dollar store. They had these long white strips that were supposed to look like distressed painted wood, and while it's not what I originally wanted, I don't hate the outcome.

The white brightens everything up, the tiles can be easily wiped down, and it's just pretty!

The hooks you see in the photo above did not make it to the final reveal. These were peel-and-stick hooks. Stuck on peel-and-stick wall decals. DUH! Of course the weight of the hooks made the paper peel off. The idea of hooks was a good one, but I had to redo that wall. Maybe I'll find some screw hooks down the road.

All in all, I'd say this project was a win. I'm happy with the end result, a brighter, prettier kitchen is just more fun to cook in!

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We needed to name our van and we had several names on the table, but sadly, I can't remember most of them. Liam, the snarky thirteen-year-old, wanted Vanessa. "Get it?" he said. "VANessa." He thought it was hilarious. I thought it was too obvious. It came from the kid who hated our choice for the door panels so I have a hard time accepting any of his suggestions, let alone letting him name our beauty.

This picture is a fake. The van is real. The silly niece is real. Obviously the Friends cast didn't come to Ontario to pose in our van 😆

It came down to two choices: Gretchen or Pearl.

Of course, there's no rule that says you must name your vehicle, but this pretty lady is part of our family now, and like every family member, she deserves a name to be proud of!

Video transcription [FILMED on AUGUST 3, 2019]:

Okay, so, we're having a little - not debate - but discussion about what to name this rig. And I don't know why it's been such a struggle, but we're just really not agreeing. Which isn't so abnormal for us. It took us almost two days to name Liam. So, I mean, this is kind of our MO - that's okay. Last night I proposed the name Gretchen, which I really like. It was in a list of top names from 1981, so that seems appropriate. And Gretchen means Pearl. So, when I explained that to Scott, he was like, "Why not Pearl?"

If you watch Friends, there's this episode where Joey buys a boat at auction and realizes he can't pay for it, so Rachel helps him try and convince Mr. Beaumont - who was another guy at the auction - to buy it, telling him he could name it after his wife. And it would be called 'The Pam'. [Friends Video Clip] So that's what I hear with Pearl. "Pearl." And yeah, that's alright, that seems appropriate.

A little lightbox mounted over one of the jump chairs lets everyone know who our lady is ❤️

Now, the idea of Gretchen just seems ridiculous. Like when we were sure Liam was a Hayden until the moment of his birth, and now we can't believe we entertained such a thought.

Have you named any of your vehicles? I'd love to hear the story behind your choice!

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