This Interior Designer Turned a Trailer into a Toddler-Safe Home

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Interior designer and mother, Shawna, wanted to turn her brand new 2023 Jayco Jayflight trailer into a comfortable traveling home for her two toddlers.

She pulled inspiration from her own home to create a warm and cozy home on wheels.

Swipe to see before and after:

This is a brand new 2023 travel trailer with good-quality interiors. We love that Shawna decided to keep the original cabinets in her trailer.

Painting RV cabinets can be a laborious undertaking, but Shawna’s design shows that you don’t need to go through the work of painting your kitchen cabinets to give your RV a major glow-up.

Shawna also kept the original floors, the dinette seating, and the couch. Let’s dive into how Shawna transformed this new trailer.

The Cozy Living Room

While keeping much of the original floor plan the same, Shawna managed to completely transform the design of this cozy living room.

Shawna used Rifle Paper Co. wallpaper to add color and brightness to the walls, which were previously a very meh shade of tan. She also used Benjamin Moore ‘Chantilly Lace’ white paint in the main living area (notably covering up the dark slide-out trim) and Sherwin Williams “Shade Grown” on the entertainment center. The green perfectly ties together with the wallpaper!

She also removed a small set of cabinets above the couch. These cabinets blocked a portion of the living room window, so removing them allowed more light into the small space.

Painting the face of two of the cabinet doors adds a small accent and contrast to the entertainment center. For more on how to complete a project like this, check out 14 Ways to Update Your RV Cabinets.

Hanging Wallpaper in an RV Bathroom

Shawna continued the wallpaper in the bathroom, brightening the small space.

Hanging wallpaper in an RV is easier than you might think. You don’t need to remove the factory-installed wallpaper. (In fact, that stuff is near impossible to remove!) All you need to do before hanging is thoroughly clean the walls.

Wallpaper can be hung easily with wallpaper paste. Even peel-and-stick wallpaper would benefit from an extra layer of adhesion. Because RVs are often in more extreme temperatures than homes—especially when in storage—wallpaper will peel easily. This extra adhesive is even more important for rooms like the bathroom where moisture can affect your wallpaper.

Use wallpaper paste or other adhesives like acrylic latex painter’s caulk, Gorilla Glue, or Elmer’s spray adhesive to keep your wallpaper in place.

After installing the wallpaper, Shawna treated it with two coats of matte finish polyurethane to protect the wallpaper from her “two little splashers.”

Shawna also replaced the standard mirror in the bathroom with this arched medicine cabinet, adding storage and a little design flair to the small space.

This medicine cabinet weighs 20 pounds, so Shawna opened up the wall behind it to add and reinforce studs to mount in.

Dark and Intimate Bedroom

Even though colorful white wallpaper was used throughout the trailer, Shawna decided to turn the master bedroom into a dark, cozy suite.

She used Sherwin Williams ‘Pewter Green’ green paint on the bedroom walls and grabbed this floral duvet cover from IKEA.

While you might be wondering if Shawna decided to remove cabinet doors to create the beautiful shelf above her bed, that feature is original to the trailer! Plants and artwork are a great way to fill an empty shelf with warmth and color.

Shawna installed her own light fixtures along the side of the bed to replace the harsh light of the overhead LEDs. These simply plugin into the outlets on the walls and the cords are tucked away and hidden under the closet cabinet.

An Extra Simple Kitchen Upgrade

This RV kitchen is the perfect example of how to easily transform your RV kitchen without completely reimagining the design. The cabinets, counters, and appliances are all original.

Shawna added the subway tile backsplash, hooks, a paper towel dispenser, and a magnetic strip for knives. She also removed the bulky valance over the kitchen window. When will RV manufacturers stop adding these to every window? Apparently not in 2023.

Another small but impactful upgrade Shawna made was to replace the top of her dining table.

Before photos of the Jayco Jayflight show dark slide-out trim, dark furniture, and a dark table. Swapping out the top of this table with butcher block countertops from Lowes brightens the area. Adding curtains by the couch makes a big difference too!

Traveling with Toddlers

Traveling with young children always presents a new array of problems, usually in the form of sleeping. It can be difficult to find an RV with a floor plan where you don’t worry about children rolling off a top bunk in the middle of the night.

These corner bunks are perfect for small children since the opening to crawl in is at the foot of the bed. If you have particularly crazy sleepers, you can add toddler rails or build your own bunk bed rails.

Love this design?

Shawna is an interior designer who loves traveling with her family in their beautifully renovated RV. If you want help redesigning your RV into a gorgeous home, you can follow Shawna on Instagram, @shawnamariedesigns, or hire her for an online consultation.