Some Expense Spared
Some expense spared and absolutely no corners cut. I’d say the interior is 99.9% done! We’re still waiting on a couple things to show up but if we had to leave today.. we absolutely could.
As I’ve said a million times, this was my first go at building anything like what you see here. We’ve done what we could to make the best and squeeze the most use out of our small space. We’re excited about these small details and realize that most of you will never get to see them. We can’t let that happen and decided to spotlight some features in our interior build!
The Kitchen
We began the kitchen build with nothing more than a faint idea of how we wanted it to look and function. We built the base cabinet and screwed down a sheet of hardboard as a temporary countertop which we ran with for quite a while (you can see it here). If I’m honest, building drawers and cutting up a perfectly good butcher block was a bit intimidating and for a bit, I buried my head in the sand and pretended like they weren’t pending items on the to-do list. When I finally got around to it, it proved to be a fairly easy and forgiving job.
After some stress, lots of measurements, and some happy accidents we ended up with what you see here. These photos show some of the modularity our kitchen offers. The counter cut out can be used to cover the sink, creating a very nice sized countertop and (happy accident) also fits perfectly on our top drawer creating an awesome L shape extension to the kitchen. The countertop originally extended all the way out to the right and up against the cabinet. We decided to cut it and use the piece as a dining table.
We have a Lagun table mount arriving soon and will be installing one base on our toilet/seat (see below) which will allow us to once again have a countertop that extends all the way to the cabinet. A second base will be installed on our garage access door (see below) and the Lagun mount will serve as a dining table or a U shaped kitchen counter in that configuration.
Side Bench
Here you have our fold out side bench in “bench mode, “small Elliot mode”, and “bigger Elliot mode”. In bench mode this will comfortably seat someone and we’ve re-installed some original seatbelts for a safe and legal ride. We’re still working on seat and back cushions for this but it is fully functional as is.
This bench folds out and the backrest turns into legs to support the bench in bed mode. We have slats that will cover the storage space of the bench and we intend on using the 3” high density seat and back cushions as bed cushions. The expectation is that this will serve as Elliot’s bed.. however, the reality is most likely that he’s just going to jump in bed with us rendering this engineering feat pointless.
We still wanted access to the fridge if Elliot was sleeping and we needed food, so we took that into consideration when building. We then realized the fridge could serve as an extension to the bed so we made sure the height of the fold out bed matched the height of the fridge. It took a few tries and some adjustments but we got it. A third cushion will be used to make this a larger bed once Elliot get’s bigger or it can be used to accommodate a small guest.
CLOSET / PANTRY
Though we have large overhead cabinets at the foot of our bed, storage is king and having a two year old son that comes with his own set of needs and belongings drove us to use 2/3’s of this space as a closet. The left side is currently being used to hang bulky items and we’ve built in a shoe cubby on the floor. Dedicating this much space to hanging jackets is a bit of a sacrifice and if it proves to be an inefficient use of space, we can easily add some L track and cut out some additional shelves to get better use of the space.
This cabinet has access from both the interior and exterior so we decided to use it as an indoor/outdoor pantry since our cooking takes place in both settings. I re-purposed some track that came with the ambulance and installed some 1/2” boards as adjustable shelving. We can add and adjust as necessary and though the primary function is to hold food, it can also accommodate every day use items such as dog food & bowls, camp chairs, camp table, and an outdoor rug.
TOILET / SEAT
As simple as this may appear, it took some creativity to make this happen. We knew we needed a toilet and the Nature’s Head is the top of the line choice. It’s awesome, it is also quite large. For the longest time, it was the first thing you saw when you opened the door. Hiding it was a must and we also knew we needed quick and easy access to it both for use and service.
After considering a few options, we ended up building a two part box that also serves as another seat with seatbelt. The lid of the box hinges up against the electrical cabinet on the right. We went with an L shape design for the lid and did that so the face of the box wasn’t digging into our legs when using the toilet. The lip on the lid is small enough so that it doesn’t get in your way and large enough to hang some hooks on it to hold sunglasses, keys, or whatever you need holding when doing the deed.
The face of the box is actually a door that swings open providing access to the solid and liquid containers on the toilet. As mentioned above, the face of the box will have one Lagun table mount base installed on it. This will allow us to complete our counter top when the extra space is needed.
The end result provides a table mount and functional seat which requires a simple two step process that allows us to easily pull and service the toilet.
GARAGE ACCESS
Last and definitely not least is our little garage access door. We wanted to have some separation between the living and storage space beneath the bed. We also didn’t want to seal it off completely. We decided to install a small access door which really cleaned up the look and allows us the ability to transport longer items such as lumber or skis.
The access door will also have a Lagun table mount base installed on it. This will be primarily used to hold our table for the dining room configuration. One person can sit on the fold out bench and the other on the fridge. This mounting location will also allow us to create a U shape kitchen set up which I feel we will prefer over a longer countertop.
THINGS TO COME
We still have a few tricks up our sleeves before we call this finished:
1) You may have noticed we do not have a backsplash. That is partly due to me being very picky about the look and design of it. It seems like so much wasted space so we’ve decided to install some pegboard from IKEA that we were using at Elliot’s diaper changing station when we still owned our home. This will allow us to hang cooking utensils, toothbrushes, photos… pretty much anything. We already have the board and simply need to cut it to size for install.
2) The bed platform is made out of (3) pieces with the center piece being about 5” wide. The center piece will be fixed and will not move. The outside pieces will hinge up with butterfly hinges and we will be able to lock them in place. We want to go this route so that we have access to our garage space without having to go outside (rainy days in mind) AND we can also shove as much junk as possible and slam the lid down.
Locking them in place will allow us to set the bed in “couch mode” facing inside or outside. This is a nice option to have for travel days if someone wants to ride in leisure. Couch mode facing outward will be a nice way to soak in the scenery on any given day and if we ever encounter a drive-in movie theatre…. need I say more?