When it comes to building furniture – or the general structures within your van I recommend using screws rather than glue – this allows you to change it if you get it wrong and also build quickly because the screws create an instant joint.
Check this video out for some basic advice for how to easily build your basic structures.
VIDEO GUIDE
Above; building seat and kitchen stud-work on the Citreon Relay Below; the final result
Kitchen Unit
The videos in this section give examples on my latest van – the text gives information on my first kitchen system.
The kitchen unit has to contain a lot in this van. This compact unit contains both the water and gas systems.
The finished kitchen unit. The cooker’s lid has been closed.
It features a solid mahogany kitchen top, redwood pine front, four draws with limited oak flooring fronts.
My kitchen unit over hangs the step a little, people criticized this as being a bit strange but I am really glad I did it. It has given me a couple of inches extra width in my cupboards and, importantly, on my work top. Without this cooking would be that little bit harder. It also means that the big recliner chair is, well big and you do not feel squeezed against the kitchen unit.
The space it takes is essentially dead space.. but you cannot have it too close to the door else you cannot reach the handle to open it!
Kitchen studwork
Also covered in the VIDEO GUIDE above
I screwed the studwork in to the floor or the bulkhead behind the unit. This was also attached to the seat unit studwork (under which would contain the heater).
Using the gas canister and the two 20ltr containers I was able to precisely workout how much space I could get away with using for my drawers.
Once done, I added panels to the back and sides to give it structural support.
Door
I made the door using 9mm ply and some old hinges I had from a previous project. These were easy to adjust to make sure that the door swung correctly.
The door was just painted with some grey paint I got from Ikea, it turned out I should have primed it, and it took about 8 coats to look good. It did the job, it looks good, and I was not in the mind to loose time to go shopping for primer.
Kitchen top
VIDEO GUIDE
I wanted a nice hardwood kitchen top – the sort you might have in a nice kitchen at home! Fortunately I was able to find some reclaimed mahogany which used to be part of some school book shelves.
I used two layers of these and after sanding them down, glued them together using lots of G-clamps and a few screws for good measure.
Glueing!
Clamping
Once done I cut the sides down to-size and cut the hole for the sink unit.. and then spent a long time sanding.
Treating the kitchen top
I used Danish Oil, the same oil I used for the rest of the van to treat the kitchen top. A bit of online research suggested it is safe enough for food. Do check yourself based on whatever you buy!
As the kitchen top is often wet I went to town on the Danish Oil – until it would no longer take any more. It has worked really well so far!
The oil made the kitchen top quite a bit darker than the untreated mahogany, but it works well with the tone of the redwood front and oak-flooring drawer fronts.
Chair & Upholstery
I am going to outline two ways to make cushions. One is best described as ‘bodged’ but needs few skills and no sewing machine and the second requires a sewing machine and a little patience.
‘Bodged’ upholstery
Some relatives were throwing out an old futon so I used it to make the recliner chair.
The recliner chair, not the best photo!
The base of the chair is in two parts. They can be removed independently to access various areas for potential maintenance reasons.
I simply stapled the fabric to the base parts.
Not my best work.. but it is effective!
The back is an independent cushion with a shape that works in a reclined position. I have a sleeping bag I store behind it to keep it in place. It’s a good place to put the sleeping bag and serves a purpose.
I took the staples off once a year to wash the fabric and then simply stapled it back together again.
If only there was a better way…
Better Upholstery
Cushions are a pain to make. A lot of people will just get them made to size via a local company – this is good but also fairly expensive.
The following method is a simple way to do make some cushion covers. Professionals will make it with end pieces and extra seams but I want to keep it simple – and if you know how to do it better – then you don’t need this section anyway!
For me – I have a mother who at the time needed some book covers designed so we traded skills (in reality I think she did not trust me with the sewing machine). This is how we made the covers.
Step 1. Wrap fabric snugly around the foam block. I got my foam – high-density upholstery foam – from anyfoam.co.uk. It is better to go harder for seating because inevitably over time it will soften up.
Step 2. Tack the line using dressmaking pins. This will hold the form neatly in shape.
Step 3. Tack the end.. pull the shape of the fabric tight to the end of the cushion (the end result should be as square as possible. Try and fold your corners in neatly.
Step 4.
- Remove the tack pins you put in during Step 1.
- Remove the foam cushion carefully
- Sew along the line at the end of the cushion cover – ideally with a machine – travel backwards to finish the line.
Step 5. When both ends have been sewn you can turn it inside out and put your cushion in. It will have slight ‘ears’ which you will need to poke inside the cusion.
If you want to make the cushion cover flatter and more secure you can put on a few bits of Velcro to the long-opening.