After chalk painting the doors in my Casita, the second project I completed was to add a splash of color and hide rusty surfaces with some teal spray paint.
I love working with spray paint; I even created my Mrs. Padilly logo by spray painting my name on a car at the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas.
But when it came time to add spray paint to my camper, I only wanted to apply it to a few items; some needed to be painted due to poor condition, and others to add a pop of color and draw attention to them.
Step 1 ~ The Color Palette
Before I could decide on a color of spray paint, I first had to choose a color palette for the interior of the Casita.
As I mentioned in my last post on chalk painting the cabinets, I LOVE color, but I decided the Casita would be toned down to give me a shabby chic or beach cottage feel.
After changing the brown MDF cabinet doors to soft white with chalk paint and considering the interior’s shiny white hard surfaces and soft gray carpet that lines the walls, I reasoned I had to throw in some color!
The fabrics you see in the above photo determined my color palette. In addition to the soft whites and grays that are part of the design of the Casita, I wanted to add teal, yellow, a pinch of gray and brown, and a speck of rose.
Step 2 ~ Taping the Parts to Add Teal Spray Paint.
I chose Valspar Brand 12 oz Tropical Oasis Gloss Spray Paint (#85089)
. (affiliate link)
Only two items in my camper needed to be painted due to damage: The cover to the stove and the end caps to the outside awning.
Everything else I painted teal because I wanted to add a punch of color.
TIP: It is better to use several light coats of spray paint to avoid drips. Just take your time and allow the paint to dry between coats.
The following pictures will give you a good idea of the process and my results:
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I chose not to paint with chalk paint but instead add a punch of color.
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The following Photos show the rest of the items I painted and a little of my prep work: mirror on the bathroom door, propane tank cover, end caps to awning:
I initially wanted to get rid of this cover and spray paint the actual propane tanks but decided it was best to keep this over the tanks for protection when traveling, so I added one teal stripe.
Step 3 ~ Branding my Casita
The final splash of teal came when I branded my Casita, Free Range. I love the color combination of teal and brown, and the projects in this post are the only changes I made to the outside of my camper (painted end caps and propane cover, teal Free Range decal, and custom tire cover).
I love the color of my little brown egg and do not want to paint on top of it, even a little!
Introducing Free Range, with the Padilly logo on the tire cover! Keep your eyes out for this little brown egg; if you see us, be sure to way or say howdy!
Happy Trails!
Mrs. Padilly
Mrs. Padilly’s 17′ Spirit Deluxe Casita Travel Trailer’s Glamping Makeover Series:
Introduction:
Casita Glamping Makeover:
- Chalk Painting Cabinet Doors
- Adding Teal Paint to Accent Surfaces
- Installing a Tile Backsplash
- Installing Wood Vinyl Flooring
- Stenciling the Screen Door
- Window Treatments
- Dressed for Glamping
Check out my Shasta Makeover Series. Just click below to go to the first article in the series.
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Yes. I love the campers wiht lots of character. The end product looks great!
J.D.
Thank you, JD
How did you do the added bumper space to the back end? Thanks for helping us with this added feature.
That was attached to the camper when we purchased it, but I can tell you it was welded to the bumper.
Love your glamp ing blog as I have 2013 Casita 17′ Spirit Deluxe and am about to put down vinyl wood floors. Your blog reinforced exactly how I had in my mind the way it would work. I am also a Sister on the Fly and planning a trip in 2017 with them to Alaska. So with as little storage as the Casita has, most of my storage is in my truck bed. I am thinking of adding a platform to the back of my Casita like the one in your picture. I am wondering if you reinforced the existing bumper or had a new stronger bumper with hitch receptacle installed?
Hi Jennifer, the platform on the back was welded onto the existing bumper, but we purchased the Casita with the platform attached, so do not know if they had reinforced the original bumper. There is no hitch receptacle.
RE: Vinyl floor. I think you will love the look of the vinyl wood floor. It was one of my favorite changes, and had a big impact on overall interior look.
Your Sister’s trip to Alaska sounds wonderful! Wow! As a Texan, Alaska seems a world away to me! Maybe one day I can get there…
Hey Hey Ms. Padilly. I have a 2006 Casita just like yours and am adding curtains, etc. in the Texas cowgirl theme. I also had a hail storm and was pleasantly surprised that the exterior wasn’t harmed except for the plastic stuff on top. Fantastic fan wasn’t harmed, but AC vent was. The only thing I didn’t like about the Casita was the awning. It was hail damaged so the RV repair guy did research and now I have a beautiful, easy roll out Dometic awning. No poles, no middle bar, etc. Love it!! I’m from Texas, living in NM but moving to Bellingham, WA. Will miss this beautiful weather for sure. But my daughter lives there and I assured her that when it’s too much rain, I’m taking off in my Casita. I lived in it from Oct. to April in Bandera and Fredericksburg. It was fun. I’m looking forward to more adventures since I joined Sisters on the Fly.
Awesome, Cynthia! The Casita is a great trailer. I love Bandera and especially Fredericksburg, but Never been to Washington. Hear it is beautiful, but maybe too much rain for this Texan (especially after all our floods over the last few weeks!).
Have fun with the Sisters!
Beautiful! Love the touches of color mixed with the creaminess of your cabinet work…I am getting so excited about finding my own little Casita and glamping her as well. Thank you for sharing your glamping process though lovely photos…:-)
🙂
Looks like you are having great fun with your glamper! I enjoy seeing the changes you are making. I sure love living in our camper all summer long. People wonder how we manage to spend weeks on end in a little camper with so little space and stuff. That’s the simplicity and beauty of it! Roll on…
I am, cteachr! 🙂 Our first trip in our Casita was eight days long. I worried that it would be too many days in a small space. It wasn’t; in fact I missed it when we got back home. I look forward to spending a summer in her as you have!
Thanks, Pit. Same to you! 🙂
You did a great job. I sure like the casita!
Have a great weekend,
Pit
OH,,, It is looking sweeter with each post. Nice color combo that you have chosen for your Casita. What cheerful fabrics. What did you use to make your “Free Range” lettering and the logo/design on your spare tire cover? I love your idea of the chick peeping out of the egg. So cute and original. Your stove top looks brand new. Quite an improvement since your purchased it.
I got inspired over the past few days to spiff up my Casita. I have it now parked in my garage and am waxing her for the first time in years. A new top vent will be put in soon as it broke through in a hail storm a few months ago. I originally had curtains in my Casita and I removed them years ago and put in mini blinds. The other day I took down my mini blinds and am going back to curtains. I hate the rattling of the blinds. While I am not a fan of the color Gray, because if reminds me of Seattle weather I decided to go with it as a base color for updated decor to match the interior colors. Years ago I used Purple and Grey for the interior fabrics, bedding, picture frames and dishes. Out with the old and in with the new. I will bring in a pop of soft turquoise to my tiny Casita. Thanks for the inspiration and your fun blog. Looking forward to your next post. So fun watching your beautiful Casita evolve. There are not many “Casita’s” that are glamped out. We are a very small sisterhood of egg glampers. LOL.
Yes, Tonita, we are a small sisterhood of egg glampers, and we need that sisterhood to grow! 🙂
The “Free Range” lettering is done through Boat US Graphics. We seem to buy a new boat every couple years, and we always use their lettering service, and never had any problems. Up to this point, we have always used their stock fonts and designs, but I’ll be making a custom decal for our new C-Dory, “C-Horse” soon (so they do custom work, too).
My custom tire cover was done by AllThingsJeep.com. The main reason I used their service is they accepted .ai files (Illustrator Files). Many of the other companies accept JPEG and/or PDF only. That can be a problem when making an illustration big enough for a tire cover (pixelation/blurriness). I create all logos in Illustrator, as logos can be as small as an embroidery on a shirt, to as big as my tire cover (even bigger). To keep the quality of the design, it needs to be a vector. However, unless you know of a designer who works in Illustrator, or you can work in the program, then my next piece of advice is to make sure your JPEG is created at the size you want (i.e., if it is going to be 24″ x 24″, make the original that size), with a resolution of 300. Of course, this makes for a HUGH file, but it keeps the quality of the logo or picture. Sure, these companies can “tweak” even a poorer quality JPGE or PDF, but I speak from a little experience (I taught graphic design for over 16 years at a local college). But in addition to AllThingsJeep.com accepting .ai files, they were also great to work with. I was very happy with the tire cover and the color saturation.
I’m so happy to hear you are working on your Casita, and hope you plan to share your work at some point on your blog. 🙂 Most “glamped” campers tend to be vintage, and I LOVE them, but I needed the features the Casita offered me. Because of the interior parts that you cannot change in the Casita (vs. literally being able to tear out walls and adding cabinets in a vintage camper), anyone Glamping a Casita needs to accept that they have to work around things that cannot be changed; but I’m loving the results!
I hope the sun shines for you today in Seattle. I read in your blog that you were a California girl, and I can totally relate to your need for the sun! I love the sun, and I love the heat! Good thing I live in Texas as there is plenty of both! Lol