My van re-design after 4 years, colours, styles and materials | VAN RENOVATION UPDATE
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- čas přidán 20. 02. 2023
- My van re-design after 4 years, colours, styles and materials | VAN RENOVATION UPDATE
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Hi my name is Emi. I'm born in raise in small town just outside Quebec City, this is where my lovely accent come from. My #vanlife story starts in September 2018. After a long-term relationship that I was trying for more than a year to rebuild, I decided it was time to end this toxic relationship once for all. This is where I decided to move away from this man that I was still in love with. I put all my belongings inside my SUV (GMC Jimmy) and moved six hours from where I was living. I didn’t know where I would sleep, didn’t know where I would work but I knew I needed to make a drastic move. At that time, I told myself I will only sleep in my car for a month while looking for a place to rent. What I didn’t know is that one month became another month and another month. In the end, I end up sleeping in my car for a full year. Even if people will consider this the lowers time of my life, this experience was the best thing I couldn’t have done with my life. I took that year to focus on myself, decide what I wanted, and most importantly what I didn’t want. That year made me also realize that for so long, I was chasing the wrong dreams. I was chasing what society wanted me to be: to have a big house, a steady job, kids, get married… None of those dreams was making me happy. In September 2019, while I was actively looking for a van, I received a phone call that someone had found my cat (Kelly). After, trying for hours with no success to communicate with my ex-boyfriend (who was taking care of her), I decided to drive the six hours to go pick her up. Without going into too much detail, it turns out he wasn’t able to take care of her anymore. So I brought her in a cat kennel for a couple of days until I found a van we both could live in. I put all the savings that I had accumulated while living in my car and bought my van (a 2011 Ford Econoline that I end up adding a hightop) In the beginning, It wasn’t so glamour. My cat and I were sleeping on a mattress on the floor of the van. We both had to adjust. Now, my cat loves this lifestyle as much as I do; she looks at the window while I’m driving and she loves exploring new places. Since then, my cat Kelly and I are have been living full-time in my self convert van.
I love how the colors in your van match the colors on Kelly’s fur. A green backsplash over the kitchen counter would pull it all together nicely! 👍🐈
The rust and any engine issues are probably the most important things to deal with first. All the best to you.
Giddy as a child to see your van newdesign. Looking forward to it Emi. 👍👍♥️♥️♥️😍😍😍
Maybe use the rust incapulation stuff that Chrome is using.
That space where Kelly's bed is at, you said you were going to put a door on it, maybe you can build a little cubby there so Kelly's bed can fit and still be there with a door next to the cubby.
That would be so cute for kelly, her own hiding space.
I’m with you on that. Cats love cubbies and high places. As you know how much she runs up trees and gets all energized when she gets out of the van. Having that place to jump up too is good for her.. wouldn’t it be nice for her to have a bit of a cat walk up high.
You need an air fryer you won’t know yourself. At 82 I’m wrapped nice crunchie chips and veges xx
@@valpatch7249 air fryer is definitely a game changer 👍
Changes sound like a good idea you have Emi. I hope you donate your old fridge to someone in need who is just getting started or is having a hard time financially, like a person escaping a bad relationship.
The new design is going to be amazing. See you on the next one.
White colors will make the van seem bigger and brighter.
You look so much younger with your hair shortened, it really looks good!
Rust never sleeps. In your renovation decisions, be mindful of the out-gassing certain materials, paints and finishes can have that can potentially pollute the air you will be breathing inside your van. Your health is most important.
Go for the color! Your van needs brightening up. It'll be nice when you're finished.
Kelly claws at Emi “mom? Are you giving me an update on my place?” 😻🫶🏼
The sky's the limit, simple design...with everything you need.
So happy you’ve come up with a plan to revitalize your living space . I think with your experience in carpentry you’ll do an awesome job. Just a suggestion please don’t take away Kitty’s hiding space where her bed is .
I think if you finished all the wood in the uppers that white washed finish it would look larger and cohesive. Then with the burnt wood on the lowers it would be a nice warm contrast. As for your color schemes they are beautiful. That green tile in a backsplash and/or a hint of green in the bed linens would brighten it up. Also you might consider your baskets above the back door to be a more structured sided basket either in a wicker or if you have neutral bed linens, make them a touch of color. I look forward to the changes. Good luck on your rust….
Wow! Your ideas are spot on . Her van would look amazing.
Sounds nice.
Where I live is now 12:30pm so I am having lunch while watching your vlog & I am excited for your upcoming upgrades. I really enjoy your content & subscribers positve comments very much. While reading comments, I pretend I am having a face to face conversation with everyone 🙂
Looks good Emi, we bought the aluminum posts that hold the head and foot board of a bed at IKEA (beds come with 1 but we bought 4 = $60) then added IKEA futon bed boards $30, since they are so strong and connects to the van walls, it gives us a full ‘basement’. We added a queen bed - Bizzo Ambo Life on CZcams ( a converted ambulance) - friends of Wayne and Lawren
LOVE the color of that tile! Such a lovely green-blue, like the ocean. It's going to be lovely.... wood color and that blue-green, just like the outdoors. Great ideas, Emi. (Are you going to put a "cat" door up there where Kelly's cozy bed is? 😂) She loves her mama!!!
Exciting!!
I love the idea of the burnt wood n it would be nice with the sage colors.
Havfun!!
Emi your hair really suits you at that length❤
Love the teal color, and putting a drawer for your pots and pans, to get to them easily.
Emi, I like your color scheme in your van, think the white pallet wood looks pretty with ur darker tones. I don't really want to add my opinion because u need to be happy . Know it will be special for you because the present look makes your van look spacious. Good luck and enjoy the process.
You're going to decorate! That should be fun! Looking forward to seeing you decorate the interior with your personality!
Maybe sand the counter down and whitewash it to match the other wood in the van? Funny, when you mentioned a pop of color with a backsplash, the example you showed was exactly what I pictured for you! It’s also one of my favorites! It’s a beautiful color. You may want to just fashion a curtain for the cubby where Kelly sleeps, so you can just open it enough for her to jump up into her bed, but you’re other belongings are hidden.🤷🏻♀️ Whatever you choose to do, I’m sure it will be great. Take care.✌🏻💕🐈
Love your new hairdo! Excited to see the upcoming van changes 🚐🪄✨
I so love your smile, Your changes to your van home sound wonderful. Take your time and do what will make you happy.
A bar size fridge fitted into your counter would be nice and save the space on the other side for something else. The teal colour is beautiful.
Kelly is , Mom it will be ok.💞💞💞🌷🧘♀️
Kelly is so cute Your doing an amazing job
Love the hair! You look really good and happy!
How exciting can't wait to see each step Have fun and enjoy much love and blessings
Your rebuild must be exciting for you! I love your ideas and colors💕🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💕
I know I don’t comment a lot but I do watch your videos. I have to say this about you , you put a smile on my face when you talk , you put off a great feeling the way you talk and you get excited about things and I love this about you. I bought a Bus then things happened I got sick with my kidneys and had to put off my dream for a while. I will get better and start working on her. Thank you sharing your live with us ! From Mobile, Alabama
Burning the wood is a japanese word called sho shugi ban. Pretty cool.
Emi, Emi, Emi, when you gonna start? what's gonna be the color? lol JUST KIDDING WITH YOU! Go at your own pace. no worries. I personally like your van the way it is.
Enjoy the design refresh, that will be the fun part! You know the functional needs and can enjoy the updates and making the look yours.
I really like that color you want to add
I love the burnt finish wood
Love the green and teal colors,,,good ideas,,,you're gonna have soooo much fun designing your home,,,can't wait to watch more❤🐈✌
Emi, how exciting for you to be able to start on your van to improve the look that you desire it to be. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. I know it’s going to be great whatever you do. I am so sorry to see the rust come back on your van. I hope you can find someone to help you. Kelly is always so adorable 🥰. Be blessed in your travels…..🍃🌸😊🌸🍃
Looking forward to seeing how your van progresses! I was thinking... what about just getting some ferritic stainless/material and someone with a longer metal break (roofers can do it for longer lengths as they do eavestroughs and they don't charge a lot to do it for you, around here anyway) and make like a metal box around the area you have your spices magnetized to? You could create a band of material where magnets can stick to and run it the length of the van there. You could fasten it from underneath, running silicone or weatherstripping between the metals to stop any potential noise of it and to be able to remove it as needed. Then, you would have magnetic in the back by the bed as well to hang things stick your phone to etc. and you could even paint it if the metal is not the look you want. Just a thought anyway. The shou sugi ban will look great and It's a pretty fun thing to do! Be well and pets under the chin to Kelly
I am not a huge cat person. But sometimes there is kitties that I find irresistible and Kelly seems to be that Kind of kitty. Looking forward to watching my favorite lady van dweller fix up her van.
Yeah I’ll be watching cat lady, I want to see what you come up with inside your van, I know it will be spectacular you have good taste, well until then peace and chicken grease 😁👍👍😎
Don’t forget to leave a spot for kitty to hide.
It's gonna be so pretty
Emi, have you considered asking your friend Joseph with possibly helping with the rust on your van? I've seen that he does beautiful work.
Good afternoon Cat Lady. Great job on the van renovation! It's nice to see you smiling again - and as always, thanks so much for all you do for cats. The colours, styles and materials are excellent choices. 😊😊
Wht styles and colors? I only saw possible choices not absolute. Wht did I miss?
I think a small narrow shelf under the window ,and place the magnet spices underneath with some tiny lite strips would be nice .it would brighten that space nicely
I second this, she can fit her small glass jars maybe on there if she does that.
@@KaltrinaDemiri better to attach the jar lids to bottom of shelf and just unscrew the jar
From what I've seen from chrome's welding he is more than capable of doing the repairs on your van
Love the oxidized copper color on the clock photo you showed. Maybe even a tiny bit of copper itself for all the sunrises and sunsets you see...a warm color added to the palate? I love it as it is anyway.
Awwww Kelly is so cute, kisses and hugs to her from me. Your van ideas sound like it's going to look amazing. Xx
Rust rust rust, it is always going to get cha! I wonder how bad mine is going to get, right now we are good. 😊I look forward to seeing the progress. Be safe and stay warm in this freeze that we have going on at the moment. 😉🍻
hi miss Amie end kyti cant wayt for the result love seu
Don't forget to include Kelly in your renovation plans ❤ When i redo my bathroom (which was my dad's bathroom and everything was falling apart, so i am not using the tub and i have to come upstairs (to my empty at the moment AirBnB) to take a bath LOL. I have to get dressed, put on my boots, scarves, hat gloves & everything), i'm changing a window so it opens, and will construct a "catio" - with a part on the inside and then a part outside that he can access through that door. Thankfully i have a carpenter friend who will help draft that up!
The burn finish is called Shou Sugi Ban
Yes. Very rustic. You see it on the outside of buildings more than inside.
Enjoy your videos, hopefully you will find someone to help you with the rust issues.
Bright tiles back splash, maybe tiles from Mexico, sth America, or native Canada. They are usually bright. The other thing which are great for moving vehicle is no cupboards but deep draws.
I love the teal color, too! I can't wait to see what you do!
Love your color choices! Hope it all comes together for you!
Love the burn finish. My daughter and sun in law done a counter top in the burn finish it looks amazing!
Your remodel ideas and plans sound amazing! I'm eager to follow your build.
I can not wait to see the finished product. Sounds like you have a great plan.👍
Hi Emi, Maybe you may want to look into a mechanics lower tool box, to replace you kitchen cabinets. They are strong and sturdy, and the drawers roll out all the, so you can find the items that have gotten pushed to the back. Plus they are lockable with one key.
Don't blame you for not wanting to do the rust again.
Good luck, great colour choice. Your hair looks fabulous at the moment
That is exciting...I wish you lots of energy and inspiration!
Love 💕 the length of you hair looks good
Can’t wait to see the new update. I know it’s going to be fabulous,, Good Luck,,
🔨🪛🪚🔌🎨👍 good plans! Looking forward to seeing it come together
Hi Cat Lady! The new design of your van will be cool. Put the bed higher up, you have a lot of space. Then you will be able to use the space below 🙂 Win win situation. Maybe this is what you already have thought about?
Thanks!
Thank you so much Laurel!
Use fiberglass to repair what you cut out rust wise. Fiberglass won’t rust again!
Kelly your kisses are so wonderful ❤. Amy I am so excited for your going to make changes to your vans living space. Try to use only three colors to keep it looking simpler but balanced and not cluttered with color. Using a matching back splash would be beautiful. So proud of you girl! ❤
Exciting times!!
Love the hair!!
Superb color ideas, but just watching you pointing out all your plans makes me exhausted! You got a HUGE job ahead.
Hey Emi I cannot wait to see all the upgrades you’re going to do to your home and adding color I think would just make it so awesome and you’ve got chrome to help you with the rust. He’s good at that now you guys always make my day you guys be safe out there and stay warm.🇺🇸♥️👍🙏🐈⬛🏔️🙂🇨🇦
Right on ❤
This is VERY EXCITING 👍
I like the lighter green maybe for the cabinets in ur kitchen or dark green possible ur book shelf 🤔 umm I do like the white on it back end and front end open with bed for Kelly but a door in ur back too part will look good up to you emi lol and I see you wanted a backsplash for ur kitchen it will definitely pop out more colors.
I love the colors of forest and ocean. You can stain some of your wood green and it looks really nice, especially if it is dark. Leave black for accents and frames. Too much black or gray can bring a person down, especially on gloomy days (which I guess Canada has a lot). I would even back your black curtain up from with a really nice nature fabric to be more cheerful inside the van. No teal. Teal is an artificial color that doesn't actually exist in nature. I love your open counter. It is a clean feeling, and very versatile. I would do it that way if I had a van. Together, you and your subscribers (I'm one) can come up with something nice and calm for you.
Sounds exciting.
Exciting!!!
It might be a little challenging to install, but in the back by your bedroom, that open Kitty slot, as well as the portion below with the black curtain... you can install metal rails on the inside so the doors just pull out and flap down, held with magnets. But when you want them open, you just roll the doors up and back, like an antique roll top desk. This way you can have really nice looking doors, and also have the spaces opened and closed when you desire. And on the wood panels of the doors, you can paint or stain them, and then you can buy online or in a crafts shop, “art transfers” (like decals that you scrape on) which are beautiful floral, animals, bees, birds, butterflies, plants, trees, and you just apply them, then put the sealant over them. It helps to bring the look of nature inside. I’ve seen people use them on furniture and they look beautiful.
I like your plan! Hope you enjoy each part it should be fun. The creative part is the best.
I love that tile! It sounds like your van is going to look really nice when you do those updates. . The back windows look 100 % better already/
Good luck Emi! 🕊
Aww sounds so cool I have idea just to give you another idea …. Paint the top wood a cream … sand down the counter top stain it natural wood and do the drawers etc in a sea foam green 😍 with wooden floors 😊 just another thought
I'm excited for you about the rebuild. 😊
So excited for you. Can't wait to see it. Safe travels.
Your home will be beautiful Emi!!!
Lots of people have presented you with their ideas, and they are all great ideas but at the end of the day, this is YOUR home. Just make it reflect you, comfy and appealing to you.
big hugs and lotsa love to you and Kelly.
🍃🤗😍🍃
I think Chrome did a good job on his , and i think you 2 together can fix your rust problem, if not dig deep in them pockets and hand that$$$$$ over to a body man. Good luck
Glad you’re at the point of feeling ready to dive into your renovation- hope you have good success with it - having lots of time to think and save up for what works for you ❤🎉😊- are you going to raise your bed up ? - would be cool to murphy bed it
or elevator lift it up in the day tucked into the ceiling or to pull down from the back wall and allow it to open up over a solid storage couch configuration which would open up your side doors more for water or pull out slides from couch end which helps for feeling like you entry is more opened up for those sunnier days - can’t wait to see your woodworking ideas come together
I was wondering if turning half of the opening where Kelly's bed is into a two shelf library for your books. Kelly can have the other half and she can be a library cat. You could use the space where your books are now for extra room or something else?
Great video emi
New to your channel and enjoying your videos! You look happy 😃
Just learned how Chrome met you! Hilarious story!! Happy for you both and your fur babies Cruzie and Kelly 🐶😻
Great you both can work on your vans together at the shop. That’s very helpful!
Looking forward to your updates. Love and positive vibes from Ontario 💕💕
Awesome , I love upgrades , still doin it to my tinrat! Lol hope you are well, need a van tour 2.0 , hope to say hi again to you guys
I have always thought of your magnetic spice rack as sort of the symbol of your channel. I hope you keep it! Did you cut your hair? It looks really really good!
You are doing such an amazing job. Can’t wait to see the process
Love it, it's going to look and feel sooooo good!