The Pull Out Kitchen…A Mammoth Effort

Having been inspired by many of our fellow ‘Instavanners’, we decided to design a pull out kitchen which would allow us to house our gas stove, storage for utensils/cutlery/ dinnerware and also a hand pump tap for washing up! I spent many hours trying to design something that pulled together all of the ideas we liked. For us, one of the hardest parts was to ensure the pull out kitchen was easy to access and functional, as well as removable when the van was being serviced.

The concept involved the ability to slide the kitchen in & out of the bench area behind the driver and passenger seats. After measuring everything a million times, we put the bench together. This, in itself was a challenge as we had to modify the back to fit with the dips and dives in the vans engine compartment.

We set two wooden lengths on the floor which created the height to overcome the incline, just behind the console. These lengths of wood would also serve the important purpose of holding the bench in place, through the use of wings nuts and long bolts. We also used a base piece which would provide a resting point for the pull out kitchen, allowing it to slide in and out with ease! Thankfully, the bench fitted in place nicely, creating a generous seating space.

Camper van hide and seek! 

Now for the stressful part… the pull out kitchen!!!

On this journey, we have learned many lessons when it comes to accurate measurements and straight cuts. After much experimentation with our jigsaw, circular saw and table saw, along with the realisation that it wasn’t that easy to get a straight cut, the Bunnings Cut Shop became our new bestie. They offer 10 free cuts with additional for a $1 each. As long as we planned things properly and knew exactly what we needed, the rest was easy!  It certainly reduced the stress levels on plenty of occasions.

Off we went to the cut shop with our list! Once all the pieces were cut, we came home, labelled each one and got to work! Once we had created the main frame, I felt confident that it would all come together.

Voila! Here it is, complete with boats skids from BCF for easy glide, in and out. 🙂

Will feeling pretty satisfied with the job so far 🙂

Now all it needs is a lick of paint, infact many coats of paint- MDF soaks paint quickly. We used an undercoat, followed by a top coat.

I could not believe it all came together so well, complete with our gas stove top, pull out basin shelf, cutlery tray & storage along with removable legs, courtesy of Ikea which screw on and off as and when required. Some finishing touches also applied- a splash of colour and some stick on vinyl tiles for the counter top from Bunnings- only $1.49 each! We still need to add the tap but for now we are really happy with the results, this is a major task completed so happy campers all around! 🙂

The finished product, the planning paid off!

Next on the list… Storage under the bed! 🙂

Our Campervan Storage

Storage in a small space is very important! We spent many nights drawing floor plans until we came to a decision on the layout and where everything should be. Neither of us possess the carpentry skills to do everything from scratch, so we made the decision to purchase some of the cupboards and make custom pieces where necessary.

Under the bed area, we put a two storage boxes together which will store the majority of our gear. Will also plans to add a platform over the boxes which will hold the camp table and other large items, pictures of this to follow once completed.

Within the van itself, we chose a couple of Ikea storage cupboards and a bench- who would have guessed the children’s furniture range would be great for a camper van! In saying that, I will admit that my poor measurement skills meant one of the taller cupboards needed to be reduced in size. This was definitely a STRESSFUL afternoon, but thankfully it worked really well and now fits nicely in the space!

We also put a little custom storage area together which divides between the sleeping and living area, giving us a storage nook near the bed for our phones etc. Because the van curves towards the top of walls and ceiling space, we had to put something together which would fit in the space appropriately.

One of the more important items which also needed a home- our Waeco. Having been inspired by the work of the Instagram campervan community, we put a fridge enclosure together complete with a purpose built tray to slide the fridge in and out. It works perfectly. It was also much more cost effective that purchasing the Waeco fridge slide. 🙂

It is all still a work in progress, the other side of the bench and pull out kitchen are currently in the planning stages!

It really is an exciting project, seeing the pieces of the puzzle come together make it all worthwhile. Stay tuned!

 

Custom storage area

Our Ikea purchases, adding colour with some cushions I made!

 

With some finishing touches still required..the famous fridge slide, works a treat! 🙂