A woman who bought a damp caravan for £500 on Facebook Marketplace has revealed the incredible transformation the holiday home on wheels has undergone on a shoestring budget.
Hayley Rubery nabbed the 1989 Van Royce two-berth caravan, which she has dubbed Joyce, online for the small sum, and has since been hard at work renovating it.
After three months of graft, the thrifty 35-year-old has given it a complete overhaul, spending £498 on making it a modern and stylish mobile home for her and partner Ben, 41, to take on the road this summer.
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“I’m absolutely chuffed to bits with how it turned out,” the content creator, who lives in Norfolk, told What’s The Jam.
They managed to bag the caravan for a third of the asking price of £1,500, and then set to work transforming it with a £500 budget.
The mobile home was full of damp and required a full “gutting and refit” plus a cosmetic overhaul – something Hayley and Ben did throughout the week and on weekends, whenever they had a few hours spare alongside their full-time jobs.
She said: We spent months gutting, cleaning, sealing, painting and designing our caravan.
“It needed some TLC but we saw the potential.
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“First we cleaned and stripped everything down – goodbye to years of grime and hello to a fresh start.
“We tackled the essentials, fixed what was broken, sanded and painted what we could – all walls and kitchen cupboards and cabinets.
“We removed the cushions in the seating area as they were damp and put a mattress in there so we’d have a permanent bed.
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“I spraypainted the outside using Valspar direct to metal paint and a spray gun.
“We added a slat wall feature in the entryway using 50p lengths of wood from the timber yard and stick-on tiles for a strong visual effect in the kitchen.
“I upcycled and kept everything I could to keep the costs down.
“From repurposed furniture to second hand finds, we stretched every pound.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you get creative.”
They painted the exterior for £100, as well as inside, and also spent money on wood, sealant, stick-on tiles, lino flooring, lighting, and fixtures including the taps and door handles.
Décor came in at just £44.67, with Hayley sourcing much of it from charity shops and online.
They even spraypainted the outside to match the green vibe inside.
Hayley said: “Joyce has a lot of green, natural wood textures and plants.
“My style it very much ‘cottage country’ vibes.
“I love it.
“Who says you need a big budget to make big changes?
“It’s amazing what you can do with £500!”
