Soft furnishing colours in vans
Hi CT Readers
I am thinking of buying a newer, even a new motorhome and wonder why nearly all manufacturers use such light colours for the soft furnishings? It is so very impractical, even more so if you have a dog or dogs, as many people who own caravans and M/Hs do. You only need to be caught in the rain to end up treading dirty footprints onto the carpet and/or dripping water onto the seating which on such light coloured, fabric, may easily leave a stain.
I have just spotted a new M/H, far more than I want to pay but I could persuade myself if I was very enamoured of it, however, the furnishings are a very light grey with a very thin line of a burgundyish, colour. Personally, I would much prefer the burgundyish colour, for all of the furnishings, with a light grey trim and a burgundyish carpet, rather than the light grey and it would be way more practical. If that had been the case, I would definitely have considered purchasing it as the interior of the van itself is of a type I am looking for
Are light coloured furnishings really what customers want, or is it just me who is not that keen on them?
Comments
-
Another one not enamoured of anything beige here as well. We did up an old caravan a good few years ago, spent a lot of money on decent quality foam, wrapping and then chose our own fabric for covering and curtains. We are in the throes of renovating said caravan again, some 25+ years on. Fabric and foam still clean and in good condition, so we might just stick with again. I shall redo curtains for a change, change flooring cover, possibly paint the (real) wood work.
We live with the interior of our MH, it’s very much of its time 2001, but practical and hardwearing. We did see same model, same year that had been all done out, but in a coffee and cream combo. It looked ok, but not practical for the amount of usage ours gets. We use Dunelm throws on our seats anyway, so haven’t bothered to redo MH interior. Our MH has big windows, so can take darker colours. A lot are quite gloomy inside with smaller windows, and possibly why light colours are used? Not keen on leather, looks nice but not cosy enough.
We love old touring outfits. They have such a lot of potential for making into something very special, and not spending a lot of money if you have a bit of know how and creativity. There are some fabulous ideas online that don’t cost the earth if you have the basis of a decent van or MH to do up.
0 -
There are a number of MH interior specialists who will re trim (and/or) recarpet a van.
not cheap but might be what's required if it's the van you want but hate the interior scheme.
0 -
The upholstery fabric I’ve met is very durable and with a rubberised backing which makes it easy to shampoo. We’ve had light coloured upholstery and not had any problems even with careless spills. Just add a blanket in the dog’s favourite spot and I’m sure all will be well.
0 -
I don't hate it, I just think that it is impractical and manufacturers should give people the option of having darker colours, instead of practically all of them using light colours. I know that there are firms which would change it but if I was buying a new or a newish van, I would not want to pay more to have the furnishings and carpet changed.
0 -
The problem with interiors of both motorhomes and caravans is that they have to appeal to a broad spectrum of people. This tends to be towards neutral colours which also has the advantage of making the interior of vehicles light and airy. I thought Auto Sleepers offered alternative furnishings but I suspect that whilst they might have a different colour trim they will still be predominately light in colour. I suspect what most people with animals do is cover the seats with throws that can be easily washed. As YT points out there are companies that will re-upholster for you but at a cost. Some manufacturers offer leather as an alternative to fabric but not something I would be personally comfortable with, I not keen on leather seats in cars!
David
0 -
As others have said the fabrics seem to clean up fine and it's a personal preference. Why not buy the vehicle you want and it it re-upholstered. It may not be a cheap solution but you are hopefully going to use the van for many years. In a buyers market you should also be able to get a bit of discount from a dealer.
We did not like the false curtains in our new van so sourced new material for £50 and made replacements. The seat back covers also had a velour slip on them that we disliked and so removed.
0 -
As others have said possibly throws would help. Have done a few curtain changes in some of our older caravans and even did upholstery as well in our only motorhome a very old Bedford CF with a pop up roof.
Like your changes to yours eribaMotters over here it is called an Hymer feeling and like the look of them and know what you mean re partial curtains also changed them in a Hobby we had a few years ago.
Friends of our have got an LMC small A class motorhome and we took them last to Toulouse to pick it up and every motorhome of all sizes and shapes all had a pale cream seats and definite no no for my OH he keen on light upholstery as said if you have dogs been there a few years ago not a good mix. Hope you find what you want vfbg.
0 -
I'm one who prefers the neutral lighter colours which I can personalise with coloured accessories. I'd hate a van with dark coloured furnishings. We use lovely soft washable throws on sofas.
0 -
I think the reason the interiors are always light colours is to make them look bigger. Dark colours make spaces appear smaller. Even a dark carpet can make the van feel smaller.
Our MH is all beige, cream and brown interior, with wood cabinets and lockers. Some of the doors are two tone so it breaks up the wood effect. Worktops are fairly light so the feeling is of space. Not easy in a PVC, if the carpets and furnishings were dark I think it would feel very much smaller.
We don't have curtain just blinds, never thought I'd like that but I've got used to it. We don't have a dog anymore so no real need for throws but I do have some stretch fitted covers on the base of the seats to protect them. These can be bought relatively cheaply online with a great variety of colours and patterns. Might be a solution.
The carpets I did remove, light beige is not a practical colour when you van all year round. I bought some runners from Dunelm and cut to fit, they are perfect for the job and cheap enough not to fret over.
0 -
Ours, now 15 years old, is patterned in cream, beige, brown with some black, quite nice actually. We have made seat covers for the sitting area, just the seats not the backs. 2 sets, which are washable. The original upholstery still looks good after 15 years IMO. We bought some cheap cotton throws from Ikea to make the covers from. They are cream coloured.
Carpets are mid beige, we shampoo them every year, even twice a year if the grandchildren have been there, they still look OK.
Cupboards etc are wood veneer so not too dark.
Curtains are minimal, I do not consider them as serious curtains, only a bit of them would be a curtain, the rest is thin and only decorative, we have never pulled them as it would be pointless. The blinds are sufficient.
As TG said, the lighter colours help to make the interior feel more spacious.
We like the patterns rather than the plain colours, shows the dirt less.
We have several scatter cushions in a pinkish/purple colour to relieve the beige, which works well.
0 -
Ours is beige and browns but I opted for hard wearing leather upholstery for the very reasons you highlight. The seating has lost some of it resilience after 12 years of use but it is looking almost as good as new.
peedee
0 -
When we bought our caravan we could have had it in various cloth colours and designs (3 if I remember rightly) and either a light or a darker wood for the furniture. We chose the lightest possible combination for the same reason that Tammygirl mentioned. Even at home everything is white or light beige wherever possible.
0 -
We had two dogs when we brought our motorhome, down to one now, we had the carpets taken up and we use a foam yoga map as a runner and very soft to walk on. We used a second even thicker one at night for one of the dogs to sleep on. We also brought some cheap throws to cover the seats the dogs were allowed on. No carpets makes it very easy to sweep up any dog hair.
0 -
Some interesting replies and photos. My present van, a 19 year old, Eldiss Autoquest, is upholstered in a dark orange geometric type design, which is actually quite attractive and tends not to show any marks (although I do cover it with sheets) and was very popular with Eldiss some years ago and is still in very good condtion. It doesn't make the van dark at all but my van does have a lot of windows, including a large rear window, which many vans no longer have and I use a "miracle mat" type runner over the carpet.
I admire anyone who does makes the effort to refurb/customise their vans and from the photos, they looked very attractive. Unfortunately, in latter years, my get up and go in the DIY department, has mainly got up and gone!
I suppose I will just have to bite the bullet if I do buy a newer van and put up with a lighter colour, although these days I suspect that most seating and carpets will be treated with anti stain chemicals.
0
