When the world slowed to a stop during the 2020 pandemic and Wendy Conklin of Round Rock, Texas, found herself with canceled traveled plans she decided to get a little creative. And getting creative is as natural as breathing for Wendy, who is the founder of Chair Whimsy and is an author and chair stylist known for her effervescently bright and happy aesthetic. “Late that summer of 2020, my husband and I decided to buy a camper so we could safely travel,” Wendy says. It was a big purchase—the couple weren’t sure they were “RV people” and didn’t have previous experience with campers. But after much contemplation and many conversations, they decided to take the plunge and purchase a 16 ft Shasta Reissue off Facebook Marketplace for $14.5k ($5k under their $15k budget!).
They prepped the camper the following month, learning all the technical aspects of hookups and giving it a deep clean. Since the colorful camper is made to look vintage but isn’t actually old, it didn’t have any mechanical issues, making it friendly for first-time camper owners. As they got the camper ready, Wendy began thinking about redecorating it and planning out her design decisions. She painted the inside, wallpapered it, and had new cushions and curtains made for it.
Wendy’s surroundings have a great deal to do with her happiness, and color makes her happy so, naturally, the camper is bursting with every shade of the rainbow. “I wanted a whimsical camper, and that’s what I ended up with,” Wendy says. “It was all driven by a Katie Kime Camel Wallpaper that I just couldn’t get out of my mind. I took the color scheme from that wallpaper to create the rest of the space.” Some might get nervous at such an explosion of hues in a small space, but Wendy is an expert at color and pattern mixing and gives her colorful camper’s interior room to breathe by building off white. “White is a great backdrop to layering color. It also helps the eye to rest as you bounce from color to color within the space, and that’s exactly how I used it here,” she says.
Now, she and her husband are living colorfully ever after in the camper as they take it for trips while being reminded of how it let them get out and explore nature during a time of worldwide hardship. As Wendy says, “We’ve just had a blast.”
For more cozy camping inspired homes, see Camp Lucky Dog and The Bee Camp: Alfresco Afternoons in the Texas Countryside. Of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to get your daily dose of cottage inspiration!
