Decorating Ideas For Travel Trailer

Whether you call yours a motor home, recreational vehicle (RV), travel trailer, or camper, the interior décor of a dwelling with wheels is what makes it a mobile home-away-from home.

Update pre-owned recreational vehicles easily by replacing the existing furniture and decorations or make brand-new vehicles straight from the dealer's lot more uniquely you by personalizing the contents to reflect your lifestyle and interests.

Two for Tea

A functional teapot and tea cup combination serves as a centerpiece for the table until tea time. Mom's great-grandson used his blocks to elevate the pot and give it more height and interest.

D. Cosmato, copyright 2011, all rights reserved

Use Your Theme Throughout the Travel Trailer

Miniature teapots and tea sets are tucked into corners and displayed throughout the interior.

D. Cosmato, copyright 2011, all rights reserved

Tips for Decorating the Inside of a Camper

Let's talk about decorating a motor home in quick, inexpensive style. We'll start by discussing few basics of how to decorate a small space:

Limit clutter: Keep counter tops clutter free and limit the decorations and accessories in other areas to open up the interior and make rooms look more spacious. Dark shades make spaces appear smaller, while light shades make spaces look larger and more inviting.
Use one main theme: Focus on one or two decorating themes or a favorite art print or sculpture rather than trying to re-create your permanent home's interior.
Window treatments rock your style: Curtain and window treatments add elegance. Sheer, lightweight fabrics let light in and give the illusion of space and openness, but still provide privacy.
Add punches of color: Accent rugs used in high traffic areas not only decorate but help to protect the investment and resale value of a recreational vehicle. As a bonus, they trap dirt and other debris and cut cleaning chores in half.
Keep it simple: Focus on main areas like kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms when decorating travel homes. Most of these rooms come with furniture, so only a few accent touches are needed to complete the décor.
Light up your life: Wall mounted lighting is functional as well as decorative. Use light to make small areas appear larger.

Themed and Seasonal Accessories Make Instant Makeovers Easy

Once we've enjoyed our family Christmas, we pack the seasonal towels. Mom's trailer is decorated in a teapot/teacup theme in honor of her lifelong hobby of collecting teacups.

Decorating Small Spaces in Motor Homes and Travel Trailers

Bathrooms are easy to decorate, but avoid the temptation to go overboard in these compact spaces.

Matched sets of towels and some bathroom countertop organizers are enough for most bathrooms.

Look for triangle shaped items like toothbrush holders to utilize corner spaces, nook, or niches.

(See the images to the right for examples. I purchased these at our local "dollar" store, which made them extremely cheap but chic accessories)

If you are decorating on a theme—our theme was teapots—an entire bath can be given a makeover for under $25 with a shower curtain (if the motor home is not equipped with a built in shower door) rug, and three piece towel set.

Kitchens are the heart of most homes, and a motor home is no exception.

Collapsible storage items like boxes or plate cradles not only provide easy access and save space, but they can be very decorative.

Choose from collapsible sink drainers, trivets, measuring cups, or other essentials. Colorful plastic crates add a splash of color and fun to small spaces.

Small Accents Add Up to Sizable Impact

Mom's great-grandson left her little messages of love by using his blocks in a most creative way.

Small Spaces + Bric-a-Brac & Wall Art = Big Results

A tiny angel statue fills the unused corner space in the kitchen and is complemented by a metal wall sculpture angel (see images to the right for examples).

These angelic touches are whimsical additions to the overall decorating theme—teacups—and reflect my mom's lifetime hobby of collecting teacups as well as her deep religious roots.

We continued the angel theme outside her summer home by incorporating garden angels and various angel statues into her landscaping.

A wall mirror opens up the living room space and adds light to the interior.

Our grandson (her great-grandchild) had a blast using the toy blocks he had outgrown as accents throughout the travel trailer to express his love of his "Granny Sugar".

Decorating a Travel Trailer: Easy As 1-2-3

Decorating a motor home is easy! Choose a few favorite pieces to showcase, add some inexpensive accent pieces, and tie it all together with functional items like storage boxes and countertop organizers.

Follow these three tips for success:

Keep it simple: Use one main theme and a few key pieces; take advantage of under-utilized spaces.
Plan it on paper first: Draw a floor plan of the motor home and then sketch in the décor items and their placement.
Buy multifunctional items: Focus on collapsible storage bins or reversible throws and pillows that are decorative as well as utilitarian.

Creating an environment where you enjoy spending time is the goal of decorating your travel home. No matter what the theme or size of the budget, make it uniquely you, and dress it up with small touches of home.

Decorating a Travel Trailer: The Backstory

We are blessed; my mom comes to stay with us every year during summer vacation. She lives in a motor home on our property that we lovingly refer to as her summer home.

Several years ago we discovered her home needed some intensive repairs, and it was less expensive to replace it than repair it. Choosing a new home for her was fun, but then we needed to decorate it to look like " her home" before she arrived for the summer.

We chose a tea time theme because mom is an avid teacup collector, and we did not want her to miss her precious cups and saucers during her annual summer visit.

One of the advantages of decorating a travel trailer is you are decorating such a small area, your dollar investment is minimal.

If you want to change your theme or add some other accessories, it is easy to do so without busting your budget.

However, I'm always on the lookout for new ideas and ways to do this so feel free to share your ideas and tips.

I also appreciate feedback from my readers as it helps me provide a better reading experience for everyone.

How helpful was this information? Were there other things you wanted to know that I forgot to cover? Please leave me a message in the comments section with your input.

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on December 20, 2014:

Thank you Joy. I'm glad you found this hub to be helpful!

Joy on December 01, 2014:

Thank you! This was really helpful. :)

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on May 06, 2013:

Thanks Lisa, glad you liked the ideas. This is my mom's "summer home" when she feels well enough to travel from her home to ours in the summer. She'll probably miss this year's trip because of her broken wrist, and I've tried using the trailer as my office, but it's just not the same without her.

liswilliams from South Africa on May 03, 2013:

wow, you are really creative. I used to belong to the camping club when I was young. Some people had campers - but nothing as special as this!

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on March 19, 2013:

Thanks for reading and commenting on this hub about decorating small spaces ignugent17. It's always nice to get positive feedback.

ignugent17 on March 19, 2013:

Very useful ideas. Thanks for sharing.

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on January 24, 2012:

Thank you, Ricky and alcosin, for your encouraging comments and support of this hub on decorating small spaces. It's always nice to hear from you:)

Aurelio Locsin from Orange County, CA on January 22, 2012:

What excellent ideas to personalizing a trailer. Voting this Up and Interesting.

Richard Ricky Hale from West Virginia on January 21, 2012:

Voted up, useful, and interesting Donna. Hope your doing good. Very good tips. Great ideas. You have did a great job on this article Donna, well done.

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on January 06, 2012:

Oh, thank you for your compliments, poetvix! I'm really glad you liked the blocks; we did, too. We found his blocks when we moved mom's things from the old motor home to the new one. Letting him experiment with them gave me the break I needed to get the job done, and he was so proud of his efforts.

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on January 06, 2012:

Thank you kindly, kenwrites, for letting me know that you enjoyed this hub and found it useful. Small space decorating is a wonderful way to see how far you can stretch the limits of your creativity and frugality.

poetvix from Gone from Texas but still in the south. Surrounded by God's country. on January 06, 2012:

Thanks for the really good tips. Clutter is my downfall as it just seems to spring up out of nowhere. Sticking to one theme that can be changed seasonally might help me with that.

I dearly love the blocks used for messages idea. It's adorable and changeable while being affordable at the same time. Further, it's practical too. Thanks you for the useful ideas.

Ken Crawford from Yreka, California on January 06, 2012:

This is great information for not only decorating a small travel trailer but also a small apartment or flat. Thanks for the wonderful and creative ideas.

Donna Cosmato (author) from USA on January 06, 2012:

Hi Sis! I found those at A.C. Moore and used my 50 percent off discount coupons to score a bargain:) Thanks for commenting; I had forgotten that you've never "seen" mom's summer home. We are anxiously counting the days until she can return, and I may just do some redecorating before she gets here:)

Mary Adams on January 06, 2012:

Your sister loves the teacup towels in the bathroom, too! Wherever did you find those? What a lovely home-away-from-home you've created for Mom!