When we first made a list of must-haves for our fifthwheel a dishwasher did NOT make the cut. Sure, it would be nice but it wasn’t a deal breaker. Fast forward 2 years add in a toddler and shelter in place orders and suddenly a dishwasher seemed of utmost importance. So today Im giving you the deets on our experience with installing a dishwasher in a RV.

Selecting A Dishwasher

First, let’s start with which unit we installed and why. Obviously space is a HUGE factor so we needed something compact. That said, I wanted the output to be worth the sacrifice in space. I didn’t want to give up a huge chunk of my kitchen storage just so I can have a unit that washed 2 plates at a time(ya feel me??). We found the 18″ Frigidaire Dishwasher to be the perfect size for our space.

The next factor for us was weight. Some residential units are pushing 200 lbs and even the so called “compact” units come in over the 100 lb mark. Luckily, the Frigidaire Dishwasher we selected only weighs 54 lbs. We both felt like this was a safe weight to be adding to our space.

Installing the Dishwasher

There are basically two things that every unit will need: water and power. For us, this meant the easiest place to put the dishwasher would be our kitchen island. The island in our unit houses the sink and two electrical outlets. After a ton of brainstorming and measuring and measuring AGAIN we decided the right end of our island would work best. We had to sacrifice 4 drawers and 1 electrical outlet but it was totally worth it.

Q removed the drawers, hardware, and outlet first(we have a project coming soon that will recycle these drawers!). Then he cut the cross pieces with a reciprocating saw and finished the small adjustment cuts with a jigsaw. The cuts were pretty straight but we didn’t stress to make these absolutely perfect as the dishwasher has a rubber flange that covers the face of the cabinets along the whole front edge.

Lastly, he hooked up the electrical to the existing box and used the Snappy Trap Drain Kit to hook up water. The kit really simplified the plumbing portion of this whole instal and it fit perfectly under our sink. Luckily Q is pretty handy and some of our previous renovations have given us a crash course in both plumbing and electrical. I’d say this job only takes an afternoon start to finish.

Was It Worth It?

This unit is advertised to hold “8 place settings” at a time. I wasn’t sure what that really meant for our family of 3 when we were shopping around. Now, I can say it holds a “full day” of dishes. That means all the dishes we use for 3 meals a day and countless snacks(hello toddler life). This even includes pots and pans(although I still hand wash our cast iron)! Overall, Im pleasantly surprised at the capacity.

We’ve used mostly the “normal” and “heavy” cycles but there are several others and even a handful of additional options. Things like heated dry, sanitize, delay wash, etc. The wash quality is awesome(even with little rinsing) and the noise level is minimal.

Its only been a short time but I already feel like its worth EVERY cent spent and inch of space sacrificed! If you’re just a weekender a dishwasher is likely a luxury you can do without. If you’re a full-timer I would say GO FOR IT!

So tell me, does your RV have a dishwasher? If not, have you considered installing a dishwasher? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

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If you’ve ever remodeled, renovated, or just simply ripped up an older kitchen you’ve probably also had to decide what to do with all those cabinets. I’ve been there myself and the DIY spirit in me always wants to find ways to recycle or reuse them. Luckily our friends Bo and Nicole thought the same thing during demo and we had a pile of old cabinets waiting to be recycled when we started the wine bar project.

The Originals

The original cabinets were in good shape but they were seriously outdated. Having the kitchen around the corner and within eyesight from the wine bar also meant the style was issue. The new kitchen has crisp all white shaker style cabinets and we needed these to match. We just didn’t need to match the price tag on a whole new set of cabinets!

The DIY Solution

After a little brainstorming and Pinterest research we decided we could just upgrade the cabinets with DIY doors and paint. Q came up with a simple design for shaker style fronts and I made sure we matched the paint and finishes with the new kitchen.

The fronts for both cabinets and drawers were made the same way. We cut 1″ x 4″ poplar boards to match the dimensions of the frames from the originals. We then used a table saw to make simple tongues and grooves to piece the frames together and hold 1/4″ plywood panels in place. Everything was assembled with wood glue, clamped in place, and left to dry for 24 hours. After a bit of sanding, priming, and painting these looked like brand new cabinets!

Adding Customizations

After adding up all the recycled cabinets and new appliances we were left with a small amount of space under the countertop. In fact, it was just the right amount of space for some custom wine storage! I sketched up the most basic plan and Q whipped this up from a single sheet of plywood. Once it was sanded, primed, and painted it blended in with the existing cabinets seamlessly.

The Recycled Kitchen Cabinets

Considering these were once “leftovers” and sitting in the corner of a garage collecting dust I think we can consider this a major win! Not only did these cabinets turned out better than expected but they also saved Bo & Nicole a bundle… double win!

So have you recycled old kitchen cabinets in your own space? Did you use them in a completely different room? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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Before & After

Seeing this blank space for the first time was so exciting! It was like showing up to a blank canvas with all our paints… we just couldn’t wait to dive in! And luckily both Bo and Nicole we open to our all crazy ideas.

Steel Pipe Shelving

We wanted to keep the shelving open to display all their pretty glassware and wine accessories. We considered faux beams, leather brackets, ladder shelves, and a few more but settled on the steel pipes for a more industrial farmhouse vibe.

Plant Love

We added a mix of real and faux plants throughout the wine bar. One request Nicole had for us was a “living wall” and we were happy to accommodate! We combined a few ready made units to give her the look without all the hassle. We also upcycled some old bottles into planters which we filled with succulents. Lastly, we found these glass domes at ikea and combined them with some pre-planted succulents to dress them up a bit.

Cabinets & Wine Racks

They had a handful of cabinets from their initial demo on the kitchen which we gave an update. A bit of paint and new DIY doors and drawer faces(stay tuned for the full tutorial!) . We also built a custom wine rack to add more bottle storage.

DIY Wood Tiles

We shared all the deets on these DIY wood tiles yesterday and we are absolutely obsessed! These came out better than we had even hoped and they make such a statement in this wine bar. This teal blue is everything!

Concrete Countertops

We love concrete! Its a medium we’ve worked with on several projects and even put in our own homes. We were so stoked when Bo showed an interest in putting a concrete countertop in the wine bar. Again, this added to the industrial farmhouse feel.

We had such a great time working with Bo and Nicole and we hope this bar is the hub for many fun nights and sweet memories over the years. And obviously we still have a handful of posts to share with you guys on the remaining projects so stay tuned!

So what do you think? Are you dreaming up your own wine bar? You know we’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

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Often times as creative and DIY prone people we see things that are pretty cool and think “I could make that!”. And we have. Everything from furniture, home goods, cleaning products, clothing, accessories… the list could go on. We have tried a LOT of DIY projects and products. But todays DIY is a new one even for us. We tried our hand at DIY Wood Tiles for the wine bar and we are thrilled with the results!

Initially Bo and Nicole requested a tile backsplash and we searched ALL the usual spots for traditional ceramic tiles. We went through sample after sample but nothing seemed to spark a real interest. And then we came across a look that had them both using exclamation points in text. We were so stoked! After a little more digging we quickly realized the tiles were custom, out of budget, and not even available for our time line. This is where the DIY brains started to kick in.

We started to play around with ways to get a similar “look” using alternative materials. We considered paint, vinyl, tiles we could refinish… and then we came back to our ol friend plywood. After mocking up a handful of tiles we managed to convince Bo and Nicole it was going to come out just perfect(even though we had NEVER done this or seen this anywhere before…Ha!).

Cutting & Routing

Once we had the measurements and realized we literally needed to cut hundreds of tiles it was time to call in reinforcements! Luckily they have a fantastic pool of friends that have been really willing to help out through out the renovations. With 4 sets of hands working all at once we were able to get every thing cut and routed pretty quickly.

We went with a rhombus shape and round routed edges for the final product. Obviously the shape options here are vast and you could play with so many different patterns and layouts(we really want to try hexagon tiles next!).

In the end, we chose to make the final tiles with MDF instead of plywood. It cuts perfectly smooth and its a fraction of the price. Also, being that the tiles would be completely covered you would have no idea what the material is from the outside.

Painting & Paneling

Now the fun part! We hand dipped each tile in a mixture of three different colored latex paints to mimic the look of glazed ceramic tile. Generally there is quite a bit of variation in hand glazed products and we really wanted to transfer that look into our DIY version. We dumped all three colors in a pan, gave it a small swirl, and got to dipping. This was easily the most time consuming part but totally worth it.

To get the look of a glazed tile we also needed to address the shine and finish. We’re kind of obsessed with resin & epoxy YouTube videos(anyone else relate??) so we thought this was a perfect opportunity to try a project of our own.

Epoxy Pour

In order to minimize the waste (from run off) we first glued the tiles to panels of 1/4″ plywood. These were cut to cover the backsplash wall completely when placed together. We taped the sheets together from the back, flipped it over, glued the tiles on, and then took the panels apart to epoxy. *Its important to note we only glued the tiles which covered the seams on one half. This way, the panels came together on the wall like puzzle pieces.

In case you’ve never worked with or heard of epoxy let me give you a quick overview of perks: its incredibly shiny when cured, self leveling, and simple to apply. So basically perfect for this project! We laid our panels on top of 2x4s covered in plastic sheeting for the application and drying. Q poured directly onto the panels, Nicole helped move product with a sponge roller, and Bo hit the top with a torch to remove air bubbles. Like I mentioned previously, the epoxy is self leveling so as it dried it also smoothed out and drained through all the crevices.

Hanging & Grouting

The next day we had 3 extra shiny panels that were ready to hang! At this point we had more helpers stop by and everyone agreed: this was starting to look just like tile! We attached the panels with screws placed in the crevices which would later be covered. In the end, you couldn’t tell there were ever three separate panels. It just appears like a traditional tiled wall or backsplash.

To further the look of ceramic tile we decided to grout the panels. The routed edges gave us the perfect sized surface gap for grouting without having to leave space between the tiles. Yay for more illusions!

We chose an epoxy grout in bright white to really make the shapes pop. It was our first time working with this kind of grout and its very different than traditional tile grout. We learned really quickly to only do small sections at a time, use a very firm sponge or extra grout float covered in a microfiber cloth to wipe away excess, and get extra hands to help move things along!

This grout doesn’t require sealer and it cures super fast. Which also meant we were able to attach the corner round trim to the exposed side(on the left), add the electrical face plates, and caulk all the outer edges the same night.

The Final Illusion

These DIY wood tiles came out better than we ever expected and thats not always the case with DIY projects. This felt like a big win! To be honest, we just cant wait for another reason to experiment with DIY wood tiles

So would you venture into DIY wood tiles? Have you seen a shape or pattern you think we should try next? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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A big part of any wine bar is storage. Wine, glasses, decanters, openers, accessories… there is a lot a wine lover starts to collect over time. Luckily most of this is also really attractive and perfect for something like open shelving. This DIY Pipe Shelving brings a ton of storage with a modern farmhouse vibe and we LOVE it!

Distressed Wood Shelves

The shelves were cut from 1″ thick Stain-grade-spruce/pine-panels. To get a more farmhouse look we roughed up the edges a bit with a hammer and even cut some chunks out randomly with a utility knife. Theres no right or wrong way to do this and TBH I find the more random you make your marks, dents, cuts, etc. the more authentic the distressing looks. We finished the shelves with few coats of penetrating stain in Weathered Oak.

Steel Pipes and Fittings

The shelves are held together by and hung with a combination of steel pipes and flanges. We used a mixture of 12″ and 16″ lengths for this project. The longer pipes gave the ceiling lights just a bit more clearance to keep everything nice and bright. The shorter 12″ pipes(plus flanges) were just the right height to allow both glasses and bottles to be stored.

The assembly is simply a matter of tightening flanges to the ends of each pipe and screwing the flanges to the boards. You’ll want to make sure the flanges are evenly spaced from the edges of the shelf boards to keep everything squared up. Its also worth pre-drilling your holes so you don’t risk the screws splitting any of the shelves.

Ceiling Mounted Shelving

When it came time to hang these we marked where the flange holes were and then checked for studs in the ceiling. Unsurprisingly not every screw would be hitting wood so we made sure to use some pretty heavy drywall anchors for the ones that missed. Its also really helpful to have a few extra hands when hanging these!

So are you loving open shelves? Ready to try DIY Pipe Shelving? Are you using steel pipes for any other DIYs in your space? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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Todays DIY project is the first in a mini series we’re doing here at Kreating Homes! This week we’ll be posting projects from an awesome collaboration we did with our friends the Cassels. We had so much fun consulting and assisting on their brand new WINE BAR and we cant wait to share all the deets with our readers! Lets start with these DIY Wine Bottle Planters which every wine and plant lover can make and appreciate.

Cutting The Wine Bottles

The internet is FULL of ideas on how to cut glass bottles. Everything from fire, string, & alcohol to professional bottle cutting rigs. Being that it was our first time attempting this project I went with something small, inexpensive, and simple: a handheld glass cutter.

You can use tape as a guide to run your cutter around the bottle or you can get “fancy” like Q and build a holder out of scrap wood. Either way, you just want to be sure to make one single cut. By that I mean do not run the blade around and around several times. One single clean line makes for the most even and predictable breaks.

Once you have a cut line around the bottle dip the end(enough to cover the cut) in hot water. Hold down for a few seconds and then move directly into ice cold water. Continue moving the bottle back and forth between the hot and cold until the top falls off. You will start to hear little snaps and cracks before the final break.

Prepping The Planters

After the top has been removed you need to soften the edges with sand paper. We found a sanding sponge easiest to hold while working around the bottle. Also, if you have any uneven breaks or if there are small chunks of glass remaining over the cut line you can generally snap them off with pliers (very carefully!) and sand.

We filled these with succulents to keep maintenance minimal and the design cohesive. Succulents like well draining environments so we filled the bottom half of the planters with our old wine corks(bonus points for double recycling). If you dont have extra corks you could always use gravel or small rocks.

Fabulous Finish

As soon as we finished these I wanted to make more. So fun and the payoff for drinking wine and recycling never looked so good! And hey, with the holidays right around the corner I feel like they’re perfect for gift giving.

So are you ready to make a set of DIY Wine Bottle Planters for your kitchen or bar? Have a wine stash or special bottle you want to turn into a functional keepsake? You know Id love to hear all about it in the comments!

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Doors. An absolute necessity but also generally pretty bland straight out of the factory. Our interior fifth wheel doors were not only bland but also dark and in rough shape. With a few extra supplies we were able to update all the fifth wheel doors with minimal work.

First Layer: Paint

We started this update like many of the others… with paint! Luckily this was also around the time we decided enough was enough and bought a paint sprayer. I know I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll say it again: total game changer! It took longer to set up and clean up the sprayer than it did to actually paint. Ahhhhhmazing! So a couple coats of the same Cabinet Enamel we used on the rest of the interior and these doors were already much improved.

The louvered closet door didn’t need much more. A set of new black hinges and a couple coats of spray paint on the handles and this was complete. Super simple and super effective.

Second Layer: Peel & Stick

The panty door was a different story. It has a faux stained glass insert that HAD to go. We weren’t willing to try and remove and replace the glass because that seemed like way more work than we wanted to attempt. So we decided simply covering the existing glass was best. Enter chalkboard vinyl and marble contact paper!

Because the faux stained glass had a raised texture we cut down plastic sheeting(made for lining wire shelving) and glued it into place. This left a perfectly smooth surface to cover with the chalkboard vinyl. We finished it off with PVC corner trim and a bead of construction adhesive to cover all the seams and seal everything up.

Lastly, the inside of the door needed some love. It felt like too much chalkboard to repeat on the interior glass so we went with something purely decorative. We had a roll of marble contact paper for lining the cabinet shelves and it was perfect for the updated color palette. Just cut to size, stick on, smooth out, and seal with a bead of white caulk! So easy And in case nobody has told you yet: these caulk tools are a LIFESAVER.

Before & After:

So have you updated your RV doors? Did you paint? Use chalkboard or contact paper? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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If you follow us on IG you know we spent the last week traveling out of our usual path(and even dodging some snow!). And with all that cool Fall weather I couldn’t help but decorate the fifthwheel for Halloween! I love having a festive space regardless of how big(or small) and how much time we’re there. I decorate our spaces all year long and I think it’s time to start sharing some holiday tours with you guys. Lets start with a Fall fifthwheel tour!

When it comes to decorating our fifthwheel for any of the holidays we spend in it I only do one thing differently… I use Command Hooks! And I mean I use them for EV.ER.Y thing! Serious life saver in any sort of tiny home Q has even used them for hanging lights outside our fifthwheel windows and doors at Christmas.

It doesn’t take much to make a tiny space feel festive. Sometimes I just throw up holiday kitchen towel and consider it decorated. Other times(like last week!) I make my way through every nook and cranny and try to liven it up. Its fun, its something I’ve enjoyed doing in every place we’ve ever lived, and hopefully you guys are feeling at least a little festive after this tour too! Ive tried including as many sources as possible for the projects and decor in the captions below.

Living:

Kitchen & Dinning:

Bathroom:

Bedroom:

So, have you spent any holidays in your RV? Do you decorate? Would you like to see more posts like this Fall fifthwheel tour? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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Painting your RV. It’s one of the things I get asked about most on this ol’ blog and all our social media. I wish I had a simple answer but as with most RV DIY projects… things are a little complicated. So let’s get into the details of what we used, why, and how it held up!

Cabinet Enamel

For the largest portion of our painting we used Valspar Cabinet Enamel. It covers all the cabinets, drawers, trim… basically anything that used to be dark wood! For about 99% of all this we applied it by hand with brushes. This was EXTREMELY tedious! I did a ton of research and everyone has a different idea on what works best and how to do it but one thing everyone mentions: this is time consuming work!

More recently we used the same paint in a sprayer to refinish our doors. This was an absolute game changer! When it comes time to paint our next project on wheels I can guarantee we will be using a sprayer. I don’t care how long the “taping off” process takes. I know it will be less time than I spent with a brush in my hand! It also coats everything super evenly and gets into tricky spaces (like our louvered doors) easily.

The Pros:

• Self leveling so there are zero brush strokes.
• Dries hard so no worries about tacky cabinets.
• Works well in a sprayer.

The Cons:

• It chips if it gets scraped, scratched, crunched, etc… This happened a lot during all the renovating so that was a serious bummer.
• It’s expensive. Depending where you buy it a gallon of this stuff can be almost double the price of a can of latex paint.

*A note about painting RV cabinets: no matter what paint you use or how you apply it you absolutely MUST cut the seams! Simply run a sharp utility knife down the seams were your cabinets are joined after your paint is dry. We didn’t learn this trick until after the first round of painting and we had a good amount of splitting and flaking from all the shifting that happens when you are traveling down the road. Serious bummer but super simple fix!

Chalk Paint & Wax

We used FolkArt Home Decor Chalk Paint on the faux shiplap walls in the slide that houses our dining room and couch. Its actually watered down for that project and I loved the white wash look we got. We have also used this on several smaller projects as well. Things like the dog bowls, plant stands, and our pendant lights. This has become my go-to for smaller quick projects and all things white washed.

The Pros:

• No need for sanding! You can seriously paint right over any surface with the most minimal prep.
• This paint is so flexible and forgiving. You can use it straight out of the can, mix custom colors, and even water down for a color wash.
• The coordinating wax finishes off the painted surface without all the bother of fumes and chemicals found in other sealers.

The Cons:

• Not as many color choices. You may have to mix yourself a custom color.
• Sold in small amounts so not the most cost friendly option for larger projects.

Spray Paint

This one is the biggest surprise of the list! We’ve used spray paint for so many different projects over the years but the payoff on the painted projects in here are surprisingly impressive. The majority of the spray paint we used in this space was for fixtures. Things like the ceiling fan, pendant shades, and door handles were perfect candidates. All the projects we used spray paint on have held up perfectly so far which is a total win as its also saved us some serious bucks!

The Pros:

• Quick and easy to apply (and quick to dry!).
• Can be used on most surfaces.
• Inexpensive.

The Cons:

• Limited color selection and you cant customize by mixing.
• Some surfaces require extra prep to ensure durability.

So, have you used paint on your RV renovations? Do you have a favorite? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

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Kitchen pendant lights were not something I focused on while we were shopping for our fifth wheel. To be honest, the lighting in general was totally on the back burner. We were more concerned with floor plans, storage spaces, structural integrity, etc… But the second we started ripping things out during demo and I looked up to see this statement and I knew it was in need of a legit update. Yikes!

The Original

Initially, I thought we could just hit the plaque and actual pendant light shades with a coat of spray paint and call it a day. That was not the case. There was just no covering all that swirly-scrolly-viney mess so we started from scratch.

The Build

Right away we wanted to use a planked design to coordinate with our faux shiplap walls. So when my parents mentioned a bunch of old barn wood planks headed to the firewood pile we snatched the whole lot. The planks are a bit smaller than the ones on our walls but they’re perfectly sized for this project. And again, they were free! #alwaysawin

The new plaque design is super simple and as light as we could make it. We used a thin sheet of plywood as the base, glued on the barn wood planks, and framed it out in simple moulding.

We marked the center of the 2nd and 5th planks on a bit of painters tape and drilled holes for the wiring. The holes needed to be big enough for both wires to come through the plaque so we used a bigger 1/2″ bit. Drilling through the painters tape also helped the planks from flaking or chipping around the edges of the hole.

Once completely assembled, dried, and drilled the plaque got white washed. To make the wash I mixed about 1 part paint(I just used what I had on hand) with 2-3 parts water. I also did about 3 washes since the planks really soaked up the liquid. Each coat is buildable as far as coverage goes so I tend to stay on the sheer side when mixing the batches. The mount(which we left intact from the original plaque) got 1 coat of gripper primer and 2 coats of paint.

The lights

For the actual pendant lights we reused the original stems and just bought new shades. I hit all the pieces(unassembled!) with a few coats of black spray paint so everything matched. Also, if you follow us on Instagram you saw my new found electrical skills putting together the new wiring kits!

Lastly, we added some new 12v LED Edison bulbs. We’ve used these previously in the fifth wheel and they look ahhhhhhmazing! We get asked pretty regularly about swapping out old lighting and electrical. Generally speaking we follow one basic rule: match the new to the old. So if your system uses 12v wiring and bulbs(like ours) just replace them with the same.

The After

This came together really simply and we used a lot of supplies we already had on hand. Something about that makes this finished project just a little more satisfying! Anyone else get that feeling when you start using up your stash?!

So have you updated any of the lighting in your RV? Replaced the pendant lights in your space? You know I’d love to hear all about it in the comments!

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