Last June, after a year of project setbacks, artist and designer Rachel Farrington acted on the advice of an architect friend: Do something fun. “It had been a tough year, and I wanted to make a gift for my family and play at the same time,” recalls the painter and sculptor, who’d had few opportunities for manual activities while being glued to the computer screen at her home in Lago Vista, Texas, laying out furniture and interiors. “I decided to work with my hands again.”

The fun project, her friend emphasized, should also be a small one. Rachel looked no farther than the Ford Transit cargo van in her driveway and spent the summer customizing the vehicle’s interior as a “green” camper for her husband, Mark, their 14-year-old son, Jonah, and two family dogs. Perfect for vacations and fishing trips and as a solar-powered mobile workspace, the van has also been useful closer to home as an extra bedroom.

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Hitting the road in a 70-square-foot van may sound confining, but for these adventurous travelers—they did a five-month camping trip across Europe on bicycles when Jonah was only four—“it’s an upgrade,” Rachel says. A full-size bed, a slightly narrow twin, and a spacious kennel for the dogs ensure that all creatures sleep in comfort. Two six-gallon tanks supply water to a sink, and the two rooftop solar panels power a small generator. Tucked beneath the sink, a pullout cooler holds provisions for vegan meal prep.

“The cool thing about the van is the casualness of it. It’s like, ‘Hey, we know somebody in Seattle. Let’s just go park in the driveway and hang out.’”
—Rachel Farrington, designer and co-owner

“Mistakes were constant,” Rachel says of the construction process, “but that’s what was so fun. I built a lot of things and said, ‘That won’t work’ or ‘I think it’ll work better if I do this.’ It was like a puzzle.”

The airy aesthetic was inspired by the rocky ground, prairie grass, sandstone, and bright open skies of all the places across the Southwest where the family intends to travel. To create a plaster-like effect on the curved ceiling, Rachel used Roman Clay from Portola Paints. Unseen beneath is Havelock wool insulation, which helps manage moisture. Interior condensation “is a big issue in tiny spaces with many bodies,” the designer explains.

Rachel spent just under $3,000 on the conversion, well below the $5,000 initially budgeted. Costs were kept down by using donated birch plywood for the furnishings, salvaged materials, and items on hand, such as wallpaper samples to cover cabinet fronts, pieces of wood that fell from a backyard cedar tree for drawer pulls, and her grandfather’s air force parachute as curtain fabric.

Finding creative solutions gave Rachel a renewed appreciation for experimentation. Having had to deal so much with the business side of architecture and design, she says, “sometimes, you lose the artistry, but that sense of play is so important. I’m getting back to a place in my career where I can do more of that.”

Project Credits:

Design: Rachel Farrington

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An Atypical Paint Job and a Dedicated Dog Cabin Complete This Clever $3K Camper-Van Conversion