There is something very exciting about building or renovating your own home. My boyfriend, Josh, and I were thrilled the day we drove our home, a 1978 Georgia Boy Cruise Air, to my parents’ farm.
I took some photos, we introduced the dogs to the RV (they didn’t want to leave), and we took it to Natural Bridge in Kentucky to test it out at the campgrounds. We donned our rose-colored glasses and charged forward like nothing could stop us.
When we began the demolition of the 1970s interior, however, we had no idea what 30 years meant in RV life. Deconstructing the existing cabinets was like solving a nonsensical puzzle. There were hidden screws that we didn’t find until frustration had led us to brute force. There was electrical wire hidden in walls, found only after they were already cut. The glue and adhesives holding the walls together were meant to last past the human race, and I have never seen so many ladybugs in such small spaces!
Needless to say, it has been an adventure. Not the rose-colored adventure we painted in our heads, but an up-and-down rollercoaster of an adventure.
The image of our perfectly aged RV started out surrounded by rainbows and butterflies, and sparkling surfaces. Now, the RV has a few scars, and a few more nonsensical designs because, well, that’s the only way we could get the closet as big as we wanted, or the shower in the right spot.
While our expectations have become a little more “realistic,” it is still very exciting to pick out handles to drawers, and curtains for windows. And we still smile really, really big about every single step. Because the magic of creating your own home is that it is yours, every brilliant bit of it.
Christine Williams is a Lexington, Kentucky-based photographer who prefers to think of herself as a storyteller. She loves surprises, imperfections and happy endings. Most of all, she loves days that give memories. Goldieandchristine.com
Imagery provided by Christine Williams
