2018 Interior Refresh

Copyright 2018, Damon Butler & LiveTheVanLife, this image and design may not be used for any reason without explicit written consent.

Six months on the road last year across the country taught me a lot about what was working on the Van, and what wasn't. A couple of years ago I had my interior upholstery redone in Tweed by a shop in Orange County, CA. The total cost came in at about $2000 and they did a pretty decent job. I went with Tweed because I thought that it would be hard wearing and last a long time. What I didnt know was how uncomfortable it was. Worse, it was starting to fray in some spots. Additionally I had opted for firmer foam, which combined with the Tweed made it pretty uncomfortable to sleep on. At the end of my trip in October I located a pair of Stow n Go seats in Washington State and replaced my stock seats with them. I've been very happy with the Stow n Go seats, some people say they aren't comfortable, and the armrests are too high, but for me they fit just fine. There were two things that bugged me about them though, the first was that the arm rests were basically a semi soft plastic type material that wasn't very comfortable, and second they didnt match the upholstery on the rest of the Van. It was time scrap what I had, and redo it all applying the lessons i've learned along the way. 

I decided to make the following changes. I enlisted the help of my Designer buddy, Damon Butler @nrwstr to help me whip up what I envisioned.
1. Switch from Tweed to a soft Vinyl
2. Bolster the arm rests to make them wider and softer
3. Two tone front door panels, with blue stitching to match the color of the Van
4. Two large pockets added to the rear hatch panel
5. Cover my Dash Cluster to match
6. Cover my sun visors to match
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Copyright 2018, Damon Butler & LiveTheVanLife, this image and design may not be used for any reason without explicit written consent.

Copyright 2018, Damon Butler & LiveTheVanLife, this image and design may not be used for any reason without explicit written consent.

Copyright 2018, Damon Butler & LiveTheVanLife, this image and design may not be used for any reason without explicit written consent.

Damon came through with a amazing mockup based on my direction (incidentally he can do this same service for you, visit our web store). These mockups served dual purposes, they both helped me to visualize and adjust what it was that I wanted, and they acted as explicit instructions for my team to follow. Yes that's right, i've pounded the Tijuana pavement to put together a team of artisans, who together with me will craft you a incredible interior for your Van (Check out the Store if you are interested in having yours done). A couple of weeks after work was started, I drove down to Tijuana with my Van and spent the morning reassembling everything. The results can be seen below...

Dog Approved