How to Make Your RV Feel More Like Home

Creating a warm homey feel in your RV is not as hard as you might think.  You can make some very small adjustments or take on larger DIY projects, like repainting all the cabinetry to upgrade your RV and make it feel more like home.  Before you go too far down that rabbit hole ask yourself why you bought the RV in the first place.  Did you buy it to be an alternative residence or are you hoping to use it for travel and camping? 

Your reasons for having an RV may change over time and that can impact your methods to create that warm homey feeling, but regardless of why you bought the RV you can make your RV feel more like home by simply replacing some of the manufacturer’s décor.  Remove and replace any wall art with art that fits your taste.  Putting your own bed spreads on the beds, will create an entirely different atmosphere in the bedroom.  

Drapery and Bedspread Changes 

Change the window coverings or update the drapery, add colorful throw pillows to the living room furniture and get a couple of warm soft throws for the couch or recliners so you can snuggle down on the living room furniture and get cozy.  You can also use small decorative appointments or flowers on the table or counters.  These items should reflect your style, tastes, and preferences. 

We own and love all Australian Shepard dogs so we have small Aussie calendars, dish towels, and wall hangings to create a homey feel that is consistent with our tastes. These inexpensive items personalize our RV and they bring us joy when we see them.  Of course, we all need to continually fight the clutter battle that can steal our enjoyment of being in our RV.  If you decide to use art or small artifacts in your RV to change the atmosphere chose carefully and with intent.  

Upgrade Hardware and Lighting Fixtures

Another thing you can do to make your RV feel more like home is change the hardware and/or lighting fixtures in the RV.  The hardware and all the rest of the fixtures in the RV were selected by the manufacturer to appeal to the widest set of consumers based on the recommendations of their corporate interior designers, but these features may not appeal to you, so don’t hesitate to change the drawer pulls and cabinet handles as well as the light fixtures if you don’t like the ones supplied with your RV.

The way an interior space is lit can massively alter the mood and feel of that space.  If the lighting is too dark it can feel gloomy and oppressive.  If it’s too light or bright it can feel clinical, austere, and impersonal.  The amount of light needed to create the perfect homey feel is a matter of personal preference.  Some people are most comfortable in low light conditions while others want to brighten up their environment.  Try different light intensities and even different colors to create that perfect atmosphere.  

Add Your Own Aromas

One additional alteration you can easily do to make your RV feel more like home is to change the way it smells.  Odors are a powerful stimulant and they are often associated with strong emotions and memories.  Chose a familiar pleasant scent and keep it consistent so when you encounter that scent you immediately associate it with your RV.  You can use air fresheners, or diffuser to get the scent into your RV.  Don’t overdo it because too much artificial aroma can be overwhelming.  A hint of butterscotch aroma is better than feeling like you’re going to be sticky all over because you were in a saturated butterscotch environment. 

Make Meals Special

When you’re thinking of ways to make your RV feel more like home think about all your senses.  Obviously the visual experiences are a mainstay as discussed above but what about sounds and entertainment, and we’ve already covered the impact of odors and aroma, but what about tastes?  When you eat anything in your RV you’ll probable associate those foods with your camping experiences and hopefully they are all pleasant associations. 

When we bought our first motorhome in 1999, we decided that everything we did in the RV would be better than what we did at home.  We weren’t trying to make it feel more like home. We already had had enough of home. 

We worked from home long before remote work was even a thing, so more of home was not the goal.  From the beginning we decided every experience would be excellent not just more of the same old thing.  We wanted to travel, see and experience new places, and eat anything and everything we wanted to eat.  We fixed epic meals in the RV and we intentionally bought higher quality foods and went out to dinner at better restaurants.

Therefore, all our taste memories associated with the RV were and are wonderful associations.  A typical breakfast consisted of six eggs, a pound of bacon, homemade rolls with butter and jelly, and fried potatoes with carnalized onions, all enjoyed in our motorhome while parked along the Umpqua River, or Diamond Lake or some other exciting destination. Since those breakfasts didn’t kill us we always have the memory of those awesome dining experiences enjoyed in our RV.  We had the mindset that if we did it in the RV it would be better than “at home”. 

The fuzzy throw was more plush, the binoculars were easier to focus and had a longer range than the ones at home.  The bed was more comfortable, The cookware and cutlery were more refined than what was in the kitchen at home.  For this reason, I loved to cook in the RV.  I loved to drive the motorhome because we were always going someplace new.  Every experience was the best it could be not just another day at the house.  

We loved being in the RV so much we finally sold our home and went full-time in our RV.  That changed everything. Not all of it for the better but since we were in the habit of making every minute in the RV count and we had already learned how to live large in the RV. As full-time RVers we were able to massively expand our range and see and experience more of the US and Canada which was an epic adventure.  Through all of our travels we were able to enjoy a  homey environment, because we had already learned how to make our RV feel more like home.

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