Final design...I promise.

My schedule has operated on overload, as I spend my weekdays working a very demanding full time job.  I have also taken a weekend freelance gig, so needless to say, progress on the great Roving Home project has encountered some setbacks.  But never fear, for I have gained a profound understanding of the whole picture by spending quality time with my basic design. 

I've reviewed, revised, realigned and retooled the Roving Home.  And, with the help of Google's remarkable software, "Sketch Up," I have made some amazing discoveries.

After staring for weeks at a two dimensional line drawing that I created in Photoshop, I just couldn't wrap my brain around details that only three dimensional rendering could flesh out.  From scratch, I patiently assembled a model of my interior and solved a nagging problem that I had brushed under the rug with the thinking that once I get the vehicle, "I'll just figure it out."  Laziness leads to haste, and as the old adage goes, "Haste makes waste." 

I have no desire to stand in the middle of my van after driving it home to a garage painstakingly prepared with accessories and tools, only to start my build first by wondering just where in the heck I'm going to start my build.  Time is money, and right now I've got only a few scattered moments here and there to toss the puzzle around in my brain. 

Here's the first rendering I did during my lunch break, spread out over a few days. 

That's an overhead view of the galley.  The recessed gray areas represent the stainless steel sink basin and stove top.  Stainless steel sheets will line the two gray walls that surround the galley counter top.

This a reverse of the previous angle, featuring the dinette with a foreground view of the bathroom.  Above the dinette table, you can see what represents the wall sconce I made a couple months ago.  That unit serves as a light source and also as a light box that will illuminate my photographic transparencies.  I can create a vacation image right from my ink-jet printer and fix it to the light box for an instant gallery change-over.  I must have art in my life.  To create is to live. 

Here is where Sketch UP made me see the light.

   

The bed platform, made with a slatted wood mattress support, will expand as it is pulled forward over the counter top on the right and the ledge on the left.  The double stacked foam layers will then be spread out, side by side, thereby creating a queen sized bed.  In reviewing the first picture, you'll notice the spice rack on the counter top. That small ridge will border the bed frame on one side, while the wall will contain it on the opposite side.  I found a very fancy wall mounted faucet that swings to one side. 

You don't want to know how much that thing costs, but it's worth every penny, because it solves a great problem with one fell swoop with simplicity and elegance.  I almost welled up with tears at the sight of it.  For so long I had understood with complete conviction that a counter mounted faucet would function as the most obvious and right way to go...yet it was seriously clogging up the flow (no pun intended) of my whole design. 

I had crazy ideas as to how my sliding bed concept would actually work.  Then I began to realize I was kidding myself as to its safety and effectiveness...until I found this faucet.

It's like saying I have to cut a straight piece of wood with a perfectly square right angle, yet I'm determined to do so using a hand-held jig saw rather than a much more expensive table saw.  I have learned through trial and error that buying that expensive table saw is the only option.  I would then make that cut and fit that square piece of wood perfectly into the spot it needs to go.  After which I would wake up every morning to a job well done, rather than my regret of a job poorly done.

Once again...

That wall mounted faucet will swing to its left and rest against the wall, freeing up room for the slatted bed frame to expand open and slide over the counter top.  The sink basin will be mounted under the counter with a nice finished edge, and the stove will be mounted flush with the counter top.  Butcher block covers will rest over the openings thereby creating a solid counter top, suitable for my nighttime transformation.

Any comments on the color scheme?  I'm thinking a dark brown stain on the cabinetry found in the original Airstream.  I'm leaning toward a light color or even just a clear sealer/urethane for the counter top.  Maybe I'll match that on the kitchen table.  The knobs are the flush-mounted push/pull variety with a chrome finish.  And, the wall over the bed and the dinette will have a textile of some sort that I think will be a light sand/blonde color.  All of this is subject to change, of course.  

As of now, all sights are pointing toward the horizon in search of the ultimate van in which I will build The Ultimate Roving Home.