She Built a Stunning Adobe Camper Van
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This was something that again was inspired by Spanish architecture.
I chose these really adorable brass fixtures that you'll see incorporated throughout my build.
It was all about just creating something that exceeded what I knew to be possible.
Hey guys, my name is Abby Minor. Come check out my van.
Right when you open up the slider door you have this money shot right here.
It was really important to me to create something that grabs your attention right
when you open the door. That just creates so many unique conversations when you're out and about.
Everything you see is handcrafted and I wanted to create something that felt
flowy and organic where all of the elements sort of molded into each other.
I love the idea of putting the seating area right in front of the slider door. I feel like this is
where I spend the most time in a van so I wanted the ability to look out at the pretty view wherever
I'm parked. This lagoon table right here makes the perfect workstation and you can also sit across
from someone while you're having dinner. But what you might not see is that this area does not only
sit two, it actually sits four. Both of these bench tops are slatted so they actually pull
out on 250 pound drawer slides and then additional cushions fill the space so you can sit four
friends right here and hang out, play a game, have dinner. I really wanted to maximize space
in this area and I thought it'd be a cool idea to create a second bed if you want one. So if you
pull out the benches and pop this table off, this area actually turns into a second bed for a guest,
a friend, a kid. My goal with this kitchen honestly was to create something that was funky and unique
that I haven't seen before. The way I came up with this L shape actually was my desire for
a staircase. It actually turned out to be super ergonomic. You sort of have everything right here
This is one of my more bold moves in the kitchen space and it was the decision to run the Moroccan
plaster down into the sink. I did this to make the space feel natural. It almost feels like a stone
shrine to me when I'm standing here. Right here is one of the cutest little trinkets I have in this
whole van and that is my convection oven, air fryer, toaster and I wanted to place this centrally
so that your eyes just go straight to it. It just has the coolest color scheme and I actually based
a lot of the colors in this van around this toaster. One of the features I have in this van
that I have never had in the past is air conditioning. I decided to go with the cruise
and comfort because it's just the best of the best and I was going all out with this thing so why not?
This was something that again was inspired by Spanish architecture. My wave going through my
ceiling, it was something that when I thought of it, it terrified me but I knew I had to try and
do it. I used bendy ply to create this curve that blends seamlessly into the wall and on this wall
I did Roman clay. Then on the subsurface right here I did Moroccan plaster. Moroccan plaster
is something that I've never seen used in a van before. Again it scared me but I knew it would
just be crazy if I could pull it off and just adds to the vibe of the space in a way that
you can't see, you kind of have to feel. My decision to go with a yellow van and use that
for social media ended up paying off because I was able to get a lot of sponsorships with this van
and companies that wanted their parts incorporated which helped me save a lot of money in the end.
With that said, I still went all out with this thing. I didn't have a budget. I didn't care if
it ran me completely dry and brought me down to zero so in the end I ended up spending about
$120,000 to $140,000. It was all about just creating something that exceeded what I knew
to be possible. So once this thing was done I threw it up online with a price tag and I found
somebody seriously interested in buying it. They were ready to put down a deposit, bill of sale.
We were close. I was very very close to selling this and as I sat down to fill out the paperwork
I just couldn't do it and that was a turning point for me. I realized how much this van meant to me
and I decided I want to keep it. What I'm standing in right now is probably my favorite feature of
the whole van. My amazing shower. I went all out with this one incorporating the handmade
Spanish tile as well as the stone pebbles that you'll see throughout the build. I chose these
really adorable brass fixtures that you'll see incorporated throughout my build. I just love it
as an accent. I think it's unique and it just brought the shower to life. I also incorporated
these half rounds on the ceiling throughout and I just love how it makes it feel so homey.
This shower has hot and cold water. I run the hot water on a timer switch so it will never drain
your battery and the holding capacity of the freshwater tank is 40 gallons so you can take a
pretty nice long luxurious shower in here. This is a Leveo dry flush toilet. It's completely
self-contained and you basically flush the waste into a little bag that seals off. I like it because
it's fully self-contained. The flusher runs on a battery so I can actually pick the toilet up and
move it out of the shower if I want more space in here. Another perk of having a stand-up fixed
shower is that I can add a closet right next to it and it just blends right into the space.
This closet is awesome for storing clothes mostly but you can also use it as an extension of the
kitchen. My favorite part about it of course is these little handles right here and I just love
what they add to the atmosphere. I think again it ties in all of the other wood accents.
This is my staircase. I think the platform bed in the back is just the way to go. It's easy,
you don't have to set it up at night and there's tons of storage underneath. I knew I wanted to do
a staircase to make that transition from bed to floor a little bit easier. With that said, I knew
that it would take up a lot of space and I wanted to maximize that space so I incorporated storage
into each of the steps. I have this top right here. This one flips up and the bottom one pulls out
into the aisle. I grew up in my family's campground in Stafford, Connecticut and I was at that campground
nearly every day growing up. My mom was the manager and kind of kept things in check and my dad was a
jack-of-all-trades head utility man. As I grew up I realized that the campground and all of the old
cabins and trailers were a great blank canvas for me to sort of get my hands dirty and create
unique spaces. That was what gave me the confidence when I was in college to take the plunge and build
my first sprinter van. While I was in college I traveled to 46 out of 50 states and it just
completely opened my eyes to what was out there in the world having come from a small town.
Welcome to my bedroom, a short queen-size bed that sits east to west. Personally, I've been loving
this setup because I have these two opening windows over here and when it comes time to sleep
I crack both of them and the cross breeze is just like heaven. You also may notice that above me
right here is extremely bright and that is because I have a skylight up there. So I decided to make
my own skylight which is a piece of tempered glass that sits perfectly in the hole that was
left by the air conditioning. Back here I have a continuation of the front cabinets also in this
L-shape. I feel like when you have uppers on both sides it makes it feel congested
but this is very airy and breathable. I am not big on TV but I think it's cool to have something
that you can watch movies on in a van. And then my projector sits right here. It's an XGemi projector
and it projects whatever you want right onto that screen. Welcome to my garage. The entire area
underneath my bed is storage space as well as a utility area. On the other side I have my entire
electrical system which consists of 600 amp hours of lithium batteries, 3000 watt Victron MultiPlus
inverter. I also have a 50 amp alternator charger and a charge controller that monitors the 400
watts of solar that I have mounted on my roof. My words of advice for anyone trying to get into van
building or van living, if there's a will there's a way. Unlike living a conventional life where you
have a job and a stable place to live, you're going to have a lot more freedom with this lifestyle
and that comes with fear. Even just the building process of this was terrifying but I told myself
someday six months from now it will be done. I will have pulled it off and just constantly
reinforcing that mindset of whatever I set my mind to I can do. It will be okay in the end.
I can pull anything off. That'll really help you take a leap of faith into any of your dreams.
If you want to see more of my journey you can follow my instagram
at a.bbe or my tiktok abbyminor. I hope to see you guys on the road.
Just keep your eyes open this thing is pretty hard to miss.