How to design your campervan interior style

Your campervan is your home from home, your haven to relax in after a day at the beach, hiking in the mountains or sightseeing in a new area you're keen to explore.

While you design your van layout to meet your spatial and storage needs, it's still important to think about how your want your van to look and feel.

With the explosion of DIY camper van conversions, there's plenty of inspiration available on all the visual social media channels but it can be a bit overwhelming when you're starting out.

Deciding how you want your van to look needs to be addressed during your planning and building stage, so I'm breaking it down into different styles to suit every taste...

Light & Bright

This is a very popular style for good reason - it actually makes sense.

Using light coloured woods, white, cream and light grey paint can really make a space feel bigger, a trick often used by interior designers to make a room feel larger and more spacious. 

With the limitations on space in whatever van you own, bright walls and cabinets bounce the light around to give that lovely feeling of airiness.
It helps if you have a nice amount of windows to allow maximum natural light in.

So, keep the walls, ceiling, cabinets and soft furnishings neutral, adding soft colours such as sage green, taupe or pastels in textured fabrics and accents to add interest to the look. 

Add texture with cushions such as these...

With a blank canvas you can easily update with accessories as your taste changes or, if you're like me, see a van on Instagram that looks amazing!

If you want to achieve a more vibrant style, use geometric or tribal black and white to really make a statement. Adding gold, copper and chrome can really add chic to your style too.

Find more inspiration on our Light & Bright Pinterest board.

Bold and Dark

Surprising, embracing the dark side can also help to create an illusion of space.

Whether you opt to paint your cladding a deep hue, use darkly stained woods or line your van with composite wall panels in a dark effect such as slate, darker shades absorbs the light and generates the perception of depth in a small space. Make it a glossy surface like the pic on the left and light will reflect infinitely.

Intense colours certainly create a cosy and warm zone that's really inviting to escape to in the Winter.

If you love the idea of deep colours but prefer to play it safe, use a neutral base and add midnight navy blue, intense teal or emerald green with cushions, curtains or blinds, such as our thermal and magnetic window covers, and decor accessories, which will also add style and personality to your little space.

Also check out these bold accessories to add colour.

Check out our Bold & Dramatic Pinterest board for lots of colour ideas.

Theme it

As long as it's used sparingly, adopting a theme for your van decor can help to unify a scheme and bring all of the key elements of your campervan design together.

Pick something you love to base a theme around. This could be an animal like rabbits or deer, something in nature such as mountains or waves, or a shape.

On the left is an example of a honeybee them which is smart and subtle theme and really works.

The honeycomb shapes and bright yellow flowers pop against the warm wood for a bright and sophisticated look.

If like me you are a lover of the sea why not bring elements of the coast into your camper. You can go all out like this pic on the right or use more subtle hints like nautical blue and white stripes, driftwood and pebbles.

Find more ideas on our Theme it Pinterest board.

If you're looking for hexagonal accessories, these mirrors are perfect and help to bounce light around your campervan.

Rustic / Farmhouse feel

This is a timeless style featuring simple timbers (recycled/upcycled if you can), soft earthy colours and natural textures.

This look is easy to create in a campervan, especially when wood is the most common element used in construction and lining.

Wicker baskets, pine crates and enamel dinnerware, such as plates and cups, all make this look super cosy and relaxed, plus they're lightweight and practical. 

There's no doubt this is one of the cosiest looks you can choose but it's entirely up to you!

Find more inspiration on our Rustic / Farmhouse Pinterest board.

No matter what interior design style you use in your camper van, make sure it's something you love and makes you happy!

Check out our collections of campervan accessories to make your camper cosy and stylish.

I'll be writing lots more blogs about how to design, style and plan your campervan so sign up to our email newsletter at the bottom of this page to be alerted when they go live, or follow us on our social accounts /wanderbuguk.

Plus, remember our thermal, magnetic and black out campervan window blinds help to keep your van warm or cool (depending on the season) and help to style your look, shop all window covers here...