Introduction to the RenoVation: I go HARD in the Paint

First, let me apologize for the lack of posting. I have been testing all of the great advice I am sharing with all of you Asians and honorary Asians. 

As Thing 2 pointed out in her "Pin THIS" post, I recently purchased an RV. (See what I did there? In the title? Thank you, Thing 2! LOL dumb) Before you revolt and "unbookmark" this blog, let me explain. I got a great deal on a used one. Remember: We save money so we can enjoy spending it, because...what's the point of saving then? lol

I am not one for camping. I completely understand that it's the best way to vacation when on a budget, but it's just not for me. I don't consider being out in the wilderness with god-knows-what out there ready to make me their dinner. My husband convinced me that we should get an RV as a compromise. I agreed, as long as we both got to choose it. 

We flip flopped back and forth between buying new vs. used for months. Here's tip #1: When making big purchases, definitely take your time. It's not called a BIG purchase for nothin'. Choose wisely. Get online, get books, do your research. There's nothing worse than buyer's remorse because you didn't know what you were getting into. (Email me if you need reference websites or books.)

We wanted the RV for lots of money saving reasons: 

• We wanted to save money on hotels when traveling to Disneyland and other destinations. 
• We wanted the tax write-off. 
• I love taking weekend trips with the kids, but don't like paying tons of money just to stay one night.

In the end, we ended up buying a used RV. Main reasons being: 

• Used was cheaper. Wayyyyy cheaper. 
• We could use the extra money to renovate the RV in the style that we wanted.
• It has more manual mechanics, so if/when something goes bad, it would be easier and cheaper to replace.

When we started to modify the aesthetics, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration. Boy, did I find it!! There are so many ideas, but I settled on a relaxing beach theme. Once decisions were made, we set off to the Home Depot and Lowe's. I wanted to keep renovations at as low a cost as possible. 

Since we are having all sitting areas reupholstered and carpet put in, I wanted to paint and decorate first. I started looking at swatches and found some nice colors. Unfortunately, it was $30+ per gallon! I wandered around a bit looking for cheaper paint, but I didn't want to exchange price for quality. Then I had an a-ha! moment and some luck! Next to the paint mixing counter was Oops paint. Ever heard of it? 

The Oops paint section contains canisters of paint that are returned because the customer either didn't like it or the employee made the wrong one. Here's tip #2: Oops paint is marked down by 75%!! I looked at the paint and found a color close enough to the shade we were looking for and fortunately, a whole damn gallon was marked $5.00. Freaking unheard of. Oh well, their loss is my gain! I grabbed brushes, tape, and paint trays before anyone tried to change the price. BONUS TIP (Learn from this one!): I got up to the counter to find out that they were having a sale on that particular brand, and I got a $5.00 rebate! I paid $0.00 for the paint!! (WTH, right?! MIND. BLOWN.)

I know...I KNOW!

What have we learned today, folks??

It pays (almost literally) to check the Oops paint area each time you go to the hardware store when you know that you have a project coming up. It could also be part of the inspiration. 

Obviously, this doesn't only apply to the RV painting job. It could apply to any home project!

OOPS! Saved some money again,