Wow. I have it in my hands right now. Vintage Caravan Style. And blimey, what a book it is!
You may remember that I interviewed the lovely author of the book and editor of Vintage Caravan Magazine Lisa Mora on my blog last month – here’s the article – and had the chance to share sneaky peek at the gorgeous photos that make up this fabulous design book. Well, it’s finally being published here in the UK and you can order it right now through the Stitch, Craft, Create website – and that’s how I got my hands on a copy as soon as it hit the shelves!
Now it’s one thing to preview a book through a PDF e-book (as I did before launching into my interview with its author!) but it’s quite another thing to hold it in your hands, feel the texture of the paper and the weight of the book – and that’s what has impressed me SO much about Vintage Caravan Style – it’s a chunky, meaty book. I never realised just how many pages there would be, just how many projects are featured, just how much excellent content there is packed into this book and it has surprised me.
Firstly, the paper stock is excellent – soft and matt, it’s a pleasure to thumb through. Secondly, the soft cover is rather luxuriously smooth and perfectly bendy – easy to open, hold and read. Holding comfort is something that I find very important in a book nowadays and I don’t want it to be a physical struggle to read it! Thirdly, the print quality is great – the images (and there are 100s in the book!) are sharp and bright. Not a dodgy photo in sight. I know this should be the case with all books, but more and more often I find that the reference books I buy are less-than picture perfect, poorly edited, badly designed and can be a struggle to handle and look at. This book, I’m pleased to report, is practically perfect in every way. And that’s before even mentioning the content!
A combination of advice, practical tips and real-life projects, the chapters within the book are instantly engaging, encouraging in tone and packed full of helpful advice on caravan loving and renovating. You can tell just how much Lisa Mora loves the subject matter and she takes pleasure in sharing her experiences and expertise in a totally uncondescending way. It’s like have a friend chat to you about vintage caravans – and that’s my idea of a perfect afternoon. As you can see from my snaps of the book, I’ve been enjoying having a read while sitting in my own vintage caravan. Halfway through my own caravan makeover I’m feeling a little guilty that I abandoned my caravan project during the cold winter months but even more so I’m feeling enthused and rejuvenated after reading this book. I want to get a move on with my caravan makeover and I want to get started right now. I’m excited about it again (rather than seeing it as a never-ending chore!) and I can’t wait to give it a clean and slap some paint around! That’s the only warning that comes with this book: after looking at all the design ideas and beautiful images of owners enjoying their new mobile homes, you will want to own your very own vintage caravan by the end of it!
Now please excuse me while I research a new pop-up vent for my caravan roof…
Some items in this blog post have been gifted to me and the pink links indicate a gifted product, affiliate link or information source. All thoughts and opinions in this post are based on my own experience and I am not responsible for your experience 🙂