Festival Van Set Up
That moment when you’re wandering back to the festival campground, arm in arm with your best friend and still abuzz from the magic that unfolded throughout the day. Parties spark up like wildfires, little embers of celebration scattering amongst the campground as the crowd continue the party into the night. There’s nothing like coming back to your van, tent, or wherever it may be that your resting your head for the night, and finding yourself in your own little haven – a beautiful space aglow with fairy lights and ready to be filled with ever-lasting moonlit memories with your crew.
We love van life and are always setting off on little escapades… Whether it’s in the campground at a festival, down the coast for a surf trip, or on a weekend hinterland adventure, chasing trails and waterfalls. There’s something so magical about creating cosy little nooks in the back of your van – filling it with fairy lights and waking up to watch the sunrise in a foreign place (even if it’s just down the road!). So we wanted to create a little dreamy inspiration for those of you heading festival side in the next few weeks, or just planning a getaway with your bestie or man.
DIY STEPS
OUTSIDE THE VAN
1. Lay down rugs
Place one rug next to your van, one at the back, and one between them so the ground is completely covered. This creates your own little lounge room and means you can walk around bare foot without getting your feet and rugs dirty.
If it’s muddy, or your at a festival we’d recommend putting down a tarp or drop sheet first.
2. Set up Bamboo poles for lights
First, put metal or wooden stakes in the ground (one for each pole). This is pretty easy using a mallet to hammer the stake into the ground – if the ground is really hard or dry, try pouring some water down to soften it. Once you have your metal stakes in place, attach a bamboo pole to each one, securing it in place with zip ties.
3. String up fairy lights
We used battery powered fairy lights found at our local hardware store, and simply attached them to the van using s-hooks. Then we used zip ties to fasten the lights to the bamboo poles, zig zagging across the area we laid down the rugs.
4. Add some plants
Okay, so we know not everyone is going to take a cactus to a festival (haha!), but if you can fit it in the van, why not?! But seriously, bring some greenery, maybe a hanging plant that you can hang off the back door, or even some little succulent cuttings in glass bottles and jars. Plants always make a space feel that much more homely and lush!
5. Set up your seating area
Use cushions, rolled up blankets, ottomans or whatever else you can get your hands on to create a little seating area. We tipped an old crate upside down to use as our table and decorated it with some lanterns and candles.
INSIDE THE VAN
6. Make your bed
We propped our mattress up on a pallet to make it a little more comfortable, it also gives you some room to store clothes, accessories or whatever else you’re bringing along underneath! Hang a canopy over your bed – we used bull dog clips to attach the canopy to the walls of the van. Not only does this create the cosiest place to sleep, it also gives you privacy for sleep ins and day time naps and means you can leave the van doors open while you’re asleep!
7. Create a nook
We used a little old shelf and stool we had at home to create a dressing room in the back of the van, and a place to keep all of our trinkets! You could also make a makeshift place to get ready using wooden crates or even milk crates with some fabric thrown over them. Decorate your space with fairy lights, candles, incense, and a few of your favourite trinkets to make your van feel like home.
xxx
