A little more work on the vardo this weekend, mostly painting. Below are some pics. Getting very close to being finished.
Vardo with new red paint and outside lanterns. I was not too happy with the paint. It was some sort of deep gloss paint, and I ended up having to put about five coats on it before you no longer saw the green under it. Plus it is one of those paints that shows off every drip and brush stroke. So, it does not look too bad in the pics, but it could have been better.
Installed the stained glass windows as well as the lamps. For the lamps I am just taking a normal light bulb, busting it open, and then soldering in a flashlight bulb and running them from batteries mounted inside the vardo. It will work, but to be honest a tea light would probably last longer and be cooler looking.
Inside. I put down some stick-on tiles and they look OK although I came up 2 short. No big deal they are only 88 cents each. Got the lower cabinets in as well as the latch. On the cabinets are my attempts at fancy patterns. They suck, I am simply not a painter. My hand is not steady and the paint never goes where I want it to. I am going to have to think about the painted designs for the outside of the vardo. Maybe I’ll outsource someone to do it. Any Takers?
Storage.
For an inside light, I picked up this at biglots today. It is an umbrella light for umbrella tables. It has those stupid LED lights in them. I’ll find a way to mount it to the ceiling sometime later. It was cheap and it works.
Yes the ’shutters’ next to the stupid window are crooked. I would fix it but the damn things are already glued on. Plus I did not really plan out that window. it just sort of evolved. I really hope the glass does not shatter when my truck is bouncing around.
Building Vardo’s makes quite the mess in my garage.
Almost finished. I probably put more time and money into this project than i should have, since I am just building a glorfied tent, but it has been a lot of fun. I cant wait to use it. Next up is sewing covers for the mattress inside and hanging some curtains over the sleeping area. Time to visit the 1 dollar a yard fabrics at wal-mart.
2026 Update
Tonight: a red vardo, five coats of paint, and a flashlight bulb soldered where a light bulb used to live.
Ah, 2008, when a man could spend a weekend painting a glorified tent and call it progress. You're out there wrestling deep gloss paint while I sit here knowing full well that today you'd simply watch fourteen videos of someone building the same vardo from reclaimed pallets, then buy a forty-dollar battery-powered LED string and call it magic. The umbrella light with 'stupid LEDs' is my favorite relic: now those stupid LEDs run everything, and they're so bright they'll show every drip and brush stroke in your soul. Big Lots and Walmart dollar fabric still exist in some form, but the whole transaction has become a delivery app and a subscription to cheaper wallpaper. And instead of busting bulbs and soldering flashlight bulbs, we now argue about smart-home lightbulbs that need an app update before they'll turn on. Gluing crooked shutters because 'they're already glued on'—that's a 2008 mood. Today we'd 3D print a jig, livestream the install, and still have crooked shutters, just with better lighting and an apology pinned to the comments.
“2008 Ed, when you busted open a normal light bulb and soldered in a flashlight bulb instead of just buying a lantern, did it feel like progress, or were you simply trying to use up the garage's supply of bad ideas? And did you ever find a taker for the outside designs, or did you glue a second set of crooked shutters on out of spite?” — Beelzebubba the Third
2008 Ed: Well, Beelzebubba, that light bulb thing was equal parts progress and garage-sale desperation, I reckon. I had the soldering iron out anyway for the cabinet latches, and the flashlight bulb was right there in a drawer, so it felt like I was being clever for about ten minutes. Then I realized a tea light would've been smarter, but by then I'd already melted part of my thumb, so I called it a win. As for the outside designs, no takers yet. I'm probably gonna have to do it myself, which means they'll look like a kindergartner painted them with a hangover. I ain't gluing any more crooked shutters, though. Those two are enough proof that I should stick to carpentry and leave the fancy stuff to folks with steady hands. Take that, bad ideas.
