Fittin' a lot in a little.

Right now, this van feels pretty huge.  And then we start thinking about that space being living space for 2 adults and 2 dogs...a bedroom...kitchen...bathroom...office...dining room...living space...

How many square feet again?  But we think we've figure out the layout that will work for us.  The image below is done in Sketch Up, which is a somewhat annoying but fairly powerful (for a free software) 3D CAD software that is available for anyone to use (web version).  Another really good option, and more powerful software, is Fusion360, which I believe also has a free version.  We had used Sketch Up when we designed our master bath and found it really helpful in getting a feel for the space and how things would fit/feel in that space and we thought it was perfect to start working through our van design.  I believe there are one or two (paid) software options made just for van design, but the comments I've read regarding those weren't horribly favorable.  

You'll have to use your imagination a bit, but for orientation, the cab/driver area of the van isn't included in this image.  Neither are the exterior van walls.  The bottom of the image where the green, purple, and red line intersect is the beginning of the slider door opening.  As you can see, we will bring our kitchen cabinet out about half way over the slider opening to maximize our counter and storage space.  And as personal motivation to not get any wider.  If you stand facing into that opening, the passenger seat would be to  your right and driver seat further forward on the right.

As you step in through the slider opening, you'll face the floating brown square.  This will be a drop down table (positioned up in this image) that can be used with the swiveled driver seat as a workspace (or place to eat - most everyplace in the van will have dual purposes/uses).  Below that is the leg room for the swiveled seat, which can also be space for one of the dogs when we're on the road.  There's also a drop down table at the left of the entrance (positioned down in this image so you can get through the door) that can be used with the passenger seat (or as extended counter space when cooking).  Turning left past the kitchen counter, facing the back of the van, brings you to our hall.  

On your left will be the kitchen, with storage below and cabinets above.  This will be where we keep most of our day to day living items - pots, pans, dishes, glasses, food, toiletries, etc.  It's not obvious in this angle, but the furthest end of this unit (past the sink) will be a (skinny) pull out pantry type slide where we'll keep most of our food. In this image it is only counter height, in an effort to keep from closing things off too much, but we may decide to go all the way up with that for more storage.  Everything is a trade off.

On the right is the bathroom - where we'll have a shower and toilet.  The toilet will be a "composting" toilet - which is a bit misleading as you don't get compost in the short amount of time that anything stays in the toilet.  We think a more accurate description of the toilet is a diverting toilet, but we'll talk more about that later.  We'll be able to shower in this space as well as we'll have a retractable door for that opening.  The shower is not made for a spa experience - both space and water will be tight - but it will suffice for trying to retain some sense of civility.  We'll also use this space as a dry room to hang towels, wet clothing, etc. We'll install a fan in the ceiling of the van in the area of the kitchen and shower that will help vent moisture from cooking and showering.  I've probably said it before, and I know I'll say it again - but moisture is the devil when it comes to vans.

Slightly related side-track.  I always find it amusing in these survival shows where people are dropped off in the wild and need to survive on their own for X days.  At the beginning, almost every participant worries and frets about the wildlife - bears or mountain lions or whatnot.  And in my mind all I can think about are the weather and the near invisible bugs that will RUIN YOUR DAY.  It takes like a day or two before there isn't a thought in their head about being mauled by a bear any more - all they can do is try to come to terms that bugs are going to send them home.  Moisture is that in the van.  It'll sneak up on you and DESTROY you.  Too dramatic?  Sorry.  I'm trying to be a little less...me...and stay focused...but, "I digress" could be my motto.

I digress.  Let's get back on track.

Past the bathroom on the right is our main fridge cabinet.  This cabinet will hold a front opening fridge with storage below and above.  The silver box in the image represents the fridge and is actually taller than we plan to have, we'll probably downsize that a bit for reasons that will become clear later.  

Past the kitchen/bathroom/fridge area (I feel like this is a bit of an awkward take on the kitchen design triangle 😬) will be our disappearing dinette area.  On each side of the van we'll have a cushioned bench type seat, with another drop down/removable table in the center.  In this image you can only see the box of the seat, but they will have seat and back cushions to make them comfortable.  When sitting here, you'll have your back to the exterior wall and be facing each other - it's a little unclear in the above image. This will be another workstation, card playing space, dinner area.  There will be storage under both seats.  You can also see there is a step up to this space - there are several reasons for this step, and I'm sure it's unnecessary to say, but the step will contain storage as well.

From here, while it looks simple, the final part of the living space is going to be the most complicated.  I'll get into that in the next post.