How to transform a mattress into a caravan seat.

Van life demands multifunctional design. Ideally, everything in your van should have the ability to perform more than one task. Imagine if your lounge area could convert into a comfortable bed in less than 30 seconds? I have an out-of-the-box design that you may like to try for your set up.

THE ORIGINAL MATTRESS DESIGN BY COROMAL.

The original seat converted to a caravan mattress by using the seat cushions and a spare piece.

The original design seemed clumsy, lumpy and not ideal for frequent set ups.

Especially for long term travel.

I could never decide how exactly it should be done.

One configuration shown here was obviously the quickest, but surely this caravan mattress would be a nightmare to sleep on?

 

THE FIRST STEP – REMOVING THE BACK REST.

This back rest cushion was fastened to the wall with screws that could only be accessed by cutting away the fabric. It was built really well by the factory at Coromal and it meant total commitment to the change. There was no going back! The fabric was held in place by about 200 staples and the buttons were held in place by the string.

 

[If you want to simply recover your seats, you’ll just need to:

1. remove the old fabric

2. place your chosen fabric over the original foam

3. place your recovered or new buttons in the same location

4. staple the fabric into the ply back board

This was my original idea but I just could not follow through on it. I was convinced there was a better way.]

 

 

THE SECOND STEP – THE NEW VAN MATTRESS.

The mattress used is a single size foam mattress from IKEA. The measurement of this IKEA mattress is 189cm x 92cm x10cm.

It retails for around $99 and it comes with a removable, washable cover.

It was firstly placed in the van to check if it needed to be trimmed down. For our van, it fit very snug and I didn’t feel the need to trim it.

THE THIRD STEP – COMMIT TO THE CUT.

This involves hope and prayer mixed with the confidence that your measurements are correct.

I really didn’t want to stuff this up, so I measured more than twice before the cut.

When you measure, make sure the seat has enough overhang so the back of your knees are comfortable whilst sitting. I used fabric chalk to mark the line. I used fabric scissors to cut through the mattress cover and a sharp bread knife (serrated edge) to slice a neat cut through the foam.

STEP FOUR –  STAPLE LIKE IT’S YOUR FIRST DAY IN THE MAILROOM.

Just don’t use a normal paper staple though. It will not work. You’ll need a staple gun with JT-21 staples that will penetrate the plywood backing. I bought a Trojan Medium Duty Metal Staple Gun with staples from Bunnings for around $30. Start on one end, being careful to keep the fabric taught. If you have a patterned fabric, be sure to keep it looking straight as you move along. An important part to remember is this mattress needs to fold into a 90 degree angle. You’ll need to make sure there is enough gather in the fabric where it bends so it can without straining the fabric.

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You can see I have a small piece in the original blue fabric. I quite literally ran out of the patterned fabric and simply resized the blue piece to fit. It’s a bit quirky and I’ve grown to love that it is not all matchy matchy.

If you are interested in doing something similar for your caravan mattress, these are the supplies you’ll need;

Fabric of your choice.

Staple gun

staples

Foam mattress.

Scissors.

Phillips head screwdriver or screw gun.

Scotchguard or similar fabric protector product.

Measuring tape

Fabric marker or lead pencil.

 

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I’ll be happy to help 😊