This is Luna. This van design was dreamed up during a period of 3 weeks while we were waiting for her to arrive. She is an xlwb Hitop Peugeot Boxer. We had the crazy idea to build this high up seating/bed nook…..where we could throw the back doors open and stare out at the world from a treehousesque bothy.
The single most important thing we needed was comfort. We already knew from experience that to achieve a really comfortable seat you need quite a wide ‘bum’ bit…the bit you actually sit on, and our chosen width is 26 inches (66cm). The next thing to remember is do not try to store the extra bed cushions as seat backs….big mistake! (Sometimes this is unavoidable, like in Frida, where the travelling seat backs form the bed), as shown here
Generally it is a good idea to try to think of somewhere else to put them. In Luna we created a massive cupboard which extended under the bed a little way – the 3 extra bed cushions and the big duvet all fitted under there. It sits here, under the fridge, goes right to the back and under the seat a bit.
In this next build, Fable, we had 2 booster cushions which sat at the back of the seating area, near the back doors…they fit exactly into the space there onto of that pull out bed section. The seat they sit on is 36 inches deep, so they do not interfere with the comfort – in any case the best places to sit are lounging around at either side on the bigger cushions. In this build the bedding goes under the floor in a deep hatch.
Our foam of choice is an Ikea mordegal memory foam mattress. Either a huge super king, as in Luna, or 2 singles like the ones in Fable. They are super comfy and simple to cut with an ordinary bread knife. I usually think carefully about how I am cutting it so I can use the surplus fabric of the mattress to stretch over the cut sides, which I then sew by hand. The bits you cut out will be needed to fill in the gap, and can be slightly padded with some thin wadding before covering them to make up for the mattress cover you removed.
I’m terrible for hand sewing the covers so that I can stretch them and get quite a tight fit, but you could machine and add zips if that’s your thing.
Making the seats this way means they are ‘couch’ comfy and you will never return from your camping trip feeling desperate for an evening on the sofa! using the Ikea memory foam mattress also makes for a great bed!
Rustic Simplicity ......The Story Behind The Name 