Overhead cabinets add so much extra space in a campervan conversion… especially when the van you’re converting into a campervan is a minivan! Originally, we were only going to do one extra overhead cabinet, just behind the driver’s seat. However, once we got to the end of the van ceiling, we realized the easiest way to make it look nice was to throw another DIY van cabinet up there too.
Yes, we put a cabinet up just to not have to deal with the super awkward curvature of the back of the van! And yes, both DIY van cabinets were made specifically to fit our van. When doing DIY van cabinets, we found the easiest thing was to make cardboard cutouts of each piece of the overhead cabinet to make sure it actually worked from all angles.
We ended up with three DIY van cabinets, one in the back, one in the front, and one on the side. And shoot, we don’t know what we would do without this extra storage space.
One cabinet holds all our toiletries, shower stuff, wet wipes, and random bits and bobs. While the other cabinet holds all our most used clothes. And the front DIY van cabinet holds all our insulated window coverings.
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DIY Van Cabinets In Our Minivan Conversion
L Brackets (six to hang shelves to the wall)
Hinges (four, spray painted black)
Kreg Jig Screws (started kit and a bazillion more boxes)
A Closer Look At Our DIY Van Cabinets
L Brackets (six to hang shelves to the wall) | check prices here
L-brackets are super nice because they provide great support and are easy to install. We used six different L-brackets, three on each shelf, to “hang” our van cabinets. The L-brackets are secured to the van wall with self-tapping metal screws and then drilled into the wood of the shelves.
We did not spray paint the L-brackets to match the other hardware as they are actually inside the cabinets and you can’t see them unless the cabinets are open and empty.
Hinges (four, spray painted black) | check prices here
As with the rest of the van build, we repurposed hinges for our van cabinet doors. We took old hinges we had at the house and spray-painted them black to match the rest of the hardware in the van.
Each cabinet has two hinges for support. Most hinges will say how much weight they can hold, and we used two just so the door didn’t wiggle around when opening.
Kreg Jig Screws (started kit and a bazillion more boxes) | check prices here
Our Kreg Jig set was easily the most used tool in our minivan campervan conversion. This started kit is what we started with. It provided the tool and a decent set of all sizes of screws. From there, we bought Kreg Jig screws to match the length needed for each different part of the van build.
Knobs (2, one for each shelf) | check prices here
Our goal with our van build was to reuse as much material as we could, and with a little elbow grease, some old knobs we found were perfect to reuse in the build. We scrubbed off the rust with a wire brush, then spray-painted the knobs black to match the rest of the hardware in the van. Knobs are oddly expensive, so if you can repurpose them, you should! These ones from Amazon are super cute though if you don’t have a way to get your hands on old knobs.
1/2 inch plywood (1 sheet) | check current prices here
Our sister gave us a bunch of old plywood and boards they didn’t have a project for, and we used those boards and nicer sanded plywood for the overhead cabinets in the van. Again, we wanted to repurpose and reuse as much as we could when building out the van.. cutting down on costs and waste.
The plywood and wood boards were used to cap in the edges of the shelves, for the bottom of the shelf, and for the cabinet doors.
Primer | check prices here
My favorite thing about using a primer is the quick dry time between priming and painting. Actually, I guess I have a couple of favorite things. Priming reclaimed wood with Kilz Primer kills and prevents future mold. It also is a great base to paint any color you wish on the wood.
When we primed and painted our campervan walls, we didn’t prime or paint the wood that would be hidden behind cabinets. We decided we didn’t want the extra weight, work, and maintenance keeping the wood white!
White Paint | check prices here
Sometimes I wonder what we were thinking having white walls in a campervan with a cat. Other times, I think it’s fabulous. I’m absolutely in love with the look of the white walls with the dark ceiling and countertops, though it does get dirty quickly… Especially with Georgie in the van with us.
The nice thing about paint is you can choose a paint that’s easy to clean. This satin finish is really easy to wipe down, so while it gets dirty kind of quick being white, it cleans just as quickly!
More Details On Van Builds
Installing Your Campervan Ceiling + Tools and Materials to do the Job
How to Insure a Self Built Campervan in the United States
13 Ways to do Laundry When Living in a Van
Our First Campervan | a complete tour of Izzy, our van in Scotland
Ways to Light Up Your Campsite
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