Van Kitchen
The kitchen was one of my favorite projects to tackle thus far. Since I love to cook, it was only right that I had a proper kitchen inside my van conversion. I wanted as many of the modern luxuries that both I, and my solar setup, could afford, and these are the products I used. Click on the photos to check prices for each item.
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It all starts with the fridge. It took me a long time to decide on the refrigerator because it wasn't just about aesthetics...although, this fridge is pretty damn cool. I also had to consider my solar setup as a factor. This small retro fridge from Daewoo has a very low amperage draw, not to mention it gets cold within about fifteen minutes and then kicks off, preserving power almost immediately.
I decided to purchase both a gas burner and an induction cooktop and I'll tell you why. I never want to be without the ability to cook or heat up water for coffee of tea. Since I'm running everything off of solar power, I don't want to run into issues where the sun hasn't been seen in days and I can't use my induction because of it. I also wanted the option to cook outside whenever we're camping or on BLM land. Consider this portable butane gas stove an inexpensive back up of sorts.
The Peppermint Kitchen Sink faucet was one of the coolest faucets I had seen in my faucet shopping experience. It has a matte black finish that is just super sleek. Plus it has a pull-down sprayer option that is going to be helpful. I didn't end up installing it with the horizontal base that it comes with in order to save room and it still looks great.
I had originally settled on a manual water pump that was activated by foot. THANK GOODNESS I wised up. The Baylite 12V fresh water pump is a fraction of the cost of that manual pump and it works waaaayyy better. I was expected a huge draw on power from this little pump but was pleasantly surprised to barely notice any draw difference.
This portable induction cooktop has everything I need to cook van meals. The buttons are touch sensor, the wattage doesn't exceed 1800W on the highest setting and it has kid safety lock features just in case. It is super simple to clean and then put away in a drawer when it cools.
The van kitchen sink was an important consideration for me because it wasn't just like I could choose any ol' sink to fit in there. I had to consider the depth and width of the sinks I was looking at. Since I chose the counter top and cabinets with limited space, I needed a small sink. The Ruvati undermount sink is absolutely perfect in every way. All inclusive with the grill guard and drainage, plus it is easy to install and not too bad on the eyes.
Stainless steel plates and bowls are the way to go in a van. We learned the hard way in our RV when a cabinet opened mid-drive and pretty much all of our new bowls and plates shattered into a million pieces. I decided to go for more function than design in this choice and keep it simple and straightforward.
We used a kitchen knife magnet strip in our apartment and it was a real dream. So I decided to find one for the RV that would be simple to install and nice to look at. This matte black option tied in well with the kitchen faucet and also was very slim and slender.
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In terms of cabinetry and countertops, I went to Ikea. While this may have ended up being a more costly option when compared to building things myself, I had specifications when it came to size that Ikea could accommodate easily. My cabinets ended up being about 15 inches in depth which left me with enough space to prepare when cooking, while also providing me with more room in the van. The counter is a walnut butcher block that I cut down to size that ended up looking really beautiful when it was installed. I also used white subway tiles that I found online for the backsplash and used a straight or stack bond pattern when cementing it to the wall. All in all, the kitchen in this van conversion has become my favorite aspect of the entire build.
Just a heads up, some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through a purchase. But just know that I am not getting paid to promote these products and I did, in fact, use everything I’ve mentioned within this van conversion.