Its always nice to have a sneaky peak into someone else’s caravan. Just to see what accessories are in use, how the caravan is laid out and how the space is utilised. The awning is one such area where given a blank canvas many have different needs and requirements for this use of space.
Broadly speaking everyone has a similar set of requirements from an awning. A place to store things, an intermediate “shoes off” zone and quite common is an extra room for relaxing, eating and perhaps sleeping.
Personal choice and lifestyle really dictates what an awning should or could be used for. Our set up for the past 3 years has resulted in the awning being used as a large dumping area for things that we don’t want in the caravan. We have always wanted to use it as an extra room, but sadly through bad choices in furniture and seating we never achieved this. Until now.
So, without further a do- let me introduce to you the awning furniture that really made a huge difference for our outdoor living.
Awning table
All tables are not equal. We have purchased aluminium tables in the past, used the caravan large table and came to the conclusion that what we want is a table with actual legs, that has a solid top and is big enough to fit 4 people around it for dinner. This is why we now have the Vango Bamboo table. The table is 100cms long by 72cms wide and stands a comfortable 70cms high. What attracted us to this table is the access to the table from all sides. No crossed legs and the ability to push chairs in from all four sides. The colour is another huge bonus too, an attractive bamboo finish is a great departure away from aluminium, glass black or grey. It really does brighten up the awning and is an excellent surface to keep clean.
The table is priced at £100 and is available here :
http://amzn.to/2wdm3rM
Awning chairs
Another huge consideration for the awning is seating. Not for sole use in the awning but for outside too. We again chose Vango, as their range of seating is comfortable (even for a larger frame), lightweight and easy to erect and store. We use these seats around the awning when eating dinner and outside while taking in the surroundings. When not in use the Vango Hampton chairs collapse up and are stored in the corner. For travelling, we stack the chairs at the front of the caravan, they add little weight to the nose weight and are well secured. The chairs can recline, and they have high backs that are super comfortable.
The Vango Hampton chairs are prices at around £59 and are available here :
http://amzn.to/2wsdKZp
Inflatable lounger
Yes, we have one or two – and these are incredible. Especially for the children they offer a large space for the children to lounge around and chill. They are perfect for the awning or when the weather is nice, they also are excellent for sitting outside too. Have a look at the Vango range, they offer lots of shapes and styles to suit your available space. Of course, when not in use these simply deflate and can be stored away nice and securely.
The Vango inflatable loungers are priced at around £21 and are available here :
http://amzn.to/2yDH4wT
Awning cupboard
Caravans, awnings and storage. Three words interchangeable in practically every sentence. Storage in the awning for us was for shoes, dog food and toilet chemicals. But now we are embracing the awning as an extra room, we are storing food items such as vegetables along with dog food and now the coffee pods for the coffee machine.
The cupboard we have chosen compliments the table as this is also bamboo topped. It is wide enough to host 2 cupboards and they even have removable hard shelves that make this ideal for stacking or placing items into separate areas. The top of the cupboard is a great place to store a coffee machine or maybe a couple of bottles for mummy & daddy.
The Vango Bamboo double storage unit is priced around £115 and is available here :
http://amzn.to/2yDWHnT
I hope this has helped understand our Awning furniture. We recently filmed a tour around our caravan & awning so you can see how the setup actually works for us.