More plans

I have been working on the plans some more. I'm departing from the more traditional vardo design. The door will be at the back, and some of the features (such as the external storage boxes) will have the look of a western camp wagon. Also, most of the wood will have a natural finish and the canvas top will also be natural. I own a Baker's lean-to, and I just love the feel and warmth of natural canvas and wood. I'm not as fond of ornate decoration (painting and carving), though I certainly appreciate and admire the workmanship of traditional vardo styles (see, for example, the amazing work of Jim Tolpin).

I'm thinking that the top will fold down (it will be canvas on a bent-wood frame). I had originally began with this idea a couple of years ago before considering hard tops. I am now settling this design as it will fix two big problems: 1) The wagon will be a lot safer to tow and 2), it will easily store in the garage. I'm not sure exactly how the mechanics will work yet, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I just can't be too much of a pain to assemble.

Meanwhile, I have a pretty good idea now of how I want to set up the interior, and how the external storage boxes will work. Some of these boxes will house a fold-out kitchen. The kitchen area will have an awning that is attached to the trailer. There's a small sketch of this at the bottom of my drawing. Some of the Baker's lean-to design creeping in to this feature. The interior will be finished with reclaimed wood, including Douglas fir, mahogany, and quilted maple.