11-Year-Old Buys Old Camper For Next To Nothing And Transforms It Into Her Own Paradise

Can you remember what you were doing at 11-years-old? We’re willing to bet it wasn’t nearly as cool as what Lauren Nelson was up to. You see, this particular kid had a dream — and she made it come true over the course of a single summer, even going viral with her plan! Let us tell you the tale of the camper van makeover that charmed the world.

The idea

Many of us will have toyed with the idea of buying something for cheap, renovating it, and then selling it on for a tidy profit. Maybe it’s a piece of furniture that you want to upscale. Or perhaps you’ve spied an apartment that you feel could really increase in value if you put some work into it. But how many of us actually put these plans into action?

Putting that idea into action

Lauren saw her opportunity to do something like this — and she seized upon it. She purchased a dilapidated camper van and set about turning it into a tiny paradise she could while away her days in. The old vehicle, which had been left to fall into disrepair, was transformed into a clean, brightly colored space that Lauren — and her fans — love.

Lockdown

Lauren’s journey began during a time of great upheaval for everyone. The Attica, New York native was home-schooling during the 2020 lockdown when she started reading outdoors-themed novels in her downtime. And one — My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George — made a particular impression.

Building forts

The 1959 middle-grade book is about a boy surviving on his own amid New York’s Catskill Mountains. Over the course of his journey, he becomes self-sufficient and brave. This gave Lauren an idea — maybe she could construct some forts around the 50 acres her family owned and try to develop some independence of her own.

Maybe a treehouse

The forts then lead to an even bigger idea: a treehouse! But the kibosh was put on that idea when Lauren saw how costly it’d be to buy the materials to build it. As she told the Insider website, “I kind of just wanted my own space” — but there was no way she’d be able to afford what she had in mind.

American Girl Dolls

Little did Lauren know that another piece of inspiration would be just around the corner, though. At the same time as her treehouse plan fell apart, Lauren was also noodling the idea of adding to her American Girl Doll collection. In fact, she wanted to purchase a toy Volkswagen Bus for her dolls.

Crystal clear

Lauren’s mother Aimee recalled to WKBW, “She showed us a $650 little VW bus that they sell. My husband was like, ‘That’s ridiculous, you could buy your own camper for that price.’” And with that, an idea crystallized. Lauren couldn’t help thinking that her dad might be right, even if he’d only said it in jest.

Lauren checks her savings

So, Lauren decided she did want to buy a real camper van and renovate it herself. She just had to figure out how to pay for one, and then it’d just be a matter of playing a waiting game. Luckily, the responsible 11-year-old already had cash saved from Christmases and birthdays, and it was all in a pair of envelopes in her room.

Dave Ramsey system

You see, the family uses a smart savings system pioneered by finance guru Dave Ramsey. Each of them — parents included — has three envelopes labeled “spend,” “save,” and “give,” and this is where all their cash goes. Lauren simply looked in her save and spend envelopes, and found she had 400 bucks just waiting to be put towards a camper van!

The neighbor

This is when Lauren noticed that a neighbor had a dilapidated camper just idling on their land. That neighbor then moved house — but didn’t take the vehicle with them, meaning that it passed into the hands of the new owners. According to Girl Camper magazine, Lauren said to her mom, “I doubt they’re going to want the camper. They’re probably going to sell it.”

Camper for sale

And Lauren proved to be right — a “For Sale” banner could soon be seen next to the camper. But Aimee wasn’t sure if she wanted Lauren to notice it, so she made sure to divert her daughter’s attention anytime they drove past. She told Girl Camper, “I wasn’t against her having it. I just didn’t want her to be disappointed if she didn’t get it.”

Forever home

When Lauren finally clapped eyes on the sign, Aimee chuckled that “she squealed all the way home.” The young girl told Insider that when she first went to check out the 1988 Sunline Sunray camper up close, she said, “I’m going to live in this forever.” The 20-feet-long vehicle had seen better days, but the family figured it just needed some TLC.

A simple negotiation

The neighbor wanted $500, but Lauren was a hundred short. Thankfully, though, they admired Lauren’s determination — or desperately wanted to get rid of the camper — so the bargaining went smoothly. Lauren revealed, “It wasn’t very hard. He said ‘$500,’ and I said ‘$400,’ because that was the money I had. And he said, ‘Sold.’” Nice!

The deep clean begins

Then came the hard part: cleaning the camper. The vehicle was a cluttered mess of old, dirty camping equipment, and tiny pellets of mice droppings lay on many of the surfaces. In fact, the family uncovered four — yes, four — mice nests in the recesses of the vehicle.

Family of mice

Amazingly, though, this didn’t put Lauren off. She told Insider, “I thought the mice were adorable. I was very sad that we possibly brought home a camper without their parents, as they were not doing very well when we found them.” Aimee chuckled to WKBW, “We brought home a family of mice. So, there was a lot of deep cleaning.”

Patching and washing

With the aid of a different neighbor, the family tackled the job. They removed the mice and deep cleaned all the cushions and mattresses using rug shampoo. Lauren found that the windows were letting in water, so her dad stepped in with some trusty caulk. And before long, the camper was spotless, which meant the fun part could begin.

Aspiring designer

“I got to design it, and I got to pick whatever I wanted for it,” beamed Lauren, who wants to be an interior designer when she grows up. “She builds the furniture for her dolls and will make her own couches out of cardboard,” Aimee told the New York Post. “We always just let her run with it.”

A boho vibe

After some internet research — mainly on Pinterest — Lauren decided on a beachy, bohemian aesthetic for her new home-away-from-home. This theme’s heavily based around plants and bright pastel shades, rather than sand and water and other stereotypical beach-related things. Vision decided upon, talk now turned to funding the redecoration.

Blessing in disguise

Mom Aimee realized that she had some funds in her own savings envelope that could do the trick. She’d been putting money there so Lauren could go to summer camp, but as lockdown had seen it called off, there was a small nest egg just waiting to be used. All of a sudden, Lauren had another 400 bucks to work with.

Camp Hygge is born

Over the next two months, Lauren turned the dingy old camper into “Camp Hygge” — named after the Scandinavian word for cozy! From Home Depot, she bought flooring, cushion covers, paint, and a peel-and-stick backsplash for the kitchen that closely resembles tile — yet only cost 20 bucks! As Aimee told Insider, “She was very frugal. She didn’t buy much.”

It comes together

The look was completed with some plants and a dollar-store picture frame, as well as pillows and a hand sanitizer pump from Walmart. Mostly everything else — aside from a few sheets, rugs, and throws that were birthday presents — was simply repurposed from the family home or her dad’s taxidermy office.

Lauren’s very own world

With the space of her dreams complete, Lauren began to spend most of her time there. She told Insider, “I feel more grown-up now. We do not have a large house, so the camper gives me a small space of my own to draw, read, and create.” So it became her very own world — parked just in front of the house!

The kitchen

Even though the camper has a refrigerator, oven, and sink, the family had yet to set up an electricity supply at the time of the Post’s interview. This meant the space wasn’t quite fully functional — but never fear, Lauren had a plan for her kitchen. Fittingly, it was very forward-thinking and in keeping with the whole vibe of Camp Hygge.

Solar-powered plan

Lauren explained to the Post, “I love the kitchen the most. It’s so beautiful, light, and airy. I can just sit in it and feel very relaxed. Once we get the solar panels up, we can actually get it up and running. That’s what I’m saving up for next. I love cooking, especially lasagna.”

An entrepreneur is born

In the end, the creation of Camp Hygge may have been the origin story of a little entrepreneur. Lauren told her mom of her intention to host tea parties for other young girls in the camper — at $25 per head! Aimee informed Insider, “She has a lot of plans. She even has a business plan written up.”

A playhouse

Aimee continued, “She would like to host up to four girls and make it into an American Girl doll playhouse where they can come with their dolls. She will braid the dolls’ hair to match the girls’, while the moms sit on the back deck and relax.” Sounds like a money-maker, right?

Babysitting

On top of this, Lauren also achieved her babysitting certificate from the Red Cross and started offering her services — within the walls of Camp Hygge, of course! For a nominal fee, moms and dads are able to leave their kids at the camper, where they’ll play with dolls, eat cookies and drink lemonade poured by Lauren. But why stop at babysitting, though?

Renting

Yes, Lauren then decided she wanted to let other members of the “tiny home nation” enjoy staying in Camp Hygge. On her mom’s Facebook page, she posted, “I will be renting out the camper! You can come hike trails and pet the animals! Text my mom if you want to! It’s twenty dollars a night!”

Future plans

Incredibly, Lauren was also looking even further into the future. She informed the Post, “My big plans are to sell this camper to someone who really loves it and get an RV to renovate. I might try a bit more modern style with it, though.” This girl doesn’t rest on her laurels!

Taking to the road

Of course, there’s another consideration with a camper van: when do you take to the open highway? Aimee played that idea down, saying, “For this year, it is only a playhouse. But it is road-ready, so we shall see!” Perhaps a family trip in Camp Hygge isn’t totally out of the realm of possibility!

Light in the dark

Overall, the project wasn’t just important to Lauren — it proved to be vital to her family in hard times as well. Aimee told the Post, “I was diagnosed with cancer last summer, so I was going through radiation and to doctor’s appointments. We were really thinking this was going to be our summer, since we didn’t get one last year.”

A summer to remember

“Then Covid hit,” Aimee lamented. But, with a project for the whole family to work on, and a daughter demonstrating remarkable creativity and maturity, the summer turned into one to remember for all the right reasons. Aimee added, “This camper gave us all something to do and really made a great summer.”

A proud mom

It was obvious how proud Aimee was of her daughter when she told Insider, “This was always something she wanted. It was a lot of fun to work with her on the space and to follow her lead. She had great ideas and a vision right from the beginning, and we were just there to help her achieve her dream.”

An inspiration

Lauren wants her efforts to inspire others as well — especially other children of her age. She explained, “I really hope that kids want to do this and follow their dreams. They should start saving their money and have fun doing it.” Who knows — maybe the world will soon see kids everywhere planning for their own Camp Hygge adventures?

A year of change

Fast-forward a year, and Lauren’s life had changed a huge amount. After the worldwide press she received for Camp Hygge, she’d signed up with a modeling agency. She also started her own Instagram account — managed by her parents, of course! But Lauren hadn’t left her camper behind — in fact, she posted about giving the vehicle another makeover.

Camp Hygge evolves

“Last summer, a couple of months before I turned 11, I bought a camper for $400,” wrote the young superstar-in-the-making. “It was a mess — see before pics on my first ever IG post! This summer, the outside was painted, my dad helped my sister build a deck — I stained it — and I planted flowers and made a garden.”

Heart-warming story

The family’s social media accounts have become filled with well-wishers congratulating them on Lauren’s unexpected success. When Aimee posted screenshots of articles about Lauren in several different languages — showing how the story had truly gone global — the response was heart-warming. It really demonstrated how, at their core, people really do love hearing nice, inspiring stories.

A wild ride

A Facebook user named Julie Mancuso wrote, “Aimee — this is so surreal, and it could not be happening to a sweeter child — and family.” Sarah Solley posted, “What a wild ride you are all on!!!” and Tracie Baker Cooley added, “Since the moment I met you and your family, I knew how incredibly special you all are!! You are truly blessed!”

Newfound fame

Susan MacPherson Woodruff commented, “This just blows my mind! I love the way she is handling it too. Lauren is such a sweet girl.” Jan Nelson then remarked on the power of the worldwide web, stating, “Just wow. The internet can be an amazingly good thing,” while Holly Costantino-Sharpe went with a simple “So exciting!”