Building a kitchen in your campervan will make van life much easier. It may seem daunting to fit your entire kitchen into your van conversion, but with some strategic planning and purging of anything except the essentials, it’s not a difficult task. Your kitchen doesn’t need to be anything extravagant, you’ll just want something that can at least provide quick and easy access to your kitchen appliances. Your van kitchen will ideally need space for a stove and/or oven, sink, fridge, and storage for cooking accessories and utensils.
In this chapter, we highlight numerous DIY kitchen layout options for any type of camper van. The size of your specific van will play a big role in the layout of your kitchen, so you’ll need to plan accordingly. Another big factor to keep in mind is whether you will be primarily cooking inside or outside. If you’re traveling to climates with inclement weather, cooking inside is a very nice luxury, and it’s far more stealthy. When cooking inside, keep in mind that you’ll likely want to keep a window cracked.