mobile lifestyle | GIZMODO.cz

Hobby’s new Maxia caravan takes to Scandinavian design to merge the mobile lifestyle with hygge living, creating a caravan that feels a lot like your own private luxury city apartment on wheels.

The mobile lifestyle is all that’s on our minds nowadays. Getting away from the monotony of our routines and hitting the road to drive to our favorite camping spot or even all the way across the country sounds like the holiday we’re all looking for. Riding the tails of their Beachy caravan, Hobby, the world’s largest manufacturer of caravans, released their Scandinavian-inspired Maxia caravan that feels like riding in your very own mobile city apartment.

Maxia’s exterior holds onto the traditional look of a caravan, but smooths out its edges and rounds its windows to give the caravan an elevated, more seasoned look. Maxia’s front window slopes from the caravan’s roof down the curved front facade, lengthening the feel of the interior and offering fuller views of the outdoors through the dual-pane panoramic window. With an aim of transforming their caravans into, “the most beautiful places in the world,” Hobby designed Maxia for hygge-style living, outfitting the interior with comfort and simplicity in mind. Available in two different lengths that inspire two different layouts, Maxia 660 WQM is the longer of the two and accommodates up to four adults with full kitchen and bathroom areas.

The dual-pane panoramic window frames the caravan’s L-shaped kitchen, where you can do everything you might in your home’s kitchen, including stovetop cooking with a gas hob and sink. The kitchen also comes equipped with a 157-L Dometic compressor refrigerator, stainless steel sink, swivel-out corner cabinet, push-lock drawers, and even a multifunctional splashback. Moving from the kitchen to the living area, a U-shaped sofa transforms into a bed come night for supplemental sleeping arrangements and functions as a dining area during the day for meals, hanging out, or working. The living area mainly hosts the caravan’s storage compartments, filling out benches and cabinets with plenty of wardrobe space, seating storage, even a heated coat rack.

Sticking to an open floor plan to allow plenty of movement and living space, the primary sleeping area is tucked away towards the back end of the caravan, only in front of the bathroom, for a little bit more privacy. The bedroom keeps a spacious fixed spring mattress positioned atop a sturdy beechwood bed frame that hosts more storage space underneath, accessible via a Lift-O-Mat that raises the mattress to reveal an under-bed storage area.

In addition to the open-floor layout and Scandinavian-inspired design, Maxia hosts an array of smart appliances and utility fittings to make holidays on the road run that much smoother, including a full electrical system, Truma Combi heater/water heater, 47-L freshwater tank, 23.5-L removable, rollable waste water tank, and Hobby Connect touchscreen- and app-based control and monitoring system.

Designer: Hobby

Hobby held onto a more traditional exterior look for Maxia, smoothing out its edges and lengthening its windows for a more elevated, refined look.

During the day, plenty of natural sunlight pours in through Maxia’s double-pane glass windows.

The bathroom provides even more storage space and comes complete with a THETFORD rotating toilet.

The sofas and dining benches are plush, yet easy to handle for quick late-night sofa-to-bed transformations.

The dining area doubles as a workspace and living area during the day to offer plenty of space to unwind and relax.

VanLab creates high-quality, flatpack DIY van conversion kits just like IKEA furniture kits so anyone can turn their van into a mobile camper.

You just finished Nomadland and you’re looking for a way to turn your car into a fully-equipped camper like Fern’s, but getting the job done is no easy feat. It can get costly and knowing which materials are worth splurging on usually requires an expert’s eye. Nowadays it feels like we’re all considering a mobile lifestyle and New Zealand-based company VanLab is making that possible. Turning each of us into expert camper van outfitters, VanLab constructs DIY flatpack van conversion kits à la IKEA so anyone can transform their vans into mobile homes.

Now available for shipping in the US, VanLab’s flatpack van conversion kits require only two electric screwdrivers and can be assembled inside your van between three and six hours, then all that’s left to do is configure the wiring. Like IKEA furniture, VanLab’s conversion kits can be built by anyone; no carpentry experience is necessary. Speaking to the ease of assembly, VanLab founders note, “Absolutely anyone can build this kit. All the holes are pre-drilled and the panels are pre-cut. All you need to do is follow the simple instructions in the manual provided and screw the panels together.” Constructed from Baltic Birch plywood, the wooden panels come pre-finished and are designed to fit together like puzzle pieces so anyone can give rise to their van outfittings with ease.

VanLab’s conversion kit dedicates space in each camper for a full-size bed with integrated storage and an ergonomic kitchen with a countertop or worktop space. Each kit can be customized for your preferred size and spatial needs. For instance, the kitchen can either remain as an open countertop or be outfitted with cut-outs for a sink, cooler, and refrigerator. Since each kit includes all the tools, instructions, wood panels, hinges, screws, door magnets, and hatches necessary to turn your van into a mobile home, you’ll only need to take care of extra amenities like a portable toilet and leisure batteries for things like laptop and smartphone charging.

Designer: VanLab