If you've been struggling to make your caravan mattress and standard bed sheets play well together, then we've found a solution: MeanderWild's range of caravan bed linen.
Melbourne sisters-in-law Laura and Kirstel used their years of caravanning experience and ingenuity to design bed sheets especially to fit the rounded corners of caravan mattresses … and seasoned travellers can’t get enough of them.
If I’m away in the caravan for a weekend, or even a week or two, I can put up with ill-fitting bed sheets which come loose every night and need constant re-tucking to keep all the excess fabric out of the way.
But when you’re living in your van for months at a time, it quickly becomes tedious.
You see, a queen size mattress in a caravan is not the same size as the standard queen size mattress you have at home. Apart from being a few centimetres shorter and narrower, a standard caravan mattress has a square shape at the head of the bed and rounded corners at the foot of the bed. They were designed this way to make it easier to walk around the foot of the bed in a confined space. And the head of most mattresses will abut cupboards/cabinetry on either side which means making the bed can be difficult for one person.
So, when I first saw MeanderWild caravan interiors in my news feed on socials, I delved a little deeper. Founded by Melbourne-based sisters-in-law Laura Bridgman and Kirstel Makepeace, MeanderWild makes fitted sheets and sheets sets with rounded corners, especially to snugly fit the unique shape of a caravan mattresses.
I was delighted to stumble across the MeanderWild stand at the 2024 Melbourne Caravan & Camping Leisurefest at Sandown Racecourse where I promptly bought a set of sheets and a mattress protector.
Laura explained to me how the concept was born.
“When we bought our last caravan, I spent hundreds of dollars on sheets and nothing fit … it all slipped off the bed,” Laura explained. “Kirstel has a background in interiors and design, and we knew we could do it better.”
During COVID the duo worked on design and getting samples from suppliers, and they officially launched the MeanderWild range in December 2022. The variety of colours are inspired by lush gum forests, blue oceans and red ochre of the Pilbara. Dune, a neutral beige colour, is coming online soon.
The sheet sets ($149.95 for the queen) come in cotton sateen or jersey. The set comprises a fitted sheet with rounded corners and a flat top sheet finished with a two-way zip, which allows the two to be joined together and eliminates the problem of your flat sheet coming off the bed at night. If you prefer your feet to be free, just undo the zip. Two standard pillowcases are also included.
I bought the queen sheet set in cotton sateen (500 thread count) in the ‘driftwood’ colour (a pale grey) with rounded corners, which measures 150cm wide by 190cm long. Sheets come in standard size and caravan size in double, queen, king and single beds for bunk beds, as well as east-west beds.
All the measurements are on the website and Laura recommends taking the exact measurements your van mattress because sizes can vary greatly between caravan makes and models.
Also included in the MeanderWild range is quilt cover and pillowcase sets, a waterproof bamboo mattress protector, lumbar cushions, sleeping bags, towels/hooded towels and throws.
Laura says there has been an “incredible” response from the market and products sell out quickly. If your preferred product is sold out online, there is a notify tab which will ensure you get an email so you can pre-order when they’re back in stock.
The MeanderWild team works closely with Tara Cameron-Smith from Dreamer RV which produces comfortable mattress toppers with rounded corners for all sizes of caravan mattresses, and the two businesses were sharing a stand and doing a brisk trade at Leisurefest.
MeanderWild does not have a retail outlet — you can purchase online from the website — however there are stockists in Victoria, New South Wales and New Zealand, with some others being added to the list soon.
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