Do you wanderlust and live for a good adventure? Do you dream of hitting the open road? Love airstreams!? Want to learn more about designing small spaces with big style?!
You've come to the right place!
This page is just the beginning of details about the airstream renovation. I hope you get inspired to design small spaces with big style too! I'll show you how!
Q. Tell me more about your airstream renovation. I love to see before and after photos.
A. I added about 643947436 photos of the airstream here on the blog... but before and after photos show the real deal. You may need a barf bucket. I lie. I lie. The airstream in it's original state was still a thing of beauty in my eyes. I could see the potential because hey, it's an airstream. They are such gems!
Hot tip: The one thing to look for when buying an airstream is to ensure that the subfloor is dry and free of rot. This can be a hidden problem, because hey... they can be 40 plus years old. That is history in the making, and things age. Good to keep them in check. Like wrinkles. Ahhem... laugh lines.
Q. Why did you remove the centre cabinetry of the airstream?
A. An airstream renovation is inspiring and harrowing all at once! It was a scary thought to remove so many walls and cabinets. When renovating small spaces, the goal is to try to lighten it, brighten it and make it feel open & airy. When we removed all the brown cabinetry, it was a game changer in creating a light and airy space.
Check it out....
Q. Why white? Seems like risky business for a trailer.
Simple design is my jam, espesh when it comes to white on white. I have a thing about white and the staggering simplicity it brings to a space.
I don't do brown but white paint, gold faucets & simple beautiful spaces are my three amigos.
Everything that wasn't moving was painted white... white... and more white. I was in a paint coma, painting the interior SIMPLY WHITE for 2 months. White seems to be the answer to all my renovation problems. 🙂
I pop in colour with throw pillows, art and decor. Why? It makes the space super easy to change up with the seasons or if you get tired of the space annnnnnd white gives you a nice blank canvas to work from.
Q. White?!!!! How do you keep it clean?!!!
A. We have four kids, we rent the airstream to guests and it yet it all is quite easy to keep clean. I find linen duvets and pillow cases are quite durable and easy to bleach/clean. We even use these linen tea towels in the airstream. They get better with age. ADORE.
I use these linen curtains in my home (ohhhhh how I love them, and the Etsy seller too!) and these ones as well. For the airstream, Tonic Living made custom white linen curtains for us. I have a back flipping kind of LOVE for those.
The paint on the walls and cabinetry is wipeable and durable. The floor is an easy mop clean up.
Q. What style of airstream did you buy?
A. When we first purchased the 1976 31′ Sovereign International Land Yacht, the overall design was zactly what I was looking for. It has a center bath configuration, and surprisingly.. most airstreams have a bathroom at the very back. I consider it a super cool feature that we wouldn't have to walk through the bedroom to get to a bathroom.
Priorities, sista.
Q. How did you do it? No really. Howwwwww?!
A. The process of renovating any small space is to m aximize the minimal space with small space living ideas.
The journey of looking for an airstream was a long one. We searched for two years for the perfect one(longer, if I'm reallllllly being truthful with myself). We wanted an airstream that had great potential but not one that had been totally gutted.
Some are like time capsules, still stuck in the era that they were born in. I love that. It gives you a chance to save vintage elements and yet modernize the important things like faucets and toilets. Keeping it real.. keeping it real... toilet talk and all.
Champagne gold faucets are like jewelry.
ART.
I told every single soul that I knew that I had a dream of buying an airstream. Airstreams have such character and 60% of them are still on the road today. They've been making Airstreams since 1931! Holy batman!! Impressive!
One day, a friend had called me and said... "You'll never guess what I just saw for sale. Never guess. Nevah evahhh"
It was love at first sight. Boom. I was sold.
PS. If you are going to invest in a trailer, have an end in mind. Mine end in mind was obvs.
Q. With all the choices on the market, why an airstream?
A. I'm a big wuss when it comes to sleeping outdoors but I could imagine hitting the open road in an airstream .. no public washrooms... board games...soft fluffy linens...essential oils diffusing lightly in the air.... hours of nothing sprinkled with good conversations and kickass music. These things are my jam.
It's the little things in life that really get my motor running. Candles. Playing Cards. Airstream vibes. Sorry I said vibes. Was that awkward? Don't leave. Airstreams are a good boho love fest. Weirder? Okay. Stopping now.
Q. How long did it take to renovate the airstream? Where did you spend money, save money?
A. I imagined it would take a month for our dream to take shape. It took 6 months. Maybe longer. Definitely longer. It's still happening. LOL.... annnnnd some things were extraordinarily expensive! Barf. Like polishing. Holy smokes, expensive.
Some things were really cost efficient too. Like paint. Paint is a small price to pay for a big change. We primed every surface with a primer that is meant for metal, glass, wood, everything and anything. Be sure to pick a primer that is a top drawer, high quality primer that sticks to everything. The base/adhesion is super important for durability. Do it.
The big bananas were spent on polishing ( it takes 200-400 hours to polish an airstream exterior to a mirror like finish. First, you have to strip the entire surface of the original clear coat.
Yes. We hired strippers.
Then, after 44574573454056 hours of polishing... it was finally polished to a mirror like finish. We parked it on the pond and napped for 47347 hours to recuperate. This is actually the home where we park our airstream for most of the year.
~ In our backyard ~
PS. There are frogs in there. We aren't talking about that. 😂
Q. How do we see the photos with the inside scoop and deets?
A. You can see the airstream renovation process from start to finish here on Instagram #HappyCamperAirstream .
- Sign up to the blog to follow our road trip. Our next journey is to take the airstream into the United States for a road trip!!! <- freaking out with excitement. We are currently working on a bucket list for my hubby Michael. He was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. You can read more about that here. xo
- See more airstream photos on the blog here.
- Love Pinterest? Go glamping on Pinterest here.
- Champagne Bronze Trinsic Faucet c/o Delta Faucet Canada
2. Wallpaper // Gold Knots c/o Hygge and West
3. Flock circa throw pillows // White linen curtains // Turkish towels by Tonic Living, Toronto Ontario
4. Flooring // Ecolay EZlay vinyl flooring... no glue required for installation.
5. Countertops // Formica in glossy white. We made them by cutting MDF to size, and gluing glossy white formica on top.
6. Brass plated drawer hardware // Lee Valley
Shop the airstream here:
Mwah! Happy glamping!!
PS. Any questions about glamping/airstream life? Ask away... xoxox.... I'm here to help and SIP wine. Did I mention the sipping part? SIP.
