On Progress

One step forward, two steps back. Sound familiar? Airstream renovation can be just that at times, or at least, it can feel that way. The thing is, most of us are doing this as a side project - on the side of full-time jobs and/or/maybe parenting (the constant "job"). We're squeezing in work hours on weekends when our friends are relaxing and barbecuing, trading in the days we used to have "off" to days one-thousand percent ON. We spend our days puzzling over subfloor removal. We perch precariously on curved, slippery Airstream roofs. We measure, measure again, saw once. We curse, grunt, and on occasion, go through an entire twelve-pack of craft IPA in one weekend (no? Just us?). 

Airstream work, especially full-gut job renovations, as many of you folks can attest, are most certainly not for the faint of heart. I love what Evan said in his Caravan Story last week about basing your entire life around when you can get work done on your renovation, and I echo his sentiment. You spend every single second talking and thinking about your project, and get frustrated when something impedes the process, and despite being slightly obsessed...er, passionate...about your renovation and wanting nothing but to renovate every second, you've still got to keep living real life in the midst of it all. 

We have been working on this Airstream for the last year now. A few weeks ago, we were getting a bit discouraged at our progress. As much as we love the Instagram community, it's easy to begin to compare yourselves and your renovation to others (guilty). We see other folks' wrapping up their renovations, but we are still building and still have a ways to go. So late one night, collapsed on the couch after a day at work and then work, we pulled out that same social media app and begin scrolling through the last year of our renovation, noting dates and realizing that for the first six months, we were only working when we had the time. We hadn't set a self-imposed deadline yet, and truthfully didn't yet have enough cash flow to do a major renovation. We noted that there were times we went weeks without working, and some days we'd put in just a few hours. 

Reminiscing this way helped us put things into perspective. The first six months was a slow, easygoing demo process that we worked on when we wanted to. It wasn't until August hit - right as Ellen returned to teaching another year and our kiddo started school - that we hit the ground running. At this point, we have spent six months rebuilding. In August, we could stand between the bars of the frame and our Airstream didn't even have wheels. Several of the windows were out, and we had the world's largest tarp draped over the entire trailer to keep the chassis from getting wet after we'd repaired and painted it. Now we are painting cabinetry and furniture and running plumbing, appliances are installed, and we are rounding the corner. 

Airstream work is it's own kind of beast. It helps to take a minute, every now and then, especially when frustrated or annoyed at the pace of progress, to take a deep breath and look around. Note how far you've come. In the moment, it feels like the build is going so slowly. You start your work days with a checklist of things you'd like to accomplish, and by mid-day, you've not even checked off one single bullet point. Yet what you've not done in making your list is account for all the other little things, the extra steps that you'll always need to take to accomplish just one of the larger tasks on your list. We've started to create two columns, one a task list, the other an achievement list that we fill out at days end. Seeing the two side-by-side reminds us how much work actually did take place, and it's much easier to move on to the next day's work feeling proud and successful.

Then we mentally take note of all the things we did outside of the Airstream work, like going to our full-time jobs, and the meetings before and after or during. Driving our kiddo to gymnastics and drama club. Writing a blog post here or upgrading the resources tab, doing three loads of laundry, cooking a healthy dinner and eating together as a family. Making a meal plan, list, and heading to the grocery. Getting a good night's sleep. Cuddling with our daughter and watching a movie. Going for a run or morning yoga. Writing and creating for self. These things matter too, and are just as vital to the success of the Airstream. The food and exercise and sleep fuel us and make us stronger. With our first Airstream, we didn't get much sleep and it wore on us majorly! The family time unites us and reminds us why we're even renovating an Airstream in the first place - it is for our family and for our values. We work hard at our respective jobs so we can pay for life, provide for our daughter, and make our way, slowly but surely, to our dreams.

Remembering why you are doing this renovation, why you're giving up weekends of freedom, why you're working and thinking about the Airstream 'round the clock, and when it feels never-ending, just pause. Take a moment to reflect on how far you've come. Take a moment to remind yourself why you started in the first place. Say it out loud. Progress is happening, and you're one step closer to where you want to be. 

The Start of Something Big

So here we are, folks. This photograph was taken by my dearest Ashley, the first time we met her. She offered to drive up the coast and meet us at Crystal Cove in southern California to take photographs of us, as we were in those travelin' days of ours. I later had the photos printed and bound in a linen book, for they so perfectly captured us in the happiest days of our lives with our daughter and our beloved first Airstream, Louise. 

We're a little less tan now (and a little less fit now that we're not hiking everyday), but we're still chasing after our dreams and our love for vintage Airstreams has just grown all the more. What could've been just a short chapter in our lives is expanding and growing in ways we never thought possible, but we're so thankful it has. There was a moment as we were wrapping up Louise's renovation, where our days were long and we'd collapse into bed so exhausted and weary we could barely move, that Ellen looked over at me with this big grin and said, I could do this for a living and be so damn happy every day. I love this work. 

I laughed a little and said, we should probably do another one before we can be certain we've got the experience to renovate these for other people. 

We couldn't have guessed in that moment that in less than a year from that night, we'd have that chance. Through an absolutely crazy turn of events, our days on the road came to a close and we had to sell Louise. Less than two months after the sale was finalized, we drove to check out an Airstream an hour north of our city. A fruitless excursion, for no matter how much I haggled or dangled cash in front of the salesperson at a shoddy ass used car and trailer dealership, he wouldn't budge on the $8,000 price tag of a 1971 Airstream Overlander. Feeling defeated, we drove away and then in a moment of hope, I popped on Craigslist to see if anything new had popped up overnight, and sure enough, it had. A 1977 Airstream Overlander, listed at a much more fair and appropriately priced five grand, down in Louisville, Kentucky. 

I wasted no time emailing the owner of the listing and told them we'd be there as fast as the highway allowed us. When arriving, we realized the owners were folks who knew exactly who we were - in fact, they had been following our Airstream journey, and had even emailed us at one point to ask advice! It felt like kismet, and after a thorough inspection of the trailer, we grabbed a photo of all of us and gave them hugs and a stack of cash! We love that they are a part of this too, when we are working I think of them and hope we're doing them proud. 

As we are moving forward with The Modern Caravan, I can't help but take stock of all the events that led to the work we are doing and what we are embarking on, and it gives me chills to think about it all. For me, I needed to see that we could do another Airstream renovation to know we had what it takes. I knew that in renovating for other people, having experience was crucial. Two different Airstreams, two different sets of problems, two very different designs, two completely different builds, yet we've stayed true to our aesthetic and craftsmanship. The ability to learn from one, and then learn even more the second time around, has given us the confidence and skills to pursue this passion of ours. 

We knew when we purchased Louise two and a half years ago that our lives were changing, that that purchase meant something big. I remember standing in the doorway of our house the morning after we brought her home, cup of coffee in my hand, feeling as if I was seeing a mirage. It was so surreal, this dream of ours becoming a reality, and I still feel the same way today. Louise really was the start of something big, and it's beyond what we could have ever imagined possible. 

If you're interested in working with us on your Airstream renovation, from design services to a full renovation, click here for information on how to make your dream a reality. We'd love to help you, because we know how much this means to you - it's big. 

Airstream Kitchen

Building our Airstream kitchen has been quite challenging this go round. Opting for higher end finishes and fixtures led us to focus our efforts on saving weight elsewhere. In our first Airstream, we crafted custom cabinetry with sliding doors, which ran along tracks we created by routing out channels for both the top and bottom of the cabinet. We used 3/4" ply as both dividers and supports on the cabinetry, which spanned the majority of the length of the street side, with a smaller yet identical cabinet on the curb side. While we loved the look of the cabinetry we designed, in practicality and daily use, we didn't prefer it. We often get questions on how to build the cabinetry from the '57 and I'm quick to dissuade, or offer alternative sliding options.

The 3/4" ply was quite heavy, so this go round, we opted for a combination of 2x2" and 1x2" framing to craft our cabinetry, allowing us to save weight. The countertop, along with a waterfall edge, conceals the framing, as well as the drawers and cabinet doors themselves. We also opted for a modified toe kick, which was a lesson learned from our first Airstream project - too many toes stubbed, as well as an often uncomfortable lean to cook or do any sort of food prep. I say modified toe kick, as the average toe kick depth is 2.5"-3.5" D x 3" H, and we opted for 1.5" D x 3" H, which some cabinet makers may roll their eyes at, but we tested for comfort and felt it was entirely sufficient and allowed for a sturdier cabinet base, which is always appreciated when rolling down the road.

We went with finger pulls on all drawers and door fronts for a clean, modern look. I fell in love with these simple pulls on our first Airstream, where we used a hole saw to create perfect circle pulls in our sliding doors, which was a nod to the mid-century design of the fifties and suited the era the trailer was from. The idea was to create a clean, simple facade for a tiny space. As much as I love all the gorgeous cabinet hardware out there to choose from, I knew I'd be overwhelmed by a flurry of metal pulls. Before we'd purchased our second Airstream, I'd landed on rectangular finger pulls and deep drawers and had begun sketching out the potential kitchen. View some of my inspiration images for our current Airstream project right here and below.

The street side of our galley kitchen has been the most complicated so far, and hopefully we'll be wrapping it up within the next few weeks. We waited for our convection oven to arrive before we planned the build fully, it was much easier to conceptualize once we knew the oven's dimensions and installation instructions and had the oven in the space. The build for the oven required the use of 3/4" (for the oven's base) and 1/2" ply (sides and top), and we also built a sturdy main base for the oven cabinet unit, which was built as a standalone piece initially, with a half-size drawer for pots and pans underneath the oven itself. This project took a few hours, which was a pleasant surprise.

Surrounding the oven is our plain framing, which we crafted for the curb side kitchen cabinetry. It is a combination of 1x2" and 2x2" boards that while light, is incredibly sturdy. I can attest to this, I leaned on a piece one afternoon and dozed off for a good thirty minutes...and it held up beautifully. Ha! These pieces will divide the oven and fridge, as well as create the full height of 35.25" to meet the 3/4" walnut countertop. Finish pieces will be added around the top of the fridge, oven, and around the sides of the oven to conceal the framing and polish the look.

A floor-to-ceiling pantry, large enough to house a small trash can, recycling, average broom, and typical pantry items, like small appliances (our slow cooker and food processor), food items, and cleaning supply, will fall in line adjacent to the refrigerator. Pantry items will rest on drawers, so everything can be easily accessed and all storage is utilized. We are installing a DC light on the inside of the pantry so our items are well-lit.

Our kitchen was planned for efficiency, a modern aesthetic, comfortable food prep, and multiple persons at one time (and probably pets, if we're being honest). The traditional galley kitchen works quite well with ample floor space and a triangular workspace, drawing an invisible line from your sink to your fridge, to your oven, and back again. Having a full-size pantry allows us to not compromise on storage, having a normal-size broom (we went with a half-size tiny broom in our last Airstream and it was pure misery to sweep with, I felt like a hunchback), and to neatly tuck everything away for both tidiness and travel. While it's taking a good chunk of time to get just right, I believe it will be worth every slow, steady step to have the Airstream kitchen of our dreams.

Leave questions about your tiny kitchen below - or email me for a design consultation! See the services tab for more information about how we can help with your Airstream.