1965 Airstream Safari

1965 Airstream Safari
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Sunday, November 2, 2014

We have a bed (or at least a place for a bed!)



 Our new license plates for the Airstream have arrived! 

  I had extremely good intentions of updating this blog sooner.  While we are making steady progress 
we also seem to be generating quite a mess and the photo ops are few!  When thinking about how 
we wanted to use our Airstream we knew that we would prefer a full time bed versus making a bed
 out of the dinette every evening.  As I mentioned before, we did a big floor plan flip and have
 built a queen size bed platform where the original dinette was. 


We want to try and take advantage of every square inch and have created
some additional storage at the front of the Airstream that sits above the fresh water tank.


There is a fairly deep box right in the center that will be handy for pajamas or
something and then there is a bin at each end that can hold other things.  Maybe a good book!

Speaking of pajamas I am so excited that Target is carrying some fun PJ's by Nick and Nora.
They are Airstream inspired and beyond cute with pink flamingos and little airstreams.
Being a now loyal Airstream groupie I felt obligated to buy myself a pair!
How can you not love these?


                      Back to the new bed.....we wanted to accomplish a couple of things with this bed frame. 
                                  1-Create usable storage  

                                  2- Keep a little bit of the vintage charm by reusing the original Airstream bins
                                         and hardware that were in the Safari when we purchased it. 

                                   I am super happy with Robert's creative skills and the results. 



The bed platform lifts up and you can reach the additional storage space easily.
We used lifts supports and they went in super easy per Robert. 

At the same time the new dinette is just about done.  While the storage looks original from the
exterior we now have some nice deep storage boxes inside!
Pots and pans should be extremely happy in there!


And I love the new cushions.  They are beyond adorable as far as I am concerned.


Pippa likes the cushions too!

Robert has just started working on the new countertops. This is the one that sits above the 
refrigerator. The pop of color is perfect! There is an existing cabinet that will sit back 
on top of it. I love the red laminate and the vintage metal edge trim is so cute.


looking back at the bed platform

Just a couple of more items.  I have been all over the map trying to come up with an overhead
bin storage solution that worked visually and practically.  The doors originally on these cabinets were
in good condition but in a moment of reckless abandon I removed the doors of the cabinets
which were covered in a wall paper type material.  I thought I would take the wallpaper off and
refinish them.  Upon further inspection the doors were actually a low quality plywood.
In the mean time the hardware that held these doors had been removed (oops) and it is just about
impossible to put it back on. So the quest for a new solution began.

If we were going to put on new doors I wanted some that had a opaque panel in them.
I really wanted a cool piece of resin from a company called 3form. Check them out if you
are the arty type.  They even have a remnant section which is perfect for our application.
 However, I could never find a piece that seemed to be the right choice, in the right size,
 at the right price.  So on to plan B.  I found this vinyl stick on stuff at Home Depot.  
I liked the pattern, liked  the price and we decided to give it a go. Robert
built the new doors and I applied the pattern vinyl to a clear plexiglass sheet.  Easy Peasy! 
 If someday 3form has the most amazing piece of resin available I can change it out.  
Win, win I think!



Last but not least, the new little LED lights have been installed by the bed.  The original
spot lights were a mix of broken and almost broken so we opted to change them out
to these.  Energy efficient, fairly vintage looking and affordable.  I like it.



Still on the list to finish:
  •   new counter top at sink side
  • new sink and cooktop,
  •  table at the dinette
  • install new refrigerator
  • install new hot water heater
  • install new microwave
  • new faucet in bathroom
  • install new flooring
  • hang up curtains and shades
  • PUT IN ALL THE CUTE STUFF!
  •  

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