Tag Archives: build

Custom Drawers in an Airstream

custom drawers in an AirstreamI love the idea of open shelves, but we’re just not that organized. I quickly realized that after living in the Airstream for just a couple of weeks. Half done art projects and crafting junk is just not pretty. But building drawers just wasn’t a project that we had time to complete… until now!

George and I are into recycling and using what we’ve got. It’s thrifty and good for the environment. Wins all around. We salvaged some old barn wood from when the barn was damaged in the tornadoes this fall to use to make the front of the drawers. We also had some leftover wood from building out the shelves and our bed in the Airstream. We used that wood for the sides and the bottom of the drawers.

Here’s what the shelves looked like without the drawers:
shelving in an airstream trailer book shelves in an airstream

Pretty, but not very practical.

Building drawers

George went to work by measuring, cutting and drilling the pieces together.

When we got the drawers into the Airstream, we quickly realized that these babies are going to need some drawer handles. So, we cut up one of George’s old belts and used the rough grain side of the belt to create pulls. Pretty cool huh? We could only find short gold screws to attach the leather to the drawer, so we ended up coloring them with a silver Sharpie. Red neck ingenuity at it’s finest, folks.

custom distressed drawers with leather pulls

Did you finish any projects this weekend? I want to hear about them in the comments!

love,
melanie

Airstream Remodel Update: Part 2…3…or is it 4?!

bench in airstream trailerI’m one of those people that sometimes has trouble seeing the final product. Are you ever that way? Before we did all this remodeling it was hard for me to see past the blue carpet and smell past the funk.

But the Airstream is finally getting to the point of where I can imagine myself (happily) living in it. I get a little excited feeling in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it. Or maybe I just need an afternoon snack.

In the picture above you can see that George built us a bench! I painted it and my next job is to make a comfortable cushion and lots of pillows for the bench. I love pillows. (Or as I pronounce it pell-ows. It’s a southern thing?)

Taking out oven in Airstream

Here you can see where we took out the old oven. We also found our friend, Stewart Little‘s home in here. We’ve found more creatures in this thing than I care to mention. Let’s hope they don’t like our new oven setup.

love and excitement,
melanie

 

Airstream Update: Bed Buildout Tips

before6Humble brag time! In the past week, we’ve accomplished so much on the Airstream that I have to break up this update into two posts!

Above you can see a before shot of the bed area. Below you can see the bed build progress shots.

Bed Build ProgressIn this photo, you can see that George first built the initial frame. It fits a queen size bed! He built the bed by taking measurements of our current mattress and our new “bedroom.” Then, he built a box to house the mattress. He made it easier on himself by building a rectangular frame for the bed, then cutting rounded side pieces to fill in the curved areas.

For extra sturdiness the bed is attached to the wall. This will be helpful in case we want to haul our home on our next adventure!

Wooden Bed BuildElevated Bed Painted with StorageGeorge also built a really great front cover for the bed. This will allow us to hide junk under the bed. (Speaking of junk, please excuse all the mess! It’s hard working in a small space!)

I asked George if he could give any tips for building a bed in an Airstream and he jokingly said, “Just buy one!” It was a difficult and frustrating process. But in all seriousness, his tips were:

1.  Measure carefully
2. Be prepared to cut the curved boards more than once
3. Realize that it will never be perfect. Working with curved walls is difficult.

I am so proud of the hard work he put into building this bed. I’m also proud of myself for the paint job!

I can’t wait to eventually sleep in here!

Have you ever built furniture? I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!

love,
melanie