Living in a vintage airstream trailer

Finding an ad on craigslist for a 1950′s Airstream led Andreas Stavroupolo to a deserted ranch in the Salinas Valley. There he exchanged some cash and towed his new humble abode, a 1959 Airstream travel trailer, up the Highway 101. The Airstream is only 150 square-feet of space, all of which was updated by the owner himself. He stripped away the linoleum flooring, replacing it with cork, stripped the paint and re-coated the interior with a soft color palette. The Airstream resides in the garden of a co-op in North Berkeley, California, co-habiting with chickens just over the fence. As a self-employed landscape architect, Andreas wanted a mobile studio that he could bring to the site. The studio enables him to showcase his design talents as well as live in the environment he is working in so he can be more productive and gain further insight into the job site. Via

The materials palette that he chose was light hues with a few splashes of color. This lightness gives a feeling of spaciousness and a contemporary feel.

In the kitchen, the owner kept the original stove, incorporating it into the newly formed cabinetry. He created a backsplash using inexpensive aluminum flashing that created a texture with the use of a ball-peen hammer.

The interior gets plenty of natural daylight through several medium sized windows and an off-the-shelf track lighting system. When the door is open, diffuse light creates a glow throughout the space. The built-in bed measures 7-feet in length. All of the panels hides a full extension drawer that enables functional access to storage.

One of the most difficult tasks to remodeling the airstream was stripping the paint to unearth the original aluminum. The owner wanted to reveal the existing structure to give honor to the original craftsmanship.

Creating sizable slide-out drawers was pertinent to allowing enough storage area for clothes.

Restoration work was also done on the exterior with polishing the aluminum skin. He reconstructed the lights, and retouched the original license plate, wanting the space to be attractive from all angles, inside and out.

Stavropoulos doesn’t work in his airstream, however. He has another trailer for that. He purchased this 2003 model from Craigslist and designed it as the perfect portable workspace. The best part about it is that he is able to park it smack-dab in the middle of the landscape he is currently working on. Inside, he has a computer powered by exterior solar panels, a skylight to let in natural light, and a desktop with ample workspace. The steel siding allows him to hang his plans as he works on them.

Photos: Mark Compton

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