A Project

When we tore apart the inside of the Airstream, Max decided it was time to consolidate all the miscellaneous electric stuff that used to be behind the couch. Sorry, I really don't know what it is or what it is called, but here is a photo all consolidated.

As proud as I am of his electrician skills and as fascinating as all these wires are, I decided a cover would be a good thing.  We debated - as we always do - various options.  (A digression.  Our first house - about 150 years old - was a handyman's special.  While we were "debating" whether to remove a small porch on the front of the house, the nice old man across the street came over and we apologized for "debating" in front of him.  He told us, "Anything worth doing is worth arguing about."  We've had many occasions since to follow his sage advice.) 

But, we had a piece of luan already painted blue - the one that broke if you have read earlier posts - so we economically used that.  It needed to have good ventilation, because that grey box has a fan on top.  Thus, the cover had to be open on the top and bottom, and some vent holes in the front seemed a good idea.
I found a pattern for an Art Nouveau Rose online, altered it, and managed to cut it out with a utility knife. For the sides, we needed the shape of the walls. After a few stabs at it, I found the best way was to take a piece of cardboard and cut and test and cut and test.  Because of the curve of the wall, the cover is about 1/2 inch wider on the top than the bottom.

It is all glued together with Liquid Nails, then strengthened with some side pieces. The final touch was decorative screening and aluminum edging. Again, we debated how to fasten it, but when we added the dog leash holder, inspiration struck. We found the same system at Lowe's, and added these little receptacles (right). 
  
To cover the wires on the bottom, a piece of the sticky vinyl wall base made for a neater look: 

And, Tada!  Here is the final cover.

Whimsy

The really fun part of renovation is when you get to the whimsical stage. That's the stage beyond just indulging your own tastes. We loved this object as a hook by the door for - of course - the dog leash.

Vinyl Wall Base

In our work on the Airstream, we first applied the wall board, then ran the laminate floor up to it.  That, however, leaves an uneven gap of up to 3/8" inch (unless you are really, really good at cutting!). In a home, this is remedied by baseboard. In the curvy Airstream, baseboard would be impossible.  Even if the board were flexible, it would have to flex both around the curve and, because the walls slant back slightly, up and down also.  We tried a very thin piece of a concave molding about 1/2 inch deep and 1/2 inch high, but because it was concave it wouldn't stay flat on the floor while it bent. 

Our solution:  A 4" high vinyl wall base - in Almond.  Even with its flexibility - a beautiful thing - we had to cut to account for the curves.  (If you cut a 4" high piece of paper to lay flat against the wall touching the floor, it would form a big arc.)  Thus, it took 3 pieces to make the corner.  The stuff cuts wondefully.  I started using a utility knife, but then happened to use scissors to make a rough cut, and ditched the utility knife. This is the result:

Like everything else, there is a knack to applying it that you master about the time you put the last piece on.  It is self-stick with a very aggressive glue - once it's on, it is on.  I learned to slide back the paper a little bit on one end, stick it where I wanted, then slip the paper back bit by bit and stick it.  When finished, we got some almond caulking and now it looks like the right hand photo above. (For all you sticklers out there, I did go back and caulk the tiny spot at the bottom!)  Here is the finished look - very clean and simple. 

 

Retro-vation - Blue

Husbands are not accountable, in my experience.  Max took off all the window frames during the demolition phase.  They hung around garage for a while, getting in the way until we found a handy hook to hang them on. By chance, they were apparently near a can of Wildflower Blue spray paint.  Next thing you know, the elves (or maybe Max) had spray painted them all blue. It was a shock, but not the first I'd ever had in a renovation project, and the color is absolutely perfect.  (Thank goodness the elves didn't go with the Nutmeg Brown paint or the purple or the stove black!)  Next time I went into the garage, there was the range hood painted in blue also.  As usual, this was presented to me after the fact.  "Doesn't that look great?"  "Yes, dear."

   Fortunately, I like blue.  So much so that when Max decided to reverse the refrigerator door (the open side is the bed side - for midnight snacking I guess), we removed the panels and painted the reverse side with the same Wildflower Blue, so we could have a matching fridge.  BTW, don't bother to take yours apart - the door doesn't reverse.

The final touch was a blue Bali blind for the kitchen window.  Curtains get splashed from the sink, so we wanted something washable.  Although people don't like the gap because of the wall curve, we ordered it a little wide (about an inch extra on either side) and ordered the bottom fasteners so it is pinned to the wall.  Since the curtain/blind/shade issue is so thorny to so many Airstreamers, I will update on whether this works or not.  They are not inexpensive - this tiny one was about $75 - but they certainly have the Wow Factor with the color.

Retro-vation - The Wood Stove

We have a new heat source.  Max, being a big fan of boats, knew they made wood stoves for boats.  So he did a little web searching and discovered this nifty little wood stove for the Airstream.  It's a Newport by Dickinson Marine, and it will burn wood, charcoal or pellets.  It's 14 inches high, by 7.75 inches wide by 9 inches deep.  Max cleverly mounted it on a table pedestal leg from Camping World.  The legs come in different lengths, so you can choose whatever you want.  The only downside is that it calls for a permanent 3 inch fresh air intake - the same size as the vent pipe.  But since we are basically burning twigs, for our purposes we can crack open a window when we use it. 

You can see in the photo below that the spot we chose was right next to the smoke detector.  We didn't think that would work out too well, so we will have to remount the smoke detector in a different spot.

I cringe at making any holes in the Airstream, but Max is braver than I, so here is the Smoke Stack on top.  Looks pretty sporty, doesn't it?