clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Vintage Airstream renovated into 170-square-foot roving home

New, 4 comments

The soothing space boasts a new floorplan and eggshell blue cabinets

By Megan Barber
4 comments / new
A shiny silver Airstream camper trailer sits in a green field with trees around.
This 1971 vintage Airstream was renovated by Idaho-based Traverse Design + Build
Christine Marie Photo

Looking for some design eye candy during a time of increasing anxiety? Curbed has you covered with alluring home tours and show-stopping real estate, but the latest home renovation to catch our eye is actually a home-on-the-go.

This 1971 Airstream Overland International was originally a product of ’70s schtick, with yellow walls, dark fake wood, and an oxidized aluminum hull that had lost its luster. But where others saw flaws, Idaho-based Traverse Design + Build saw opportunity. The design team uses contemporary style to renovate and build custom campers—mostly vans—and the company took on this 27-foot Airstream as a personal project.

Like most old campers, the Airstream needed a complete overhaul of its mechanical systems, and the frame and floors had sustained major damage over the years. After reinforcing the frame and redoing the electrical and pipes, Traverse replaced the floors with engineered maple.

The interior of an Airstream travel trailer with eggshell blue cabinets, stainless steel countertops, and a dinette.
After reinforcing the frame and redoing the electricity and plumping, Traverse Design + Build opened up the Airstream’s floorplan.
Christine Marie Photo

A new floorplan removed claustrophobic partitions to open up the space, creating site lines throughout. The front of the trailer holds a dinette which serves as a dining space during the day and folds into an oversized twin bed at night. The kitchen area features Ikea cabinetry topped with stainless steel counters, and there’s also a refrigerator, two-burner stove, sink, and floor-to-ceiling cabinets that provide plenty of storage.

A convertible sofa bed sits next to the cabinets, allowing more storage underneath, and across from the sofa a small work station has space for a computer. The rear of the trailer holds the bathroom, where white penny tile and a white vessel sink complements a stainless steel countertop.

The look is both thoroughly contemporary and respectful of the trailer’s vintage roots; the eggshell blue cabinets offer a soothing pop of color in the mostly white space, while the trailer’s original command center above the dining area was refreshed and reused. Check it all out in the photos, below.

A door of an Airstream trailer is open and you can see plants and a dinette inside.
You enter the Airstream with the dinette area directly to your right.
Christine Marie Photo
A look at the kitchen area inside a travel trailer, with white cabinets and stainless steel counters.
The kitchen features eggshell blue upper cabinets, white lower cabinets, and stainless steel counters.
Christine Marie Photo
A look at the rear area of the trailer which has a bathroom with white sink and white cabinets.
The bathroom features white penny tile and a vessel sink.
Christine Marie Photo
A large white cabinet sits next to a gray blue convertible couch.
The sofa converts into a second sleeping space, and large cabinets provide storage.
Christine Marie Photo
A work area inside the trailer has a wooden stool, computer, and stainless steel counters.
A small work area sits across from the convertible sofa.
Christine Marie Photo

Loading comments...