Of all of the mobile homes out there, perhaps none are more iconic than the Airstream and
today here in California, we're about to meet an interior designer who has taken a retro
60's caravan and towed it into the new century.
Hey August how's it going mate?
Bryce, so good to meet you!
Great to meet you, and it's amazing to see your home!
Thank-you.
I have to say I'm a big fan of the Airstreams.
Me too, they're special things and this is from 1968 which was a great generation and
it's got a lot of years under it.
What was the story in how you got started on this project?
So, my grandfather gifted this airstream to my dad 25 years ago, he had it for about 10
years and then parked it for about 10 years and it was slowly rotting away and I was leaving
the city and I saw a gem so I decided to take it off his hands, gutted it and kind of figured
out what I could do with it and what was salvageable and ended up taking the project on.
Seeing this Airstream and seeing the potential in it and seeing that it's a gem, I didn't
initially think it was going to be my home really, I just knew I wanted to take on the
project because I loved the Airstream and then after, I was about 2 months into the
build and I just fell in love with it, and I thought, why would I not live in this thing?
And I thought that creating a home that I owned, that wasn't a rental, that I could
take with me through my chapters of life would be special and it just was a good fit.
And so you did this whole project as a DIY, didn't you?
Yeah, totally.
I wanted to build it myself to save money on labour but also just to learn and figure
it out, a little more building skills.
Especially working with wood and milling wood and building cabinetry.
I'm an interior designer by trade so I have the vision but I wanted to figure out the
process of getting it to that point.
As an interior designer I know that you're probably used to working in much larger spaces,
what was it like tackling such a small space design project?
It was a challenge, there were many challenges I didn't expect either.
I think if anything it's just the amount focus on all the details you know, it's like a lot
of the time with bigger spaces you can get away with things having a little less attention
on them but every little inch in here you see, you know?
Also tackling the space, making it functional and at the same time having space to live
and move around but also have a place for everything.
Everything you need and nothing you don't.
Well already from the exterior I can see you've done a really good job on the restoration
of this one.
Thank you.
And I cannot wait to see what you've done inside, can we take a look?
Absolutely, come on in!
Thank you.
This is absolutely beautiful!
Thank you.
You've really gone for quite a modern edge in here, haven't you?
Yeah, the layout is actually pretty similar to the original 1968 layout, this was usually
a second bed but I turned this into a small dinette over here but kitchen's still in the
same place, bathroom still in the same end and the main bed is over here and this usually
had the table in the centre with two pieces which came together but I decided to go with
this arrangement and have the bed here and then also play as a day bed /sofa as well.
I definitely like how you've done that, you've created this as a really comfortable looking
area.
Have you included storage in this space as well?
Yeah, totally!
So along the back I have the holding tank for the water to be on the road and then in
front of that I have three areas of storage which I keep my linens in so making the bed
I'll pull the linens out and go back and forth.
One of the things that I'm quite impressed with is I can stand up in here and I wasn't
expecting to be able to.
Yeah, totally I mean, I have to give that to Airstream, they figured it out.
I didn't raise or change the subfloor so this is the original height.
The inside is 7 feet wide by 19 feet long and then just around 7 feet tall.
I really like the way that you've done the window treatments in here as well.
Yeah it's tricky with Airstreams because of the curve, if you just let them hang they're
going to sit away from the wall, so what I've done is place magnets on either side so that
I'm able to close it against the wall.
And then I do really like how you've created this dining area as well cos' it's always
nice to have a dedicated dining space just set up all the time, isn't it?
Yeah absolutely.
I use this also as my work space and it kind of doubles and what I really wanted to do
is cover the wheel wells so, the wheel well protrudes up under there and I wanted to have
that constantly covered so I added the table on top and then this one seater booth which
has an access panel on the outside that goes under it so I call that my garage, but yeah
it's great, super functional and then it's nice to be able to sit and look out the window.
And then the kitchen here has been especially nicely done, I really like this counter top!
Thank you so much.
Yeah the kitchen definitely is the centre piece of the project and the home so this
counter top is walnut, it was actually four different pieces of hardwood that I glued
and put together and then the fridge is a 3 way Dometic set-up so I can run it off propane,
battery or AC, so that's great and then over here I have a two top burner running off of
propane and an oven as well.
I especially like how you've kept the retro central control panel in it as well.
Totally, yeah that was something that I knew from the beginning that I wanted to restore
and keep in here.
It's really kind of the heart of the Airstream, the soul you know, it controls everything
and so I messed with the wiring a little bit and as you can see you know, the battery condition,
I can test that, lights still are functional on it.
I don't have a holding tank in here any more for the black, just they grey water tank so
that's not running but everything else, including the water pump.
That's so cool.
Yeah.
I like what you've done here with the sink as well.
Yeah absolutely, I love this faucet, did all my hardware from an Italian company called
Ducati .If you see under here I have an area for drying my dishes.
It goes pretty deep so it's actually great for washing pots.
One thing that's also nice about it is covering the top to get some extra counter space.
As you can see I used the same piece from the counter to follow the grain through.
Beautiful and this is quite a compact kitchen but you've still managed to build in a really
good amount of storage.
Yeah absolutely so these uppers I have food and pantry up here, all of the hinges in here
are soft close so driving they don't fly open, then over here I have my dish ware and then
a vent for the oven and then on this side of the storage here you can see this is a
steel panel because I had to get the oven so close I didn't want the heat to have an
issue with the wood and then on the other side I have my closet.
Really nice that you've built in some hanging storage and everything there.
Yeah, at first I was a little nervous that it was going to be too small but honestly
it's great, it fits all my clothes.
Large mirror there is a nice touch as well.
Yeah totally.
I wanted to figure out a place to put a mirror, but I didn't want it to be exposed and sometimes
I find I just leave this open and with the mirror it makes the space feel even larger.
Now in this whole home, there is only one painting on the wall so I'm guessing that
has got to have a story behind it.
Good observation!
Well, this Airstream is from Montana and my grandfather has a bison ranch in Montana and
as I said before it was gifted originally from him so I wanted to give a little bit
of love back to that and so I commissioned a local artist who ironically is named August
as well to do this oil painting of a scene at the ranch of a couple of bison.
And I really like how with the bathroom pocket door you've created it with that opaque glass
so that you can let a bit more light into the room as well.
Absolutely, light and then also just giving a little bit of dimension to the space and
I didn't want to close this off completely, like to be able to see through as you were
saying with the light but then also since it is a small space to understand, that it
continues past this door.
One thing I didn't anticipate was as the light changes throughout the day, the hue changes
in the temperature of how it comes through this door which is really special.
Sometimes I'll turn a light on in the bathroom and it'll be sunset and I'll get almost a
rainbow effect coming through the door which is really special.
Beautiful.
Well, can we check out the bathroom and see what's happening in there?
Absolutely, yeah definitely.
Oh this is very well done!
Thanks, yeah it was definitely the most challenging part of the project.
I wanted to repurpose the old holding tank which was the black tank into the grey tank
so what I did was basically use what was the black tank output, turn it into the shower
drain and made a wet bathroom so basically I just move my bath mat out shower it just
showers on everything and everything in here is actually water proofed as well as the walls
if you feel there's a rubber coating on there.
Oh yeah.
So the water just kind of beads off there.
The shower is a hand hold shower but then also I have a mount over here to the left
that I can just set it there and just shower normally.
Then the counter top, if you can see it's one piece here, walnut curve, I had to install
that before the wall or anything in order to get it in here and then I have the composting
toilet, the natures head which I love and then on this side I have my sink and also
this omni mounted mirror, so, it being curved as well, I had a little bit of a challenge
figuring out how to position the mirror so I got a speaker mount and then mounted it
with a speaker mount that I could position it the mirror however I like.
And then so under the sink I have access to all my systems, which I really want to be
able to not go outside and go in the back so under here you can see my hot water tank
is here, and then around there I have my converters and inverters and batteries as well.
Very clever design!
And what's the story behind this picture here?
So yeah, this is a photo of my father as I wanted to give a little praise to him as well
since he gifted this to me and, that's him in the 80's with Andy Warhol, they were close
friends and it was during the time he owned a night club and, the whole art world back
then.
No kidding!
Yeah.
What a treasure!
And so how long have you been living in the Airstream now?
Ah, I've been living in it full time for about 3 months now.
Fantastic and how are you finding life here so far?
It's been great!
It's been a little bit of a learning curve, you know?
Not only living in a small space but living in an Airstream and figuring out how they
work and what doesn't and ways to make things more efficient and what not.
And what was the budget in building this home?
Well, I got the original structure basically for free.
It was almost not worth anything with the condition it was in and I actually put 25
grand into it.
25 grand isn't including my labour but yeah, I think a great turn out for the budget.
It really is, this is a phenomenal result for this quality of build, well done!
Thank you so much.
And now you're just getting ready to take the Airstream on a big cross-country adventure!
Yeah, no destination exactly yet but definitely hitting the road.
I have a little bit of time off right now so I'm gonna head north I think after this.
And you have a job that lets you travel quite a lot because in addition to working as an
interior designer you're also a musician, aren't you?
Yeah, absolutely.
It's great I'm able to work mainly off of my lap-top so the office is really where I
set the laptop and then also I've been working on my music in this Airstream and exploring
the sound and recording in here as well which has been an interesting journey.
I do have an album coming out for the first time in two years.
It was during this project that I wrote the album so yeah, it's an inspiring space to
even write as well, you know, I love it.
This is really a family heirloom as it was passed down, I'm the third generation it's
been passed down, but I didn't want it to feel like I was living in my grandfather or
my dad's space, I wanted it to feel like my own so I really stripped it down in order
to create the space that felt personal to me and I love the idea of having a mobile
life style and being able to have my home and feeling like it's my permanent home when
I come back to it from my travels, have a place that's stable but then also in 30 minutes
strap it to my truck and take it to any next adventure.
August, you really have done such a great job with this build.
You've turned an old Airstream into a really beautiful home, thank you so much for sharing
it with me!
Thank you so much for coming by!
This really is such an impressive project.
August has done an amazing job with the design of this place but what I really like about
it is that there's just so much history tied up in here.
This is an heirloom which has passed from his grandfather to his father and now his
father to him and now, it's a beautiful home that's awaiting an incredible life on the road. on the road.
♫ He bought a pick up ♫
♫ Got rid of his foreign ♫
♫ Bin across the world ♫
♫ But he keeps exploring ♫
♫ Clothes smell of white sage and oak in the morning ♫
♫ Breaks up the pattern ♫
♫ If he see's it forming ♫
♫ Boots on the floor ♫
♫ In the eye of the storm ♫
♫ Boots on the floor ♫
♫ In the eye of the storm ♫