Most of this original renovation was done by Brian Schulz. He is the owner of Cape Falcon Kayak and does amazing work. Check out his work. Below is a narrative of the process he took to renovate Lark & Leigh. Soon we will be updated with the rest of the story!
The off-grid Airstream is a floor-to-ceiling, complete re-imagining of a classic American coach. From the original concept of Wally Byam in 1929, Airstream has always held the forefront of the industry with it's lightweight, beautiful, streamlined design, and innovative interiors that are so cleverly designed it almost feels disrespectful to dismantle one. I'll make no claims to improving the 1976 Argosy I remodeled, but I will say that I'm pleased with the result: a spacious, Scandinavian style interior incorporating as many sustainable concepts as possible. Complications with my health and personal life mean I won't personally be installing the planned 540 watt photovoltaic electric system, but aside from that, the project is mostly complete. Follow me on a tour!
The off-grid Airstream is a floor-to-ceiling, complete re-imagining of a classic American coach. From the original concept of Wally Byam in 1929, Airstream has always held the forefront of the industry with it's lightweight, beautiful, streamlined design, and innovative interiors that are so cleverly designed it almost feels disrespectful to dismantle one. I'll make no claims to improving the 1976 Argosy I remodeled, but I will say that I'm pleased with the result: a spacious, Scandinavian style interior incorporating as many sustainable concepts as possible. Complications with my health and personal life mean I won't personally be installing the planned 540 watt photovoltaic electric system, but aside from that, the project is mostly complete. Follow me on a tour!
To fit the front of the trailer I modified a futon bed from Ikea. The thin metal design allowed me to hide the original water tank, new water pump, and still have room for a huge amount of storage underneath. The pull out crates allow for simple loading and unloading of supplies without the fuss of cabinets. The brand new custom drapes slide perfectly in the original tracks to completely cover the panoramic front window. JPA Drapes specializes in Airstream curtains.
I modified the original folding table and added some thick edging to give it a much more substantial feel, including a live edge accent piece on the front with barnacles on it! It makes a nice little workstation/eating nook without crowding the floor plan. Yes, I'm eating breakfast out of the pan. Normal people use dishes.
|
|
The ingenious Kimberly wood stove heats the trailer. Made in the USA of solid stainless steel, the Kimberly is miserly on wood but generous on heat. The gassifier design uses the equivalent of a single 8 foot 2x4 to heat the trailer on a cold night in the winter. More important than what it heats, however, is how it heats, BTU's pour out of the front and top, leaving the sides relatively cool allowing it to be tucked into spaces with tighter approved clearances than any other small woodstove. All that heat pouring out the top also makes for a great medium-hot cooking surface. Building off this surface, I invented a device to thermo-siphon hot water to the the adjacent small water heating tank which also includes solar and electric inputs for when the stove isn't running (The device is removed in the photo because it hasn't been patented yet.) Finally, the Kimberly vents to 3" pellet stove pipe which is a perfect fit for a small trailer like this, and much less expensive than a common 6" class A stack. Lightweight, durable, low wood consumption, low emissions, low clearance, high heat, cooking, hot water, and American made; all of this adds up to make the Kimberly simply the best small wood stove in the world for tiny spaces. I'll admit when I originally purchased the Kimberly the sticker price made me a little queasy. Making an EPA approved, solid stainless stove with American labor is not cheap though, and I have the utmost respect for the company not taking this project overseas. Ethical considerations aside, what really sold me was using the stove itself, I loved it so much that I became a Dealer! Contact me directly for purchase information. Brian Schulz 503 354 4939 capefalconkayak@gmail.com
Before I go too much further, lets take a step backward to talk about the overall design. This photo shows the finished floor and counters. The flooring is FSC certified fir from my friend Ben Deumling at Zena Forest Products. The counters were created from reclaimed 2x6's that I laminated, re-sawed, planed, sanded, and finally finished with Vermont Natural Coatings Polywhey. The warm, bright, open interior is exactly what I was hoping for. The lower counters hide two secret cabinets in front of each wheel well!
Next in line for appliances is the Breville Smart Oven. Big enough to cook a chicken, this toaster oven on steroids is hands down one of the best small appliances I've ever used. It cooks just about everything perfectly. I liked it so much I recommend them to people for their normal houses.
The bed is a medium-firm natural latex mattress from Cotton Cloud Futon. Natural latex costs more than an ordinary foam mattress, but it's also more comfortable with a much longer lifespan and isn't made from toxic crap and doesn't off-gas toxic vapors. The bed frame is Sitka Spruce that I sawed myself from salvaged logs. There's a lot of storage space underneath!
Directly over the bed I added this marine hatch. It serves as a vent for showering and cooking, balances the light in the darker back half of the trailer, and makes for lovely stargazing on warm nights. It's also fun just to open it up and peek out!
I'm really proud of the acrylic shower stall and wooden floor pan. This part of the project really stretched my skill set, but there was simply no other way to maintain the wide-open feel of the interior. The clear walls make the small shower feels bright and spacious. It's worth going back through the blog to read what it took to create these elements.
I chose the Origo 4100 flush mount alcohol stove as an alternative to a propane range. It might not get hot enough to fry a wok, but with a lid on the pan I never was never disappointed.
One of the things I really don't like about most trailers and tiny houses is the tiny sinks they come with so I installed this full size, double well enameled sink that I found at a salvage yard. It really doesn't take up much more space and makes life so much nicer. I usually have the dish drainer in the right hand basin and do my cooking and washing in the left.
Hiding beneath the end of the countertop is a 5 cubic foot chest freezer. I ran the power through an external thermostat to create an extremely energy efficient refrigerator unit. The counter top hinges open for access.
|
|
Finally, a space is only as nice as it's lighting. I knew I wanted LED's, but most of what I found on the market was cheesy plastic fixtures with cool white bulbs. While I did find some nice stainless and glass 12 volt fixtures for the overhead lighting, for the accent lighting I had to start from scratch. I built this light bar over the kitchen with 4 warm LED spot bulbs and a length of aluminum channel. This fixture plus the two reading lights above the couch and a small table lamp makes perfect evening ambiance.
The final analysis:
The Airstream project was more expensive and time consuming than I expected (when is that not the case?) but I learned a lot of new skills and had a good time expanding my horizons. It's been a lovely little home for the last 9 months. The thin aluminum walls and single pane windows are colder than I expected, but the stove keeps up on all but the chilliest of nights. Like all trailers, moisture control is essential, and a dry environments keeps mold from getting established. As a minimalist I love small spaces, but I'm not an extremest by any means. Having lived in 100 sq ft that was too small, and 300 square feet that was more than I needed. The 150 sq foot floor plan of the airstream was a perfect compromise. The ample storage, open floor plan, and sparse bright interior makes the space feel bigger than it is.
The Airstream project was more expensive and time consuming than I expected (when is that not the case?) but I learned a lot of new skills and had a good time expanding my horizons. It's been a lovely little home for the last 9 months. The thin aluminum walls and single pane windows are colder than I expected, but the stove keeps up on all but the chilliest of nights. Like all trailers, moisture control is essential, and a dry environments keeps mold from getting established. As a minimalist I love small spaces, but I'm not an extremest by any means. Having lived in 100 sq ft that was too small, and 300 square feet that was more than I needed. The 150 sq foot floor plan of the airstream was a perfect compromise. The ample storage, open floor plan, and sparse bright interior makes the space feel bigger than it is.