Before and After: A ’70s Airstream Gets Saved from Shag Carpeting

Sheena and Jason’s vintage Airstream is a soothing, lovely, bohemian dream on wheels. They travel the States in it with their beautiful dog Riley. Now the interior is all-white, with natural textures and bold patterns, but it sure didn’t look that way when they bought it.

“Our entire trailer was one giant DIY project. We bought Mavis in original 1975 condition. She was full of green shag carpeting, yellowed walls and fake wood furniture – and not the kitschy retro kind…the ugly kind. Jason became an unofficial plumber/electrician thanks to YouTube and the fine folks at Home Depot, and my dad taught me basic carpentry,” describes Sheena.

“I built much of the interior myself, becoming a pro at the circular saw, nail gun and rivet gun. I’d sketch what I wanted to build and my dad would then sketch out how to frame it. Jason and I spent countless hours researching how everything worked in here, how to take it apart and how to put it back together with new parts.”

While much of the makeover was done on a budget, the couple did invest in design decisions with a big visual impact.

“We splurged on a big stack of tongue and groove reclaimed barn wood. The texture, saw marks and patina are just beautiful. Some of our pieces even have actual worm holes in them. We fashioned them into matching desk tops for the vintage style metal desks my dad welded for us. The rest make up the top of our TV shelf built-in.”

“I love the feel of crisp white spaces that draw on color and texture from plants, wood and a mixture of interesting textiles and one-of-a-kind vintage pieces.”

“I wanted the space to feel as bright and airy as possible since I was working with only 180 square feet.”

“Fortunately, Airstreams are loaded with windows. There are a whopping 13 windows in here! I also wanted to pay tribute to Mavis’ roots by adding lots of macramé.”

It’s a beautiful home made even more lovely knowing how much blood, sweat and tears the couple put into the space!