My first love affair with vintage machinery came in the form of a toy Matchbox hotrod, the classic 1957 Chevy Bel Air, red with yellow racing stripes down the sides that flared onto the big fins.
The chrome, the design – the sort of lost future that hadn’t really happened but was being hoped for – grabbed my imagination as a boy and continues still today.
That’s one reason I love to share old things put back into use – in this case in the form of a vintage RV that’s been recommissioned.
The exterior of the 1967 Airstream Overlander, buffed to a near mirror finish.
This particular beauty is a member of the one true aristocratic family of the American RV universe, Airstream. The 1967 Overland Airstream camper is a classic in its own right – from the polished aluminum skin, to the sleek lines that have inspired many space age designers who followed.
A view of the fireplace from the entrance.
The trailer received a complete rebuild from the ground up by Bill Sheppard, of Architect Series. He was proud of his design and it paid off with a quick sale!
The front compartment in the nose features this sitting area.
Bill said,
…we knew we had something good when it sold in less than 20 minutes of being listed!
A view through the trailer from the nose, note bath in lighted rear arch.
Architects get paid to reimagine spaces for a living and in this case, Sheppard turned the torpedo shaped fuselage into three distinct areas, each slightly more private than the next.
A pair of arched, open dividers created rooms, while leaving the feel of openness.
To tie it all together, a wide plank floor with bold grain was installed on a diagonal to give the space more interest.
Bedroom opposite the bed, featuring a bureau desk and glass-fronted closet.
You enter the trailer to a view of an elegant electric log fireplace, coupled with a luxury sofa at the nose of the trailer.
Just off this, in the same area, is a kitchen and vanity with plenty of drawer storage that makes up the front “compartment” of the design.
The lines are sleek, clean, and modern without feeling forced creating a timeless esthetic.
Cozy double bed folded out.
In the second section you’ll find a convertible sofa that easily becomes a double bed, a glass front closet and a modern desk.
With the sofa up, there’s room for entertaining clients for the business on the go or just casual visitors.
The glass front closet, while visually appealing, would not work well for people like me, who need somewhere to cram stuff into.
With the bed folded down a generous aisle still provides easy access through the bedroom to the bath at the rear of the trailer.
Bath with soaking tub and vessel sink, note bedroom to right of bulkhead.
In the final section is the bath. This is not your Grampa’s RV “camode”. Sheppard went for luxury here with an obsidian black soaking tub and a vessel sink.
The bath is completely private, with a locking door separating it from the rest of the trailer.
Custom generator hood, on and off, provides a nice finishing touch.
From the inside, the vintage aspects are completely hidden under a calm, elegant, modern skin, while outside the trailer is what Airstreams have always been, aluminum time capsules on wheels.
To match the highly polished exterior, a platform and polished aluminum hood cover have been added to the rear to hide an integrated gasoline generator for those off grid “glamping” adventures.
Staying here, after all, couldn’t be classified as roughing it!
