All systems in place, it was now down to the final interior fit out.

We love all things mid-century modern – our home is full of mid-century furniture and art, and it was part of the appeal of our Airstream.

We wanted to keep that mid-century feel to the interior, and honour the original cabinetry as far as possible – while keeping it light and as open plan as possible. After spending months camping with just what we would carry on a motorcycle, or in our little Franklin, we knew we would not need a lot of storage space or appliances.

Living room

Originally the front of the Airstream had a “gaucho” sofa, which pulled out to become a bed. We found a 1970s Don Rex sofa bed on Facebook marketplace at a give-away price, and completely refurbished it. Made from Queensland Blackbean, it’s a super spot for a nap, and can still be pulled out and converted to a double bed, without adding much weight up front or taking up too much space.

Kitchen

We build the kitchen cabinet from scratch from marine grade Hoop Pine plywood. Hoop pine is native to the area, and is beautiful in a natural finish (varnished for the worktop), and stained maple for everywhere else.

The cupboards have pull out Ikea baskets in them to make the storage more useful. Drawers are also Ikea with custom Hoop Pine plywood fronts. Rather than take up counter space with a cooktop, we use a portable induction cooktop instead that can be stored underneath when not needed.

Using a sink with a lid also increased our counterspace – although we chose to add a house-grade faucet rather than use a folding tap inside as we wanted more water pressure.

The original overhead kitchen cabinets were not replaced to keep a more open feel. We replace the original exhaust fan and housing with a lower profile 12v fan and sleeker plastic exhaust and switch, and installed a minimalist led kitchen worklight.

The original kitchen cabinet also housed the furnace. We don’t need that heating in tropical Queensland, but we loved the vintage look of the original so we refurbished the grill and external face and installed it as a homage.

Bedroom

This model Airstream had another gaucho sofa that pulled out to make a double bed, right above an external locker that provided access to the original fusebox and inverter. We built a new storage space around that external door to provide storage for our Weber barbeque, and folding camping tables and chairs.

We found another vintage Blackbean bed frame on Facebook, and altered it to make up the rest of the bed frame – again to keep the mid-century feel, and open layout.

We use the space underneath the bed to transport the rest of our camping gear – outdoor mats, Tropical Room, privacy screens, and full size camping chairs. It keeps all of that weight above the axles, balancing the trailer.

Fully laden – the entire rig only weights 2100kgs – well within our tow vehicle’s range.

We also opted not to replace all of the overhead lockers in full – a short shelf on the kerbside covers the 240v wiring conduit and is a handy storage shelf without eating into headroom on the way to the bathroom.

On the streetside, a deeper shelf provides storage for books and clothes. On both sides of the bed we have fold down coffee mug/drink holders and wireless phone chargers in the back bulkhead.

We built new bathroom doors, but fitted them in the original frames and hinges.

Storage and Fridge

We chose to install a standard 240v electric fridge – off grid, we plan to use an esky (ice box). We chose the largest single door fridge that would practically fit in the space available, where the original fridge stood.

Cabinetry around that was all built from 4mm marine Hoop Pine plywood with a maple stain. The Airstream originally came with a full oven. We didn’t need that or the weight, but loved the look of the oven door so we removed it and modified it to act as a cabinet door.

The cabinet around the fridge was built to provide the minimum required airflow at the rear and either side, including into the cupboard above with rattan doors for the same reason.

Workspace

We plan to work remotely from the beach from the Airstream – so the area under the large kerbside windows carries a folding work desk that can be moved out of the way when not needed, and we also carry a folding ergonomic desk chair with us.

Ready to see a bit more? Welcome to our home on the road….