Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Bed Restoration

Here is a before picture of the door side of the beds.  The fabric on the beds and the walls seem to be original along with the mattresses.  This was the junkyard dogs house, so bother were thrown out right away as they smelled and looked horrible.The other twin bunk on the driver's side was just as grosse.  The board you see in the the foreground is the tv tray - a much advertised inovation of the time in 1963!This was the procedure that we had for all the stripping and staining.  I would put the stripper on several of the pieces at once and then go back over them and scrape them.  I would used steel wool to touch up any smaller places or hard to remove paint.  Believe me, it was very rewarding to see all that grey looking paint come off the cabinets! 

After a washdown with paint thinner and a day of rest, I stained all the pieces with Red Mahogony stain.  We knew this was a sort of risk in the "Vintage Airstream World."  But we liked the look of the dark wood the best!We started getting the frames in for the cupboards and beds without the walls (they weren't finished yet, but we were excited to get things done.)  It still seemed pretty big without all the furniture in, so we were really excited at this point!Here the drawers are back in with the frames.  As you can see, we haven't veneered the drawer fronts that were ruined yet.  That was the very last thing that we did, as the veneer was a pretty penny and hard to find.Finally, the doorside bed, with the uphostry of the couch on the back of the wall is in. I found these great blankets at a rummage sale for $2 for both!  My friends that as were with me thought I was crazy with the bright color, but I knew it matched my couch perfectly! Stay tuned for the bunk beds that we installed over the top of these beds!  Hope you enjoy!

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5 comments:

  1. I love the dark wood-and the bright colors! Awesome!

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  2. Great job. Just what we've talked about doing in our 74 International. We have a closet and dresser combo on one side and the gaucho on the other side of the mid bedroom. Where do you store your long stuff (coats, brooms etc?)

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  3. There are two full size closets in the bathroom area at the back of the Airstream that hold all the hang-up clothes. There was also a broom holder on the door of the pantry, which is in the kitchen.

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  4. Great job - I love dark stain, so I think it's a great choice! Dropping by from BNOTP.

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  5. I love it what an ambitious undertaking I have got to s how you finish this and ad the bunks! I am so glad i found your blog! I am a new follower. If you get a chance I would love for you to peek at my blog www.thepolkadotcloset.blogspot.com

    Thank You Carol

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