The Silver Suitcase Airstream

The Silver Suitcase Airstream

Friday, September 6, 2013

Little Things Mean a Lot

Needlepoint Pillow from Trina Turk

Vintage Midcentury Bulova Clock Radio from Penticton Flea Market

Chrome Beach Cruiser Bikes from Wil Stiles in Palm Springs

Relief Plaque from Estate Sale

Vintage TWA First Aid Kit cum Beverage Center

Trina Turk Residential Needlepoint Owl Pillow

I'm starting to fill in all the blanks now- here and there little things are getting unpacked.  I bought two beach cruiser bikes (in chrome, thank you) from Wil Stiles in Palm Springs.  They also have great clothes, but that's for another time.  Another stop at Trina Turk's Albert Frey-designed boutique next door to get two needlepoint pillows for the lounge area.  The owl will live in the tulip chair, and the Palm Springs pillow is going to reside across from the owl on the sofa/gaucho in the Airstream.

I bought the vintage TWA airliner first aid kit on ebay.  I'd wanted to do kind of a bar somehow, but filling this first aid kit with tiny airline-size liquor bottles seemed like a humorous solution.

The "relief" plaque came from an estate sale- I wonder what it was for originally?  It's going up in the Airstream's bathroom.  I considered putting it on the door, but it's inside near the tiny basin.

The Bulova clock radio had to come live with me.  I was in Penticton, British Columbia this summer at my friends Liz and Frank's place and Liz and I went to the flea market.  Picked this little WORKING radio up for $20 Canadian!  Unfortunately, both knobs broke in my carry on on the way home- someone had glued them on previously, so need to patch those up.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Flooring Day

Cruddy old original 1980's carpet being removed

Trimming edges on Chilewich Flooring

Gaucho Frame Removed (those are batteries underneath the ledge

Pulling out old carpet under dinette table
The flooring from Chilewich arrived at Flooring Innovations.  I was able to schedule the installation of the upholstery about 20 minutes after the flooring was installed.  What complicated the whole installation was that my upholsterer refused to install the sofa first, as the entire frame had to be removed (you can see it out entirely in the photo above with the two battery boxes bneneath).  the carpet was pretty gnarly, especially after 12 weeks of contractors in and out and no one cleaning the floor (though I did run the vacuum a few times to get up nails and things like that).  The flooring looks great.  You can hardly see where the seams are.  It's a woven vinyl mat with a rubber backing from Chilewich, who makes the great placemats and floor mats for homes.  This is a platinum/silver color with grey and charcoal strands in it.  It sparkles at night and reads like a neutral during the day.  It looks amazing!

The Final Countdown

Alf's Window Coverings Installing Gaucho/Sofa

Vintage Keychains from Ocotillo Lodge and Smoketree Inn

First Aid Kit for Kitchen

Vintage 1960's Sconces from Rejuvenation
Well, the final hours are here before the big reveal party- Alf came and installed the gaucho sleeper sofa that was reupholstered in the same green Sunbrella fabric as the wall panels.  I had forgotten what it looked like as he pulled it out at the end of May- it's just been sitting and couldn't be installed until after Flooring Innovations had installed the Chilewich Flooring.  I have added a few more items- a vintage TWA airliner first-air kit that I've filled with tiny airline bottles of vodka.    I picked up the vintage Palm Springs Hotel key fobs- the Ocotillo Lodge (I sold three units there last year- remember, I'm a real estate agent) will be my new keychain.  I love that font for the old Lodge.  The sconces from Rejuvenation Lighting and House Parts are the vintage ones, but Miguel at Ala Mod in Palm Springs rewired them so the cord can hang free for surface mounting in the Airstream.