new awning

Big change for our girl this week... a new awning was installed by the lovely folks at Artistic Awning.  The existing awning was incredibly moldy and smelly.  It was also pulling out of the track so had awning tape slapped on to it.  

The new awning is Sunbrella fabric, and is much much cuter.  Every girl wants to be cute.

We have also been fixing up some of the smaller details.  Making sure the lights work (all but one).

Greg and his helpful Dad also made sure all the appliances and whatnot are working, and located the plug-in spot.

I have been trying to figure out what to do with the old speaker fabric.  Above you see what we started with.  I tried painting it, but the fabric is too thick and absorbent.. never-mind the giant hole left from the stereo.  Then I found a tutorial for adhering fabric with cornstarch here so I gave that a try.

 It actually went pretty well (both sides are covered), but it was tricky to stick around the edge of the stereo hole.  Unfortunately when it dried the one on the left went orange in spots.  I'm thinking maybe dye from the old fabric coming through?  The fabric I used is a natural cotton canvas drop cloth.  It's stiff from the cornstarch.  I'm wondering what would happen if I painted it now that it is stiff and smooth.  Ideas?  Suggestions?  Solutions?

lipstick

We decided to paint portions of the trailer.  Areas that had previously been painted or were not original.  

A coat of Kilz Premium primer went onto everything that would be painted to block stains and provide good adhesion.  The front of the trailer was painted beige, and the wood trim on the upper cabinet was very damaged.  The doors were ugly beige laminate and the speakercloth was gold with holes in them.

I promise to show before and after photos at the end.  This countertop looks to not be original, and was painted bright green (almost exactly the colour of painter's tape!).  The shelf was not original, in fact from what I can tell this area originally had a shallower shelf and by-pass doors.  Like this.

the real deal

Of course inside the cabinets got done.  Less than half of the cabinets were painted inside.

better already!

 This counter was also the beige wood-grain laminate that was original but I'm guessing it faded over the years.  All the counters will eventually need replaced (you can see in this photo that the counter is bulging up in the back corner).  Not this year though.

The paint I decided to use for the counters is porch & floor paint which should be really durable.  I had it tinted to match Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray.  I plan on giving it a coat of wax both to have a non-toxic surface, and to give it more sheen.

the hole is cut in the counter to access the fridge for maintenance. 

The other project I've been up to is oiling all the wood with Watco Medium Walnut oil.  It has made such a difference for evening out the wood tone and giving it a nice soft glow.

on the left.. before oil

on the right.. after

We are not sure what wood species the cabinets are, you're welcome to give me your guesses in the comments.  It had not been clear-coated, which tells me it was a 'premium' wood species.  For airstream at that time that means cherry, mahogany, or walnut.  It also appears to have been stained at some point (not at the factory, it has been done very sloppily).  It has faded but looks reddish.