We have been wanting to remodel the airstream kitchen, since we purchased it in 2011. We tried to live with it the way it is, with cracked counters, broken tambour, cabinet bottoms failing and latches not functioning. After our last road adventure in February, we realized that the end was near. We’ve been so busy with work (my sister and I own a real estate company and my husband, Matt, is a carpenter) that we have been putting off our various airstream projects for lack of spare time. That….oh, and the heat! Our 1974 air conditioning is a champ when it is under 100 degrees, but struggles hard when it is hotter. The heat is such a motivation-killer! In about 1-2 months, the weather in AZ will be perfect. And, hopefully, by then we’ll be able to start our adventures again, once the kitchen is finished.
We agreed to start demoing 1 side of the kitchen at a time, so we started with the refrigerator side. I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to get started on this project!
Here are a couple before photos of the refrigerator side of the kitchen:
Tearing it apart:
Here is the empty space, as it stands now. The side panels will be replaced with new walnut veneered panels:
We have the old refrigerator venting, which we are going to build a cabinet around, until we purchase a 2-way refrigerator. Right now, since we aren’t planning to take more than a few weekend trips a year, we are totally fine with our electric mini fridge/freezer.
We’ve decided to go with a walnut veneer for the cabinets, green formica for counters (just like the original counters), circle latch knobs and eventually a new 2-way refrigerator. We’ll be reusing the cooktop (it is very hard to find a new 4 burner stove), the oven and the sink. I am going to paint the entry door to match the one below.
Here are a few photos of the abused sink side of the kitchen:
When disassembling the kitchen, we noticed the metal brackets in the kitchen were stamped ‘airstream’. Pretty groovy.
Here is our inspiration board for the sink side of the kitchen.
airstreamy 