Lighten Up

Posted by Rebecca

I got inspired during a visit to Tanille’s tiny home a few weeks ago.  She had switched her beautiful, but dark living room curtains for light ones; and it opened up, and brightened up the place so much that I had to try it myself.

I found some pretty shower (yes, shower) curtains at World Market that I loved and would do the trick.  They are fully fabric, and the thing I like about shower curtains is they are wider than regular curtains, so fewer panels are needed.  The only caution is they aren’t as long, so they work best behind furniture.

Notice the difference from my old heavy curtains, to my lighter set.  It feels so bright and cheery, and perfect for summer!  And I feel like I have a whole new living room!

Another bonus to this type of change is it feels like you’ve redecorated, but with very little expense or work.  My furniture does not rearrange well in my trailer.  My couch is huge and very deep, but I love it and won’t get rid of it.  So the front end of the trailer is the only place it fits (believe me, I tried about 174 other locations).  This change of window covering adjusts the light levels of the room, and makes the huge change that you feel when you’ve moved furniture.

I did the same thing in my bedroom last winter.  I thought I needed to immediately darken the wall color after hanging these new white curtains, but I still haven’t painted, and now that I’m used to the change I love it – with or without darker walls.

And that’s how you do a cheap and easy, light and bright summer makeover!  😉

Rebecca Knabe

Trailer Inspiration

Posted by Rebecca

I recently had a great link sent to me by my sweet fella (my friends think it sounds ridiculous when I call him that.  I tried “gentleman caller” for a while, but they said that made me sound like an escort; and “boyfriend” sounds way too silly for someone my age.  Anyway….).

Houzz is a renovation inspiration website that allows you to browse rooms and save photos for your own projects.  A recent post featured Airstream Trailers as an idea, because “in this increasingly urban and budget-conscious world, one of the greatest design challenges homeowners and designers face is figuring out how to live comfortably and stylishly in increasingly smaller spaces.”

And although the design and photos were Airstream-specific, the post reminded us, “Even if you don’t own an Airstream… think of these spaces as test-bunny methods you can use in your home’s smaller spaces. After all, a little goes a long-haul way.”

So click on this link and check out the fantastic and diverse trailer designs.  My favorites are photos #3 and #4, and I love the mod chandelier in photo #7.  Which ones are your favorites?

Here’s one of me and my fella, the gentleman caller, my boyfriend….  Let’s just call him John.

Rebecca Knabe

Trailer Pick of the Day – Angie’s Place

Posted by Rebecca

Angie and I have been friends for almost 8 years.  A couple of years ago she moved from Reno to Brookings, OR.  I spent a day with her last weekend and she told me she had recently moved into a trailer and was working on the renovations.  Next to my dad, she’s my biggest blog fan, and was so inspired by trailerchic that she was bursting with excitement over her new project and trailer home.

Angie promises to email me some before and after photos of the inside, but until then, here are a couple of the outside.

Living so close to the ocean, Angie’s collecting driftwood and using her creativity to bring a bit of the beach to her front porch.  Check out the mirror and lampshade she recently constructed.

Thanks, Angie and Chewy, for the tour and the visit!

Rebecca Knabe

The Greatest Compliment

Posted by Rebecca

My friend, Natasha, was visiting the other night.  Her son was playing with a little 9-year-old girl named, Trinity.  I was a 9-year-old girl once.  When I was 9 the only things on my mind were playing, pretty things like sparkles and kittens, and Barbie Dolls.  I think a lot of 9-year-old girls are fairly similar.

So it was an unexpected compliment when little Trinity walked into my trailer, eyes wide, and said, “It’s pretty in here!”

I was taken aback.  It was very unexpected.  And it felt like the greatest compliment ever.  I’ve had a lot of adults tell me that my place looks great, but sometimes I feel like they think they have to say that; or they’re really thinking, “This place looks great, for a trailer.”

Hearing it from a little girl, however, was better.  She didn’t know that it’s polite to express praise the first time you see someone’s home.  She isn’t aware that buttering someone up usually improves their impression of you.  And the last thing on her mind when she was preparing to walk into my home was, “I wonder how this place is decorated.”

So when Trinity told me that my place is pretty, I believed her.  She spoke from her heart.  And as I thanked her I thought to myself, “I think it’s pretty too.”

Posted by Rebecca

Small Changes Make a Big Difference

Posted by Rebecca

A couple of nights ago I finally got around to recovering the seats of my dining room chairs.  I bought my dining room set years ago at a yard sale for $30.  It had 6 chairs and 2 leaves to extend the table.  It was painted the current color shortly after I got it, and I have since sold two chairs to fit it more comfortably in my tiny home.

The seat bottoms have always been a dingy beige velvet-type fabric, and I’ve never liked it.  A friend recently gave me a large piece of fabric that tied in some of the colors in my home.  So I bought myself a manually powered staple gun and got to work.

It was a tedious task that took an entire evening.  I also learned that Cassi is terrified of the staple gun.  It’s not particularly loud, but something about it caused her to attempt to climb onto my lap several times during the process.  She’s 80 lbs.  It did not work well.

But we both got through it, and I am thrilled with the results.  See for yourself….

Before:

After:

Up close:

The set now feels fresh, clean, and stylish.  What a difference!  I know it seems like a strange mix of colors, but my curtains are the same dark green (if you look to the left of the top two photos, you can see my curtains in the reflection of the mirror), I have that large red mirror by the table, and I have hot pink cushions on my couch; and I think the combo is dreamy.

Rebecca Knabe

Fashionable Trailers

Posted by Rebecca

It’s finally catching on….  This trailer thing.

The reputation of the poor mobile dwelling has declined over the years – the first true mobile homes were horse-drawn carriages, then houses built on skids and moved by teams of horses; next the fancy camping trailers that were brightly painted to match the car hauling it around.  After that trailers became a little more stationary as the width and length grew, but it was still a respectable home.  The last 20-30 years, however, is where their reputation really went down the toilet, with run-down trailer parks and cheap housing options that attracted hoodlums and hooligans of all sorts.

But in this broken economy that has affected everyone, the value of the mobile home has vastly increased.  No, not the value as a monetary asset, but the value as an inexpensive structure.  And this value is being noticed by small business and boutique owners around the country.

The Fashion Truck is a “well-curated, lively mix of apparel and accessories products brought to trend seekers in a step van turned modern boutique,” according to their website.  It’s a Boston-based fashion truck that makes stops at markets, bazaars and parties.

The Styleliner has a collection of mobile stores in NYC, the Hamptons, Palm Beach, FL, and elsewhere, “that are hocking vintage accessories, sexy shoes and denim to die for in their haute wheels,” stated an article in the Edmonton Journal.

Sarah Ellison Lewis couldn’t deal with the price of store leases in Austin, TX, so she opened her funky shoe boutique in a renovated trailer, and parked it between a chic hotel and a popular brunch destination.

Photograph by: Jay Janner , AP

This trend is gaining momentum; so much so that ExTreme ReTrailers designs custom retail trailers as mini stores on wheels, with prices starting at $10,000.

So you see, this trailer thing really is catching on.  Or maybe this trailer thing always had it, and we are the ones who are finally catching on.

Rebecca Knabe

Saving the Environment, One Trailer at a Time

Posted by Rebecca

Most trailers weren’t built to be environmentally sound structures.  Mine, for instance, has weird super-hard pink plastic walls in the bathroom.  I have primed and painted over them so they look fine, but when it comes to decomposing, I’m sure my bathroom walls will lose the race.  And while it is possible to deconstruct an old trailer and use its parts elsewhere, most of what a trailer is made of is here to stay.  So why not apply the 3 R’s to trailer living – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Reduce – Most trailers are smaller than most homes.  They force you to downsize and simplify, and condense your living space.  By doing this, you are reducing the space you use up on this planet.  Pretty clever.

Reuse – As was mentioned, trailers don’t really ever go away.  Learning to reuse what is already available saves time, energy and money: time and energy in the constructing of new houses, and since trailers are a fraction of the cost of stick-built houses, your hard-earned money can be spent elsewhere.  There are many trailers and trailer cocoons just sitting around waiting for a loving occupant to spruce it up and fill it with life.

Recycle – Recycling is the process of turning waste materials into new products.  This is done when a run-down, dumpy old trailer is gutted, salvaged, and saved.  Did you know there are many old trailers like this available for free?  Check your local Craigslist and peruse older trailer parks in your area to get an idea of what is available.  I have a few neighbors who did this, and ended up with beautiful homes that on the inside look nothing like the trailer they used to be, complete with drywall, heated floors and recessed lighting.

I know that living in an old trailer isn’t going to save the planet, but fixing up an eye-sore in your own community will improve the look of your neighborhood and your city.  You can take your renovation one step further by utilizing local construction material re-salers like Habitat for Humanity, for items like flooring and lighting, and everything in between.  And you never know – you may just fall in love with the simple trailer life.  I know I did.

Happy Recycling!

A lovely painting by American artist, Leah Giberson.

Rebecca Knabe

Trailer Pick of the Day – Casita

Posted by Rebecca

I just got back last night from a 5 day lake extravaganza.  It was great!  More on that later….

But I wanted to share this cute little camping trailer that belonged to our campground neighbor at Sugar Pine Point State Park in Lake Tahoe.

Casita trailers are a nice travel option, and they advertise to be lightweight and fuel-efficient.  New ones start at $14,000, but our neighbor was able to find his for $5,000.  He did a little renovating inside, mostly on the cabinets; replacing the old ones with new dark mahogany-stained ones.  The inside also features a bench and table area that converts to a queen size bed, a mini stove, fridge and sink, and a bathroom that includes a shower.

One of my favorite features is the airplane-style door.  If I was in the market for a vacation trailer, I’d definitely consider one of these little guys.

Check out their website for more details.

Rebecca Knabe

Another Pink Trailer

Posted by Rebecca

I just found one of the cutest trailers I’ve seen in a while.  The Fancy Farmgirl, Tiffany, is a photographer in Seattle, and apparently has a penchant for fantastic trailers.  Check out her recent renovation!  Cassi and I would have great weekend get-aways in this thing….

The cutest little trailer in a country mile.

Rebecca Knabe

My Magnificent 1958 Mayflower

Posted by Rebecca

Thanks so much to Crystal at Mobile Home Living for featuring me and my “Magnificent 1958 Mayflower” on her website on Monday.  It was really exciting to see my home through someone else’s eyes.

Read the full article and interview here.  And while you’re there, take a look around at her website.  It’s great!

Rebecca Knabe