Gordie's Restoration
The Soft
Gordie was in relatively good shape when we got him. He needed a thorough clean and needed to have all new cushions, curtains, floor and a new awning. We went with a vintage tropical theme because of the color palette and the use of Flamingos. A local company in Calgary sewed our cushion covers, and Marti from Marti's Awnings made the awning. Kathy sewed the curtains and pillows. Bill had hand painted the floor in black and white check and although we hummed and hawed on what flooring to put in, we decided to keep the painted floor. We scuffed it up and then put 3 coats of poly on top to protect it. Kathy added a fun stick-on backsplash and purchased fun retro accessories from thrift shops and local estate sales to round out the remodel.
The Hard
A few things were evident right off the bat with Gordie. We needed to reframe the front under the window because of major water damage. We also knew we had to buy new tires and attach our spare tire to the back. Then we started and things were worse than we anticipated. We ended up reframing under both front side windows and building two new bench seats up front to accommodate our AC unit we installed. Knowing that we were going to be traveling down to California, we wanted to feel comfortable in 40 degree heat. Even now, we are bringing Gordie home soon to reframe out his door because it isn't closing properly.
The Future for Gordie
In a perfect world in which we are independently wealthy, Gordie would be with us forever. The ultimate dream of opening a Vintage Trailer park (maybe at a vineyard or in an old factory like in Berlin) has some financial responsibilities that we are unable to work with at this time. Update: We finished up Gordie's to do list, put him up for sale and delivered him to his new owner's in Kelowna BC. They also have a mid 60's trailer named Gladys so we know Gordie will be taken care of for a very long time!
