Jordan Menzel had separated from his wife and he wanted to create a new life for him and his 1-year-old daughter, Penelope.
He had sold his $350,000 home in Salt Lake City to start his new life but he didn’t want to buy another home. He was riding around his bike in the downtown area when he chanced upon his next home.
“My ability to be… optimistic about what I was capable of that I can make something happen was very shattered,” Jordan told HouzzTV. “I knew I needed a project and it helped me remember that I can still be a creative individual, despite the challenges, and reap the rewards of that.”
An Airstream trailer was parked on the road and an idea formed in his head. He was going to transform an Airstream trailer into his next home.
He searched online for Airstream trailers and found one in a matter of hours.
“He just wanted it out. So I showed up, he said, ‘how much can you pay?'” Jordan recalled. “I offered him a third of what he was looking at and [I] was able to get the trailer for just under $4,000.”
Now, the next step was finding a place where he can park his new home. He searched and ask around and found the perfect spot offered by a good friend.
“He lives in the heart of downtown and happened to have a large ‘40-foot field,’ so to speak, behind his home. After a few texts, the Airstream had found its home,” Jordan said.
Jordan was now the proud owner of a 160 square feet 1976 Airstream trailer that he was determined to transform into a cool, happy home for him and his daughter.
His new-old trailer still had a great exterior and he didn’t need to do a lot of restoration with it.
The inside, however, was a different story.
It looked exactly like it was in 1976, with the original fixtures still in place. The shag carpet was still there. The curtains were still white and boring. The laminate cabinets were still there and everything was still cream or brown.
“All the cabinetry, I tore out completely and rebuilt from scratch. I replaced the subfloor and found really affordable scrap bamboo flooring,” Jordan said. “I [also brought in some] comfortable fabrics that added just a little bit of life into the space [and] that was really important to me.”
Jordan also put in a whole new functional kitchen, where the long counter serves as a kitchen counter, a desk, or a reading area.
He was able to source out cheap wood and used it to build storage spaces for the pantry and even to house the fridge.
“My philosophy on decorating is that if it doesn’t serve a purpose, it isn’t necessary,” Jordan said about his design style. “[I] like clean, well-organized spaces that prioritize multiuse functionality.”
Since his life changed, the happiest moment of his life was the first night he slept inside the renovated Airstream.
“Finishing the Airstream was so much more than just a project. It was a symbolic gesture to myself that I still had the capacity to take on a wild idea and bring it to life,” Jordan shared. “Falling asleep in this hilariously odd creation sort of put to rest all my personal struggles and allowed me to have a renewed sense of who I am and what I wanted: a simple, happy life.”
And that’s what he wants anyway, to live a purposeful life with his daughter, without the clutter.
Check out the way he updated his purchase into a beautiful new home for him and his daughter.
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