1960
Holiday House
The Harry & David Fruit Company in Medford, OR attempted to enter the travel trailer business in 1960. They only lasted a couple of years so only a dozen or so of these are known to still exist. Our trailer collector friends in El Paso brought us this one with some really cool ideas of what they wanted, a high tech 60’s sci fi feel to the interior. It was pretty complete, but quite honestly the interiors were pretty ugly compared to the modern appearance of the outside, and the interior layouts just were not that good.
We began this project by disassembling the entire trailer. We built a new cabin
but instead of wood paneling we used melamine... a manufactured product that has
a smooth white surface. We then sprayed the walls with a super high gloss automotive
finish. We completely scrapped the cabinetry and the owners designed custom units.
The front bar held a fridge, wine cooler, microwave (all hidden from view) and a
bar sink, the rear cabinet held the entertainment system. The countertop is Formica
Solid Surface, a man-
The exterior was restored pretty much the way it came from the factory. We even used the grained aluminum along the bottom and on the door just like it came new. Some of the challenges we faced was restoring the cap over the front windows, early Holiday Houses were steel (later fiberglass) and was rusted out pretty bad, and forming the new curved Lexan windows was tricky.
Now the interior matches the modern design of the outside. We added some high tech features... Dimmable LED lighting, full surround sound system, LCD TV, hidden magnetic locking cabinet doors, all controlled at a stainless steel control panel by the front door (think Flash Gorden). The stainless doors are for the closet and full restroom. The sofa is a restored click back that turns into the bed, the flooring is black Marmolium.
It was a privilege and a real pleasure creating the owners vision. And we are proud to say that it won first place at a big Modernism Show in Palm Springs, CA.