A husband and wife in the Hudson Valley convert vintage Airstreams into modern tiny homes and name them after famous women like Dolly Parton. Take a look inside 'Roberta,' their latest renovation.

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Melissa WileyAug 5, 2020, 03:56 IST
A husband and wife in the Hudson Valley convert vintage Airstreams into modern tiny homes and name them after famous women like Dolly Parton. Take a look inside 'Roberta,' their latest renovation.

Ed Potokar and Amy Rosenfeld of Hudson Valley Airstream.Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

  • Where other people see trash, Ed Potokar and Amy Rosenfeld of Hudson Valley Airstream see treasure.
  • Residents of New York's Hudson Valley, the husband and wife spend their days transforming derelict Airstream trailers into tiny homes.
  • Since 2016, they have renovated three vintage Airstreams from the 1960s and '70s and sold them for about $100,000 a piece. They are currently working on a fourth.
  • Amy and Ed name the trailers after women they admire, including Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton, and Roberta Flack.
  • Take a look inside their latest project "Roberta," a 29-foot trailer from 1973 that they spent nine months transforming from a heap of dusty 1970s furniture into a sleek, habitable space.
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Amy Rosenfeld and Ed Potokar love designing spaces. Over the past decade, they've built three houses in the Hudson Valley and renovated an apartment in New York City. Now, they spend their days working on vintage Airstreams.

Amy Rosenfeld and Ed Potokar love designing spaces. Over the past decade, they've built three houses in the Hudson Valley and renovated an apartment in New York City. Now, they spend their days working on vintage Airstreams.
Amy and Ed sit outside their house in the Hudson Valley that they designed and built themselves. Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

Co-owners of Hudson Valley Airstream, Amy and Ed scour the eastern US for out-of-commission Airstream land yachts from the 1960s and 70s and convert them into tiny modern homes.

Co-owners of Hudson Valley Airstream, Amy and Ed scour the eastern US for out-of-commission Airstream land yachts from the 1960s and 70s and convert them into tiny modern homes.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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"We really love to be styling the Airstreams from the late sixties to the seventies, because that's when they started making round windows. They were square before then," Amy told Business Insider.

"We really love to be styling the Airstreams from the late sixties to the seventies, because that's when they started making round windows. They were square before then," Amy told Business Insider.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

To date, they have fully renovated three trailers, which they found through word of mouth and browsing Craigslist.

To date, they have fully renovated three trailers, which they found through word of mouth and browsing Craigslist.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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Their latest renovation, a 29-foot trailer from 1973 named 'Roberta,' was in such bad shape that they had to spend a month fixing it up before they could even drive it from Ohio back to the Hudson Valley.

Their latest renovation, a 29-foot trailer from 1973 named 'Roberta,' was in such bad shape that they had to spend a month fixing it up before they could even drive it from Ohio back to the Hudson Valley.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

When Amy and Ed first saw Roberta, she was filled with clutter: cereal boxes, broken lawn chairs, and ripped polyester pillows, among other decaying treasures.

When Amy and Ed first saw Roberta, she was filled with clutter: cereal boxes, broken lawn chairs, and ripped polyester pillows, among other decaying treasures.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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"It was disgusting." Amy told Business Insider. "I went in there with a hoodie and gloves."

"It was disgusting." Amy told Business Insider. "I went in there with a hoodie and gloves."
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

Amy and Ed have come to expect as much when purchasing vintage trailers. "They're all rotting because they've been outside for 50 years. And if they've been driven around, you know, they've been shaken up a lot," Amy said.

Before starting on the renovation, Amy and Ed sat down to decide on a name. They chose 'Roberta' for Roberta Flack, who released her 'Killing Me Softly' album in 1973, the same year the trailer was made.

Before starting on the renovation, Amy and Ed sat down to decide on a name. They chose 'Roberta' for Roberta Flack, who released her 'Killing Me Softly' album in 1973, the same year the trailer was made.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

The couple has named two other Airstreams after famous female singers. Their 1969 trailer is called 'Janis,' after Janis Joplin who performed in Woodstock that year. And they're currently in the process of renovating a 1974 trailer named 'Dolly' in honor of Dolly Parton's album 'Jolene.'

They named another trailer 'Betty Jean' after a woman whose Polaroid picture they found inside.

"It's a way of paying homage to the years that the Airstream is from, and also honoring women that we think are awesome," Amy said of their naming system.

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Next, they completely gutted the interior with the exception of the aluminum shell, removing the plumbing, shelving, floor, and 50-year-old wiring and insulation.

Next, they completely gutted the interior with the exception of the aluminum shell, removing the plumbing, shelving, floor, and 50-year-old wiring and insulation.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

After the gutting, Ed got to work laying the floors, rewiring, and replacing the interior fiberglass shell with new insulation.

After the gutting, Ed got to work laying the floors, rewiring, and replacing the interior fiberglass shell with new insulation.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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Amy and Ed thought that their experiences building houses would prepare them for their new endeavor. But renovating an Airstream comes with a unique set of challenges, Amy told told Business Insider. "There are no straight lines. So everything has to be custom made," she said.

Amy and Ed thought that their experiences building houses would prepare them for their new endeavor. But renovating an Airstream comes with a unique set of challenges, Amy told told Business Insider. "There are no straight lines. So everything has to be custom made," she said.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

Once Ed had updated all the plumbing and wires, he mapped out where each utility would go on the floor in blue tape, and Amy began sourcing materials and fixtures.

Once Ed had updated all the plumbing and wires, he mapped out where each utility would go on the floor in blue tape, and Amy began sourcing materials and fixtures.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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In total, Roberta took nine months to complete, with the majority of work taking place between April and November 2019. "When the weather is awesome, we're working really long hours ... like eight, nine hour days," Amy said.

In total, Roberta took nine months to complete, with the majority of work taking place between April and November 2019. "When the weather is awesome, we're working really long hours ... like eight, nine hour days," Amy said.
Ed stands in the doorway of Betty Jean, a 1972 Airstream trailer. Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

Now, Roberta is completely transformed.

Now, Roberta is completely transformed.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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In place of the dusty, disintegrating coach and stained carpet is a custom blue daybed and wood floor.

In place of the dusty, disintegrating coach and stained carpet is a custom blue daybed and wood floor.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

The trailer also includes a full kitchen with an L-shaped mahogany countertop, fridge, stove, and microwave. There is a bed, a bathroom with a shower, a row of cabinets, and a heating-AC unit.

The trailer also includes a full kitchen with an L-shaped mahogany countertop, fridge, stove, and microwave. There is a bed, a bathroom with a shower, a row of cabinets, and a heating-AC unit.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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"Every inch is considered," Amy told Business Insider. "There is storage everywhere."

"Every inch is considered," Amy told Business Insider. "There is storage everywhere."
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

Amy appreciates how open the trailer feels. One way she and Ed achieved this effect is with this sliding barn door to the bathroom: The translucent door filled with reeds allows light to shine into the bathroom while obscuring vision.

Amy appreciates how open the trailer feels. One way she and Ed achieved this effect is with this sliding barn door to the bathroom: The translucent door filled with reeds allows light to shine into the bathroom while obscuring vision.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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The couple sold Roberta for $97,000 (which is around the average price for their trailers) last month, just weeks after listing her.

The couple sold Roberta for $97,000 (which is around the average price for their trailers) last month, just weeks after listing her.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

So far, Amy and Ed say their customers have used the converted Airstreams for several purposes: One rents her trailer out as Airbnb, another uses it for family camping, and Roberta's buyer wants to use his as a guest house.

So far, Amy and Ed say their customers have used the converted Airstreams for several purposes: One rents her trailer out as Airbnb, another uses it for family camping, and Roberta's buyer wants to use his as a guest house.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

The benefits of buying an Airstream include cost and flexibility, Amy told Business Insider. "It's something you could take with you when you go. Also, if you build a guest house on your property, your taxes go up, but if you put a Airstream on your property, it's a registered vehicle," she said.

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While Amy and Ed did not sell Roberta furnished, they did include a copy of Roberta Flack's 1973 'Killing Me Softly' album. "Dolly is definitely going to come with a Jolene album," she said.

While Amy and Ed did not sell Roberta furnished, they did include a copy of Roberta Flack's 1973 'Killing Me Softly' album. "Dolly is definitely going to come with a Jolene album," she said.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld

Amy calls their business a labor of love. "It's just super satisfying to see the before and after, because we basically take these things that are destined to be just rotting away, and we restore them so that they can live on for decades," she said.

Amy calls their business a labor of love. "It's just super satisfying to see the before and after, because we basically take these things that are destined to be just rotting away, and we restore them so that they can live on for decades," she said.
Courtesy Amy Rosenfeld
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