Look Inside This Stunning Airstream-Turned-Guesthouse Transformation

Alice Zealy’s Maryland-based clients bought their vintage Airstream Caravanner last fall from a seller in Marietta, South Carolina. They’d only seen it online before they had it delivered to Zealy’s High Point workshop for a full, custom remodel. “It was literally a shell on the inside,” she says. “The walls and paneling were there, but that was about it. What if the electrical had been fried? They really lucked out.” 

Zealy, 43, remodeled her first camper five years ago as a pandemic project. She wanted a safer way to travel, so she bought a camper for $7,500 and brought it back to her partner’s workshop, where she spent the next nine months renovating it. When she finished, she shared photos on social media. “I found out there are a ton of RV groups on Facebook,” she says. “All my friends went crazy and started sharing with these groups. People started reaching out and saying, ‘Could you do one for me?’”

Demand for custom mobile homes surged that year. The RV Industry Association reported a 79% increase in shipments from March 2020 to March 2021. While current RV sales aren’t breaking 2021 records, they’re still higher than pre-pandemic levels—and Zealy, who launched rain2shine ventures in March 2021, is busier than ever. “With NASCAR being just outside of Charlotte, RVs are very popular within that industry, with people camping out for races—myself included,” she says. “I’ve camped in the infield of Charlotte Motor Speedway in my own renovated fifth wheel many times—the same RV that I live and travel in full time.”

Zealy had done three luxury van conversions and renovated 13 campers, but this was her first Airstream. “Nothing is straight in an Airstream, so you’re working with a lot of curves,” she says. “This took a lot of brainpower. I would lay awake until 2 or 3 in the morning constructing the bed in my head.” 

In addition to the bed, she installed a couch, coffee bar, dining table, and bathroom. The clients, a married couple with two adult daughters, planned to use the Airstream as extra lodging for their vacation house on the Patuxent River. “They thought having a vintage camper would be so cool,” Zealy says. “They wanted it to be an extension of the river house, so we used the same paint colors and hardware so it’s like a farmhouse with a floral twist.” 

Zealy had six months and an $85,000 budget. “We exceeded that a little,” she says. “We spent about $30,000 on materials alone.” Luckily, she says, her clients were understanding and wanted to be surprised when they picked up their Airstream in June. “They didn’t want to know anything,” she says. “The husband said, ‘We trust you. Just use your creativity.’ It’s only 22 feet long, but we’ve packed it full of personality.”

BEDS

The Airstream can sleep up to four people. “I built the bed in the back, which is the size of a queen,” Zealy says. “The couch in the front turns into a bed, too. If you’ve got little kids, you can pack ’em in.” 

WALLPAPER

“I can’t tell you how many samples we ordered,” Zealy says. “The wife is a self-proclaimed matchy-matchy person. We found this wallpaper company, Love Vs. Design, and they add 1,500 prints a month. You can go online and insert your own colors.” 

WOODWORK

Zealy built the countertop with maple tambour panels, which she wrapped in copper and coated with epoxy. She used the same panels for the tabletop, which she also coated in epoxy, and the bathroom door, which got the same copper treatment to match the countertop. 

COFFEE BAR

“The main thing with the fridge is size, because they vary,” Zealy says. “We had three white fridges picked out. This was an inch or two less deep than the others.” She painted the surrounding cabinetry a cool blue-gray. “I always use Sherwin-Williams, so we took Benjamin Moore’s Nimbus Gray and had it matched.” 

BATHROOM

“They didn’t want a shower or tub because the pool house has that,” Zealy says. “We added a glass wall from the bathroom over to the countertop and matched the arched doorway.” Zealy’s partner, Eric Ellington, who owns Ellington Rod & Custom, helped her install the glass wall and cut the arched glass door, which they put on copper hinges. The interior wall she built for the bathroom is Benjamin Moore’s Wythe Blue (matched by Sherwin-Williams).

CABINET

For the entry, Zealy purchased a basic white wood cabinet and cut two inches off the back to make it fit. She painted it in Benjamin Moore’s Yellow Lilies (matched by Sherwin-Williams) to complement the floral wallpaper and added wallpaper inserts and copper knobs to the faces to make it look more customized.

TABLE

“The table has an electric leg, so it can go down to be flush with the rest of the couch,” Zealy says. “It has leaves, so it can convert from a coffee table to a game table.” 

ACCENTS

Zealy found the sconces at Walmart and spray-painted them copper. She purchased the copper faucet on Etsy. “A sweet old man that I’ve worked with for five years does all the upholstery,” Zealy says. “He did the curtains and three bed cushions.”