A Tennessee family transformed a $2,500 Craigslist RV into a glamorous Dolly Parton-themed Airbnb take a look inside
Talia Lakritz
- The Smith family in Maryville, Tennessee, turned a Craigslist RV into a Dolly Parton-themed Airbnb.
- Located an hour from Dollywood, the 20-foot camper features Dolly Parton artwork and memorabilia.
Three years ago, Adrienne and Dean Smith and their daughter Tayler bought a 20-foot camper van on Craigslist for $2,500.
The Smiths already ran two Airbnbs on their six-acre property in Maryville, Tennessee — an aircraft hangar converted into a loft and a train car turned into a tiny home. The RV completed their Airbnb trio of trains, planes, and automobiles.
It was Tayler's idea to turn the RV into a tribute to Dolly Parton.
"My daughter said, 'You know what, mom, what do you think about giving a big, giant, beautiful nod to our local queen, miss Dolly Parton?' And I'm like, 'Brilliant,'" Adrienne Smith told Insider. "She inspires us to do better for ourselves, and we take proceeds off of [the RV] annually and donate to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library."
"Trying to figure out what you want to do to pay respects to Dolly, you want to do it right," Smith said. "She's our local hero. She's our personal hero."
Smith estimates they spent a total of $20,000 on renovations to transform the camper into a working Airbnb.
They commissioned tattoo artist Mira Mariah to create a mural of Dolly Parton to adorn the exterior.
Mariah, known as Girl Knew York, created the original image, which the Smiths brought to a local graphics studio and had applied to the outside of the camper.
They also added a custom license plate.
In a play off of Dolly Parton's last name, the license plate reads "PartnMe," a pun for "pardon me."
They removed a bunk from the front cabin and put in a sitting area to open up the space, which they decorated with Dolly Parton records and photos.
They also furnished the sitting area with wallpaper, curtains, and throw pillows.
Butterfly bookends hold copies of "What Would Dolly Do?" and "The Intimate Biography of Dolly Parton."
Parton, who wrote a song called "Love is Like a Butterfly," often features butterflies in her outfits and staging.
The renovated kitchen includes a refrigerator, microwave, stove, and sink.
The kitchen cabinets come fully stocked with pink dishes and Dolly Parton mugs.
A kitchen towel on the oven encourages guests to pour themselves a cup of ambition.
The phrase comes from Parton's famous song, "9 to 5."
The Smiths also replaced the two-and-a-half gallon hot water tank with an on-demand system.
They installed a new air conditioning unit, as well.
Even the bathroom decor keeps with the Dolly Parton theme.
A sign in the bathroom features another Dolly Parton quote: "The higher the hair, the closer to God."
The sleeping area features more Dolly Parton-themed art and a bedazzled electric guitar.
The windows look out at the surrounding mountains.
Guests can also get cozy under this Dolly Parton blanket, which the Smiths acquired from Etsy.
The blanket is printed with decades of Dolly Parton's album covers.
"We wanted to make it not too kitschy, but a little kitschy," Smith said.
Above the nightstand, a piece of art features the Dolly Parton quote: "It's hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world."
Tucked into the corner of the sleeping area, a small vanity includes a copy of Dolly Parton's book, "Storyteller" and a photo of her standing in the door of her tour bus.
One of her records also hangs on the wall.
Right next to Dolly's Fantasy Camper, the Smiths' property has an outdoor space with couches, picnic tables, and a grill.
The outdoor space is shared with guests at the other Airbnbs on site.
Dolly's Fantasy Camper currently starts at $88 per night, not including taxes and fees.
A $45 cleaning fee is added on to the total cost.
"I think really what we want is for people to come here and feel at ease and comfortable and just have a good time," Smith said.
"It's so fun because we have families with little ones that know Dolly and just want to stay here," she said. "We've had birthday parties, bachelorette parties … a sock company used it for a photo shoot. It's amazing the things that have happened around our little camper."
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