eBay Find of the Day: Pimp My Trailer

Classic Airstream trailers have hip quotient to spare, but rarely could they be described as luxe. Then again, very few of the silver palaces have been pimped and fluffed by a top interior designer.

Reimagined as a "hip lounge" on wheels by Barclay Butera, this 19-foot Airstream Bambi International currently up for auction on eBay sleeps three and includes leather banquettes, leopard-print carpeting, Greek-key bed linens, jaunty black-and-white striped window treatments and exterior canopy, a multi-disc DVD/CD changer, and a flatscreen TV -- perfect for making your next road trip decidely more glam than grit.

Used as a "green room" during the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, the tricked-out trailer has celebrity cache, too -- after all, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Aniston, and Ryan Gosling's buns may well have warmed those plush banquette seats. Plus, if you're the winning bidder, you can pick up your prize at an Elle Decor-hosted gala in Los Angeles on October 25.

Even better, 100 percent of the auction proceeds will benefit the Children's Action Network, a charitable organization that works to improve outcomes for kids in foster care.

Current bid: $15,000. (And no, the cute designer himself is not included.)

(Bottom photo by Al Seib for the Los Angeles Times.)

Wanderlust: The Shady Dell Motel

Speaking of travel trailers, have you heard of the Shady Dell? Located in the turn-of-the-century mining town (and current artists' haven) of Bisbee, Arizona, the Shady Dell is an RV Park/motel on wheels composed of tricked-out vintage trailers.

Checking in at the Shady Dell is like taking a step back in time: Each restored trailer is outfitted with period-appropriate decor, big band jazz and old-time radio shows play in reproduction vintage radios, and stacks of circa-1950s magazines are provided (as are black and white TVs and vintage phonographs in some trailers).

A night in one of the Shady Dell's trailers will set you back just $45 to $145. The ten-stool, art deco Dot's Diner serves up tasty grub on the premises seven days a week.


And since the town of Bisbee itself sounds so intriguing -- it's a mile up in the Mule Mountains, just north of the Mexican border, and filled with art galleries, antique shops, and cozy cafes -- I may just have to book a trip.

Check it out -- and make plans to check in.