Couple Buys A London Double Decker Bus, Turns It Into A Dream Home Complete With A Fireplace And A Bathtub, Lives Mortgage Free
Your home is all about you feeling good. But when Charlie MacVicar, 26, and her partner Luke Walker, 27, decided to move in together, they knew they couldn’t relax in a place which forced huge financial obligations on them. So the couple started looking for alternatives.
Since Charlie’s dad owned land in Essex, United Kingdom, where she and Luke could’ve lived on, they considered multiple ideas on how to make use of it, but eventually got themselves a double-decker bus to have more space.
“We love to travel and wanted a hub that we could return home to and then leave again and have a lot of flexibility,” Charlie told Bored Panda. “We loved the TV show George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and [our project] was inspired by some of the builds on the show. We went back and forth over a shipping container to a caravan and finally settled for a double-decker bus.”
Over the next year, Charlie and Luke worked hard on making their dream a reality, and with some help from their closest people, it turned out just the way they wanted.
More info: Instagram
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
“Me and my partner wanted to live together but we didn’t want to be tied down to a huge mortgage or pay huge amounts in rent,” Charlie said. They checked out a lot of double-deckers, some requiring a lot of work, and some not tall enough for 6-foot-tall Luke. But luck was on their side and the couple found the perfect one: an authentic red Go-Ahead London Volvo Plaxton bus. Interestingly, it was transporting passengers only a few months before they bought it.
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Naturally, renovating the bus (which still had all the seats inside) for someone with no previous construction experience can be tricky. And Charlie acknowledged that the process was challenging at times—after all, it was her first time picking up a screwdriver! But the couple were lucky to receive some help.
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
“Myself and my boyfriend are not your typical creative type. We have mostly worked office jobs and there were some parts of the bus we simply couldn’t do ourselves. The electric, plumbing, and carpentry were done by either family or professionals. As much as we would like to take credit for the hard work, we certainly couldn’t have done it without others,” she explained. Nonetheless, this doesn’t take away from the amazing results.
The first floor has a spacious kitchen, WC, work desk, and a guest room/ living room with a woodburning oven
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
“[But overall], there weren’t many challenges with the bus, we got very lucky with the condition we bought the bus in,” Charlie said. “So the conversion went quite smoothly. Building upstairs was more of a challenge as on the top deck, the floor is slightly curved so we had to custom build the bed, level the bath, and other furniture.”
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Keeping the heat in the bus can also be challenging with all of the windows but the couple has recently installed a new heater which is helping massively with that! Plus, they have a log burner downstairs.
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Second floor has a bedroom, bathtub, and a walk-in-closet
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
They also did some amazing things with the outside space:
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Now, even though MacVicar and her partner pay her father a small amount of rent to park on his land, they keep their expenses minimal.
Their home is parked right next to a lovely pond, and the couple keeps two goats, Monty and Darwin.
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
The bus itself was £2,500 ($3,470) and the couple spent around £15,000 ($20,830) on the conversion
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
“I believe it was completely worth it and honestly, it’s the best thing me and my boyfriend have done”
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
“We love living here and the freedom it gives us”
Image credits: doubledeckerhome
People are absolute loving the double-decker home
The renovation is awesome, but I somehow do not buy the story, which reads "they couldn’t relax in a place which forced huge financial obligations on them." That bus, all the interior and the effort that went into it undoubtely costs more than a rather simple wooden cabin would have. And the heating effort (despite the oven) must be extreme.
I live in London, what they spent on the bus and conversion (£17,500) is roughly what I spend on rent in a year. Also, the temperatures in South East UK rarely go below 0 degrees so heating is much less of an issue than in countries that have proper winters.
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This is a really cool project, but there is no way this is a better financial investment than a mortgage. I'm a DIY renovator and materials costs alone for all of their interior work has to be in the tens of thousands, plus the very nice linens and furnishings and vehicle maintenance. I guess they mentioned they don't need to pay for the land, but where I live, land and property taxes aren't free. Plus, this bus would need septic and water, or would need to pay for a service to have those provided and tanks emptied.
His dad gave them the land, so all they spent was the money for renovations. You can definitely go mortgage free if you do that.
Load More Replies...
On whose land this bus parks? Do they pay rent for the land? Electricity? Internet? Do they have an address? If it's very cold outside how do they stay alive? Especially in the bedroom where there is no heating and the windows are so thin they don't protect them from anything. What do they do in the bedroom when they are superhot outside? Those metal buses tend to overheat especially on the top floor. They don't live here. They are just some rich kids who did this for some likes.
Agreed, this is a version of a treehouse for Instagram
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impressive... and yes, it looks really cosy and cute. still feels more like a means to create traffic on social media than as a home. Very unpractical in winter I would assume. isolation in these old busses is practically non existent. but very cute and excellent instagram content worthy, I guess. PS. I was just wondering, what do you do with the computer when you eat at (or shoot pictures of) the table. dismantle it like in the example?
This way of living is not for everyone. But kudos to them for doing what they do.
Load More Replies... Probably breaking UK planning law. In most European countries you can live in a temporary dwelling on your own land, but not in the UK without seeking the same planning permission you would need to build a house. You may also have to convince the local planners that it is a separate dwelling before you could even legally get services such as water and electricity. Also, buses have pretty much no insulation and are designed to be stored inside. They quickly rot when parked outside. Overall, it seems like a pretty stupid (and possibly even illegal) thing to do. It was -7 degrees (19F) in Essex last week by the way...
Feels like an IG post. The pictures of her legs are cheesy and unoriginal. The bathtub is a huge waste of water. I really wanted to love this but it's a hard no for me.
It’s not just her legs. It’s the paint, cabinets, walls, bedding, etc. Literally all of it is the least original / most contemporary design style. I like the tub but if you’re going to cramp yourself into 300 sq feet, at least have real design and not this corny, chintzy Chip and Joanna x Target crap.
Load More Replies...
Really cool. I wouldn't feel comfortable with that here though. I live in Florida; all it would take is one good hurricane.
You'd be medium rare in one hot month living in that bus in Florida.
Load More Replies...
This will probably end up on another Bored Panda list "What's considered classy if you're rich, but trashy if you're poor?"
the only thing im curious about is if they had to reinforce the top deck... every picture of that full bathtub had me wincing
I don’t think it’s impressive at all. It’s basic-bìtch interior design in a cramped bus. With fire. Cool for overnight, miserable to try and lead a life there.
This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Who wouldn’t want to live mortgage free? Unfortunately, where I live, land is ridiculously expensive. So you would have a mortgage no matter what house you live in. Lucky them for getting the land from the dad. That’s a huge help.
The land a huge help? More like they wouldnt have done any of this if the land wasn't secured. Also unmarried and invested in a property together, wonder who paid for what
Load More Replies...
I think it depends where it's sited. It's far too cold to live like this where I am. Anyone here living in caravans has double glazing and, being smaller or having sectioned off rooms ensures you stay toasty - this doesn't. Might still be good if you can move it around though but with the weight it looks like that's not the intention. You'd be limited to single nights in lorry parks though if you did. So much money to do this and they could've bought a caravan!
I have neither the abilities or the money to pull something like this off, but man do I wish I did. It all looks amazing! At the very least, I would love to stay at a place like this for a weekend.
That would be cool for an Airbnb for a week of there is at least proper running water and sewage. I am not a spoiled person, but the basic advantages of modern society like running water, working inside toilet and electricity (if the stay is longer than a couple of days) are a must.
Brilliant idea but I think the main problem would be finding somewhere permanent to site the bus.
As the evidence shows in the photos with so many cold single glazed windows condensation must be a huge problem - like really bad. Cooking, bathing even breathing creates lot of moisture. It won't look or smell to nice in few years!
Could have done without the naked photos and that's a lot of electricity.
This is great. Wondering how the tax man, the housing man, the roads man, and the bus administration man are going to figure out how to throw a wrench into their paradise because, Britain.
It's funny how times change, back in the 80's living in a bus would result in the police smashing it to bits (read about the battle of the beanfield) - now its an instagram worthy lifestyle choice.
Now I want to live in a bus, next to a creek with my lover and a goat 🐐
This. Is. My. Dream!!! My daughter will be off to college in a couple of years and I started looking at mobile homes b/c I want to go travel across all the US and then beyond. This gives me inspiration. I'm just pricing out my plan now, thinking how much I would need to invest, how much life on the road would cost etc. etc. I wish I were more handy with big projects - I was looking at some used moving trucks thinking they could be turned into a lovely mobile home. But I will probably have to stick with something that's already made...
The renovation is awesome, but I somehow do not buy the story, which reads "they couldn’t relax in a place which forced huge financial obligations on them." That bus, all the interior and the effort that went into it undoubtely costs more than a rather simple wooden cabin would have. And the heating effort (despite the oven) must be extreme.
I live in London, what they spent on the bus and conversion (£17,500) is roughly what I spend on rent in a year. Also, the temperatures in South East UK rarely go below 0 degrees so heating is much less of an issue than in countries that have proper winters.
Load More Replies... This is a really cool project, but there is no way this is a better financial investment than a mortgage. I'm a DIY renovator and materials costs alone for all of their interior work has to be in the tens of thousands, plus the very nice linens and furnishings and vehicle maintenance. I guess they mentioned they don't need to pay for the land, but where I live, land and property taxes aren't free. Plus, this bus would need septic and water, or would need to pay for a service to have those provided and tanks emptied.
His dad gave them the land, so all they spent was the money for renovations. You can definitely go mortgage free if you do that.
Load More Replies... On whose land this bus parks? Do they pay rent for the land? Electricity? Internet? Do they have an address? If it's very cold outside how do they stay alive? Especially in the bedroom where there is no heating and the windows are so thin they don't protect them from anything. What do they do in the bedroom when they are superhot outside? Those metal buses tend to overheat especially on the top floor. They don't live here. They are just some rich kids who did this for some likes.
Agreed, this is a version of a treehouse for Instagram
Load More Replies... impressive... and yes, it looks really cosy and cute. still feels more like a means to create traffic on social media than as a home. Very unpractical in winter I would assume. isolation in these old busses is practically non existent. but very cute and excellent instagram content worthy, I guess. PS. I was just wondering, what do you do with the computer when you eat at (or shoot pictures of) the table. dismantle it like in the example?
This way of living is not for everyone. But kudos to them for doing what they do.
Load More Replies... Probably breaking UK planning law. In most European countries you can live in a temporary dwelling on your own land, but not in the UK without seeking the same planning permission you would need to build a house. You may also have to convince the local planners that it is a separate dwelling before you could even legally get services such as water and electricity. Also, buses have pretty much no insulation and are designed to be stored inside. They quickly rot when parked outside. Overall, it seems like a pretty stupid (and possibly even illegal) thing to do. It was -7 degrees (19F) in Essex last week by the way...
Feels like an IG post. The pictures of her legs are cheesy and unoriginal. The bathtub is a huge waste of water. I really wanted to love this but it's a hard no for me.
It’s not just her legs. It’s the paint, cabinets, walls, bedding, etc. Literally all of it is the least original / most contemporary design style. I like the tub but if you’re going to cramp yourself into 300 sq feet, at least have real design and not this corny, chintzy Chip and Joanna x Target crap.
Load More Replies... Really cool. I wouldn't feel comfortable with that here though. I live in Florida; all it would take is one good hurricane.
You'd be medium rare in one hot month living in that bus in Florida.
Load More Replies... This will probably end up on another Bored Panda list "What's considered classy if you're rich, but trashy if you're poor?"
the only thing im curious about is if they had to reinforce the top deck... every picture of that full bathtub had me wincing
I don’t think it’s impressive at all. It’s basic-bìtch interior design in a cramped bus. With fire. Cool for overnight, miserable to try and lead a life there.
This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. Who wouldn’t want to live mortgage free? Unfortunately, where I live, land is ridiculously expensive. So you would have a mortgage no matter what house you live in. Lucky them for getting the land from the dad. That’s a huge help.
The land a huge help? More like they wouldnt have done any of this if the land wasn't secured. Also unmarried and invested in a property together, wonder who paid for what
Load More Replies... I think it depends where it's sited. It's far too cold to live like this where I am. Anyone here living in caravans has double glazing and, being smaller or having sectioned off rooms ensures you stay toasty - this doesn't. Might still be good if you can move it around though but with the weight it looks like that's not the intention. You'd be limited to single nights in lorry parks though if you did. So much money to do this and they could've bought a caravan!
I have neither the abilities or the money to pull something like this off, but man do I wish I did. It all looks amazing! At the very least, I would love to stay at a place like this for a weekend.
That would be cool for an Airbnb for a week of there is at least proper running water and sewage. I am not a spoiled person, but the basic advantages of modern society like running water, working inside toilet and electricity (if the stay is longer than a couple of days) are a must.
Brilliant idea but I think the main problem would be finding somewhere permanent to site the bus.
As the evidence shows in the photos with so many cold single glazed windows condensation must be a huge problem - like really bad. Cooking, bathing even breathing creates lot of moisture. It won't look or smell to nice in few years!
Could have done without the naked photos and that's a lot of electricity.
This is great. Wondering how the tax man, the housing man, the roads man, and the bus administration man are going to figure out how to throw a wrench into their paradise because, Britain.
It's funny how times change, back in the 80's living in a bus would result in the police smashing it to bits (read about the battle of the beanfield) - now its an instagram worthy lifestyle choice.
Now I want to live in a bus, next to a creek with my lover and a goat 🐐
This. Is. My. Dream!!! My daughter will be off to college in a couple of years and I started looking at mobile homes b/c I want to go travel across all the US and then beyond. This gives me inspiration. I'm just pricing out my plan now, thinking how much I would need to invest, how much life on the road would cost etc. etc. I wish I were more handy with big projects - I was looking at some used moving trucks thinking they could be turned into a lovely mobile home. But I will probably have to stick with something that's already made...
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