TRANSFORMING A SCHOOL BUS INTO AN RV | PART ll

One of my most popular posts, with several thousands views, is on TRANSFORMING A SCHOOL BUS INTO AN RV.  People find this subject so fascinating!

What my husband and I learned when we were considering this project was that school buses are a wonderfully safe vehicle to convert. They are kept in optimal maintenance condition because they are transporting children to and from school each and every day. The side metal panels are also heavily re-enforced in the event of a collision.

If travelling is something your family likes to do, converting a school bus into an RV, may be a fantastic DIY project that the entire family can enjoy. 

We were very fortunate, when we purchased our bus (for $500.00) what a deal, that all the seats had already been removed. Yeah!!  This is one of the most labour intensive jobs of this entire project.

Just like designing a space in your home you should plan the layout carefully dividing the space into various sections.  Our bus was 40' long and our layout plan included a sleeping area in the rear of the bus, a bathroom area, a kitchen/eating area, a living area and the driver area at the front of the bus. 

We didn't install or wire an electrical source for our bus since it was parked at our property and not used for travel. Our bus was used as a safe way to camp and sleep without having to worry about bears having us for dinner.  However, if you are travelling with your bus, you will need an electrical source to power appliances.  Other necessities include a stove, sink and refrigerator and of course a sleeping area.

Installing solar panels on the roof to power the bus and appliances is definitely the way to go to create an eco-friendly bus.

Converting another school bus or possibly an Airstream, I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them, is definitely a project that we would like to tackle again in the future.  We certainly learned a lot from our first fantastic experience and really had a blast!  

Here are a few fabulous school bus and Airstream interiors with some great ideas to get you started just in case you are thinking about trying this fun project.

If this is camping, I'm in!!

Airstream Interiors by Christopher Deam  

  

  

Rachel Horn and husband renovated this Airstream with Style   

photo - Pinterest

photo - Pinterest

photo - Pinterest

photo - Pinterest Architecture student converts bus into cabin

How about you. Is this something that you might consider trying?

If you would like to read Part 1 of TRANSFORMING A SCHOOLBUS INTO AN RV you can find it here.

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design and Products http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com   

HOW TO TRANSFORM A SCHOOL BUS INTO AN RV

Bears became an issue at our vacant 5 1/2 acre property that we owned in Haliburton.  We just loved to spend weekends up there and had been roughing it in a tent.  I actually couldn't believe that I (I am a city girl to the core, high heels and all) actually stayed in a tent.  Roughing it to me is a black and white TV while staying at a Holiday Inn.  Anyway, we started looking at used RV's, trailers etc. to stay in during our weekend sleepovers and they were all filthy, rotting, moldy and just plain disgusting to be blunt.

My husband Joe suggested that we convert a school bus into an RV.  I initially thought that he was out of his mind but after some research discovered that this is quite a common project.  We started looking on Kijiji and Craigslist and alas found our RV in the rough and boy oh boy was it rough.

Here is an Exterior before picture

And Interior

Hey I wasn't kidding was I??????

We worked each evening for about a month and a half and finally finished our new safe from bears condo on wheels to place on our little piece of paradise.  Oddly enough our street name was Shangri-La and was it ever an oasis !!!!!! So pristine as is the rest of Haliburton and the Kawarthas. For those of you not from my area this is a very popular cottage area. We used all recycled materials that we found on Craigslist or garage sales with the exception of the kitchen tiles which we purchased quite inexpensively. 

Due to the Ministry of Transportations guidelines, we had to change the exterior colour from yellow as this was exclusive to School Buses. We decided on green to blend in nicely with the greenery of the trees on our property and after all this was a GREEN project.

Here is the interior very close to completion. For privacy we installed mini blinds for the windows.  This queen sized pull out couch is for overnight guests with our bedroom located at the rear of the bus.  The room directly behind the wall of the banquette is the bathroom with an envirolet toilet, sink and recycled dresser used as the vanity.  The kitchen is just opposite to the banquette.  

We would bring our laptop to watch DVD's or listen to music for those rainy days and for evenings. A propane bbq was used to prepare meals.

Many glasses of wine were enjoyed just sitting outside by the roaring fire enjoying life!!!!

WOULDN'T YOU AGREE, this is RE-TREASURING AT ITS ABSOLUTE FINEST? !!!!

This is a condensed version of our adventure, but if you are interested in the longer version please visit http://www.freewebs.com/lovebugproject  a website I created to document our Bus Conversion.

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability and Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle.  

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

HISTORIC FARM IN SPAIN CONVERTED INTO RETREAT | CONVERTED SPACES | NOV 30

I am absolutely loving this historic farm in La Cerdanya Spain, located between France and Spain, which has been converted into a modern retreat.  In the small village of La Cerdanya, farming and agriculture are the main activities.

A barn, a warehouse and a small house were converted into a beautiful home with guest pavilions by architects Dom Arquitectura. This architectural firm maintained the volumes of the buildings but renovated the exteriors and roofs and reconfigured the interiors. Many of the rooms have stone walls, wood coating and iron elements which have been preserved from the original  building. 

I hope you enjoy these lovely pictures which showcase this incredible property.

Photos courtesy of Freshome.

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle.

http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com

LIVING IN CONVERTED SPACES SERIES - BARN CONVERSION

I would love to convert a barn into a home.  This was quite popular in the 60's and 70's and is now gaining popularity as a new way to reuse resources and recycle.  I particularly like the high roofline and all the dramatic open space.

Many barns are being converted now with the use of eco-friendly materials such as composite countertops, dual flush toilets, cork flooring in the bathrooms, skylights allowing natural daylighting and passive solar heat for warmth.

Converting a barn is quite a lot of work and financial commitment but the end result is an amazing home with such unique historical character.

There are thousands and thousands of pictures which I would like to share with you. 

Here are just a few.  Enjoy...

  

  

photos | pinterest

Which one is your favourite? 

Would you live in a converted barn?

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com  

LIVING IN CONVERTED SPACES SERIES - CHURCH CONVERSION

Have you ever dreamed of converting an old industrial building, a barn, library, church, or a storefront into your home?  So many of these historic landmarks are being realized into unique one-of-a-kind places by a number of creative individuals.

Personally, I would love to transform a barn into a fabulous home.  My husband on the other hand would love to convert a church but I know for a fact I could not live in a converted church and I am not really sure why, it just does not feel right to me. I have over the years seen some stunning church conversions though.

For example, look at this amazing transformed heritage church which was reinvented into a gorgeous contemporary home.  This church dates back to the mid-nineteen century (1867) and once was a theatre. It was spared from being demo'd and then transformed into two luxury homes. A creative balance has been maintained between conserving some of the original features of the buildings while introducing some more contemporary elements.  Wow!! They did a spectacular job.

Here is the before pic of the church.

and the after... what a transformation!

My personal design preference is Contemporary and I think that this church conversion resonates with me because of the brightness of the interior and of course the contemporary touches.

 

photos | courtesy of Freshome

 

Stunning isn't it!!! Would you live in a converted church??? I would love to hear from you.

Soulier Design Studio specializes in Sustainability, Eco Friendly Design, Products and Lifestyle http://www.soulierdesignstudio.com