Instead of renovating an old property when they decided to move in together, Charlie MacVicar, 26, and her boyfriend Luke Walker, 27, bought a bus. The couple refurbished the 544-square foot London double-decker bus, turning it into a luxury home. They knew they wanted to live together without paying huge amounts for a mortgage or for rent. As Charlie’s dad owns a bit of land in Essex, she and Luke decided to pay a small fee to him, to rent out the bus in the area. Now, their new home contains a fireplace, bathtub, a wood-fired stove and a walk-in closet. Upstairs, there is the sleeping space, including a bed, two nightstands and a TV, the downstairs has the kitchen and living room. The kitchen stocks an oven, stove, microwave, farmhouse sink, fridge, and washing machine. The dining room also seats three people while the living room has two benches and a small desk space.
Charlie explained to Metro.co.uk: ‘We knew renting or having a mortgage would tie us down and we wouldn’t have as much flexibility so after watching George Clarke’s “amazing spaces” we went through different options such as; shipping containers, caravans etc and eventually chose a double decker bus.’ Charlie and Luke bought the property in 2017, spending £15,000 on renovation after purchasing the bus for £2,500. The couple has lived on the bus – which was still in use a few months before they bought it – since 2018. It took the couple a year to convert to convert the vehicle, which they even used to commute to work. Since the pandemic, the two are now WFB (working from bus). ‘The process was challenging at times but we were very lucky to have the likes of our families to help,’ said Charlie. ‘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 our selves. The electric, plumping and carpentry was done by either family or professionals. As much as we would like to take credit for the hard work we certainly couldn’t of done it without others.’