Tiny homes have steadily evolved from standard minimalist structures to occasionally futuristic architectural marvels — but a tour of one woman's converted school bus is a reminder that imagination and DIY ingenuity are sometimes all you need — except for smithing skills and a school bus, in Sarah's case.
Tiny Home Tours shared a jaw-dropping look at Sarah's converted school bus — also known as a "skoolie" in van life vernacular — and stunning doesn't begin to describe what she pulled off inside the vehicle.
After a brief glimpse of the bus's peachy pink and white exterior, the camera shifted to a warm, rustic interior awash in natural textures, with features like a live-edge table. A fully functional kitchen and living room were impressive, but Sarah went beyond to truly personalize her tiny home.
"Record player … a necessity," Sarah explained as she gestured to a nook, above which was a wooden storage hatch. Storage is perhaps the most common concern about tiny living, and Sarah's skoolie had not one, but two closets.
Both closets and an adjacent bathroom had custom or handmade doors, all three featuring a round top and gorgeous decorative carvings in the arch. Across from the bathroom, Sarah created a studio workspace with storage drawers and hatches for "silversmithing," a space that could easily become a home office.
At the back of the bus, Sarah carved out a decently-sized sleeping nook for herself and her dog in a tiny home that truly has everything, without feeling cramped.
As Sarah's tiny home tour drew interest, Americans faced myriad housing-related woes. "Stubbornly high mortgage rates, rising rents and a lack of affordable housing," contributed to a stagnant housing market and a steep increase in homelessness, according to PBS.
Tiny homes have long been lauded for their affordability and general sustainability, and lawmakers are taking notice. In Loudoun County, Virginia, local officials recently commissioned a white paper on tiny homes as a means to "promote attainable homeownership opportunities for low-to-moderate income families."
Broadly, tiny home living tends to be more eco-friendly, but it's also typically less costly than standard home ownership. Some companies are working on even greener designs, ones with built-in "water recycling capabilities" and solar panels.
Home solar is one way to spend less on housing-related costs, both for tiny homes and conventional ones. EnergySage is a useful and free resource for quotes from trusted local installers, saving homeowners as much as $10,000 on installation.
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