By Rebecca Drew
MEET the husband and his teacher wife who loves her job so much they spent five months and more than £13.5K transforming their all-American school bus into a cool living space.
Incredible before pictures show the bus with seats still in place, having the interior ripped out and with a bright yellow paint job. Other pictures show the bus’ cosy interior with wooden work tops and cladding on the walls.
Other pictures show physician’s assistant Matt Myaard (29) and high school teacher Emily (28) from Holland, Michigan, USA relaxing on their bed and cooking a tasty meal. When they’re not working the pair love nothing more than exploring more of their country.
“Our friends called us up with the idea to buy a pair of buses and convert them together. These are our vacation friends. Every opportunity we have we’re hitting the road together,” they said.
“The idea was that these buses could be a cheaper way for us to travel and take our homes with us. We had no idea how to do it or had even heard of the van life yet. But we dove in head first, watched a lot of carpentry videos on YouTube and had countless brainstorming sessions by the fire. Our end product, five months later, was the cosiest little house on wheels.
“Life is simpler and time slows down and that’s the best part about life in the bus. You get to relax and focus on nothing but the beautiful world around you. There’s always time to pull over or take the long route.
“Dinners are spent by the fire and breakfasts happen on the roof deck sipping coffee and soaking in the views. When we travel on the bus we get to reconnect with each other and with what’s important. And that’s enjoying our time with the people we love surrounded by the great outdoors.”
Emily and Matt went on their first trip to the Colorado Mountains and have been to Nashville, Kentucky, North Carolina, Blue Ridge Parkway as well as exploring Northern Michigan. Whilst working on the refurbishment the couple learnt to overcome each problem faced but didn’t let it hinder progress.
“Each new project was accompanied by a new problem, but never anything that halted the conversion. We were working with a small space and wanted to include the things that we needed without making it feel crowded,” they added.
“We had to rewire the electric, add plumbing, install a sink, create a living and sleeping space and all on a very tight budget. The best way to make it all happen was to be creative with every square inch and make sure our spaces could have multiple purposes.
“A lot of people we come across on the road tell us they would love to do something like this. We always tell them to just do it. It is a lot of work and you’ll have to learn some new skills but you will never regret it.
“It makes you feel so accomplished and proud of the work you can do with your own two hands. And once you take your first big trip you’re hooked! There’s a reason why van life is so popular. It’s something you have to experience to really appreciate but it brings you a new experience with every trip and so much happiness.”
For more information see www.instagram.com/alwayshomebus
