185 Square Foot Converted Bus Home

Name: Dana and Aaron Holmes
Location: Palm Coast, Florida
Type of home: Tiny home/Bus Conversion
Size: 185 square feet
Years lived in: 1.5 years, owned

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: My husband and I bought our 1996 Blue Bird Bus from a friend and began the process of demolition, when we quickly realized that the project was way over our heads. We found a contractor who worked with other bus conversions on the East Coast. He converted our little Blue Bird into a beautiful, brightly colored beach bungalow of our dreams.

The bus was given a complete face lift, including a 12-inch roof raise, eliminating the old bus windows, and a paint job. We replaced them with RV windows for maximum light and visibility. There is now so much natural light that pours in from the Florida sunshine.

The inside is fully equipped with everything we need. A spacious living room/kitchen space, TV and entertainment center, half bath with a composting toilet, mini wardrobe, and lofted bed with storage underneath. Also, an outdoor shower with hot and cold water.

We call our home “birdie” for birdie venture because the word venture means risky undertaking. That is the perfect representation of the entirety of this project from start to finish, but we are so grateful to have our home on wheels. We never thought that we would be living in such a small space, but we have loved every second.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Modern tropical bohemian bungalow.

What is your favorite room and why? The bus is essentially all one room, except for the barn door that closes the bathroom off from the living room. We spend the majority of our time in the living room/kitchen space towards the front of the bus. The daybed/couch is cozy to sit and read, watch TV, work on the computer, and drink coffee. It serves us with many purposes. It is where most of our guests can hang out comfortably. Also, with the kitchen being in such close proximity, it’s nice to have a seat or relax while breakfast or coffee is going. But we honestly love every square inch of our beach bungalow.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? We were in need of a heater for the bus when we went through winter this past year. We researched and found the Dyson Pure Hot+Cold air purifying fan and it has truly been the best investment since the bus. It not only would keep us warm at night, but it heated our floors in the mornings while it kept our air clean. We also love the feature that allows us to check out the temperature inside the bus while gone, and the ability to monitor the air quality.

Any advice for creating a home you love? When we were able to begin designing the details of how our home would look, I wanted to make sure that each piece of furniture and item that we chose was well thought out and could serve many purposes. We also love to rearrange and change our space up. The bus has the capability to change in the future for other needs if we choose, that is a pretty cool feature and one we always consider. I loved being inspired by other tasteful spaces and tiny houses. It is always fun curating items that brought me joy when I look at them and have a story to tell. I feel that we brought our design of a modern beachy bohemian bungalow to life with elements of natural textures, bright pops of color, and lots of plants.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.