A couple transforms an American school bus into a luxurious new home, but wait till you see what’s inside.
Near the start of the first lockdown, someone looking for excitement found an old American bus on eBay.
People’s lifestyles would be drastically changed.
The old, dilapidated 70-seater bus has finally made its way into the west Wales woodlands after nine months.
It’s completely changed into a little home that looks like it belongs in a high-end home magazine.
Instead of a converted bus, it looks like a small cottage on a far-off beach.
A cozy bed, a full-sized bathroom, and a little, glistening coffee maker on one of the polished hardwood worktops are all included.
The owners of the bus, affectionately called “Bluebird,” Talib Saleh and Chloe Massey, put a lot of love and effort into it.
Being skilled photographers who love to travel, they have extensive knowledge of the world.
This is one that they would never trade for anything.
Because they both work as photographers and run their own camper van conversion business, Talib (28), and Chloe (26), are able to live in a luxurious home without taking out a mortgage.
The couple’s motivation is simple: “We are motivated by the romantic yet completely attainable objective of leading a creative and sustainable lifestyle while fostering the various endeavors we are enthusiastic about,” they stated.
The best part is that when they’re ready for their next adventure, they can just turn on Bluebird’s motors and head forth.
throughout addition, they have a tiny wood heater that keeps them warm throughout the winter.
Still parked on a rented parcel of land next to farms and the River Cleddau, the once-bright orange bus has a more subdued off-white tinge.
This is situated right outside Lawrenny, a small village.
Wales experiences a lot of rain, so they had to figure out how to produce enough solar electricity.
The construction of their small home has also tested their patience.
“We’ve learned the true meaning of hard work,” Chloe said, but they have turned “the carcass of a giant whale” into a cute and cozy little house.
Both of them were Middlesex University photography students when they first met.
The photography lesson did not please either Talib, who hails from Norfolk, or Chloe, who is from Somerset.
They both resigned and parted ways.
A few years later, Talib came to London to see Chloe’s graduation presentation at the University of West England, and the two fell in love.
The two started their nomadic existence by touring Australia in a van that had been renovated.
They quickly realized that this was a means of surviving.
Chloe said that they became enamored with the idea of “living and getting lost in nature” by residing in a camping van.
“Talib and I were working in Sri Lanka just three and a half years ago, motivated by the desire to travel [and] learn as well as the desire to tell stories through photography,” she says.
We supplemented our income as traveling professional photographers by taking pictures for cafes, motels, and work-aways.
We had a minimal budget and lived simply.
“We painted portraits of the people and scenery we saw, especially in the Himalayas and India.
We constructed a tiny camper to live in when we arrived in Australia.
We had no idea at the time how crucial this way of thinking and living would be to our narrative.
The story of the two is amazing.
Their Instagram page is replete with images of gorgeous, deserted beaches, verdant jungles, and the weary looks of travelers they encountered.
After touring so many beautiful locations, you might be asking why they decided on a Welsh woodland.
According to Chloe, “we truly fell in love with Australia [and] we think about trying to settle there one day.”
“As photographers, traveling and working on projects will always play a significant role in our lives, and I think the main reason we returned was our shared curiosity in the rest of the world.
We’ve always had goals and dreams, but looking back, it’s obvious that we had to go back and create a profitable company: Indigo and Olive, our camper van conversion company, which will now support us in many ways.
We knew we wanted to stay by the sea while in the UK when we started converting our school bus at the beginning of the shutdown, and Pembrokeshire has such a beautiful shore.
We appreciate the warm welcome we’ve received here and find it impossible to imagine living anywhere else in the UK at this time.
It’s amazing that they learnt how to build everything themselves, and their tiny house looks really gorgeous in the end.
The fashion isn’t cheap, though.
“We saved and paused the build to work at times because we knew we wanted to make a tiny home,” Chloe says.
Because we invested in high-quality materials and appliances and planned to keep it for a long time, our project was somewhat expensive.
Nevertheless, we don’t have a big mortgage to pay off, and we most likely spent as much as we would have on a house deposit.
“I believe you could build a tiny house on a shoestring if you have access to certain resources, like land, free or reclaimed materials, and time to figure everything out.”
They are so skilled at what they do that they now employ Indigo and Olive to turn little dwellings into homes as a living.
We are entirely self-taught, and every project—especially the bus—has required new skills and posed new challenges, Chloe said.
We practiced a lot and watched videos to learn, and my dad, Mike, who is handy, has been really helpful.
Thankfully, we’ve adapted and are confident that these abilities will enable us to accomplish things we never would have imagined.
to complete a range of tiny house projects worldwide.
When they have time, they will return to photography.
“This is our job right now because we’ve definitely dedicated the last few years to our conversions,” says Chloe.
“We try to find this balance as soon as possible, but we really can’t wait to have some time for personal photographic work; it’s such a big part of us both.” “We still create work for fun and select clients.”
Is life off the grid—that is, without a job or a place to live—as alluring as it seems?
According to Chloe, it’s still a work in progress: “The best way to describe it, in my opinion, is that we are living ‘our’ dreams while bringing even greater ones to pass; we will always be happy to have said that we had this enormous goal and accomplished it.
