Kimberley Mok - The Modern House Bus: Mobile Tiny House Inspirations

Kimberley Mok

THE

MODERN HOUSE BUS

Mobile Tiny House Inspirations

THE COUNTRYMAN PRESS

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Copyright 2018 by Kimberley Mok

All rights reserved

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Book design by Jackie Shao

Production manager: Devon Zahn

Cover design: Jackie Shao

Front cover photograph: Justine Meccio

Photography

The Countryman Press

www.countrymanpress.com

ISBN 978-1-68268-250-0 (e-book)

A division of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

www.wwnorton.com

978-1-68268-249-4

THE JOURNEY IS MY HOME.

MURIEL RUKEYSER

There are many kinds of buses: bright yellow school buses, city buses that one might take on the way to work, coach buses that zip between cities, and shuttle buses that are smaller and more nimble on the road. But have you ever thought of a bus as a place to call home? Some people may think it odd or eccentric to live in a renovated bus. Yet a growing number of ordinary folks are choosing to do just that. Some choose the bus life because they are looking for an alternative to the rat race, with its high-pressure jobs, huge mortgage debts, sky-high rents, and outsize lifestyle costs. Some aim to reduce their living expenses so that they can have more time and financial freedom to do what they truly love. Others are looking to travel the country in a recreational vehicle customized for their needs. Regardless, each of them is defining their own version of the American Dream.

But many of these individuals, couples, and families with kids arent the stereotypical bohemians you might expect to live on a bus. Rather, they are tech entrepreneurs, business owners, professors, interior designers, web developers, photographers, filmmakers, blue-collar folkspeople from all walks of lifewho have opted to revamp these vehicles into beautiful homes. By leveraging technologies like broadband wireless Internet and cheap solar power, they are able to do their work, run their businesses, and stay connected while on the road.

This book is a visual tour of the thoughtfully and creatively designed homes on wheels that these enterprising bus homeowners have made for themselves. As youll discover, some of these homes stay in place, while others are mobile and allow their owners to travel from place to place with comfort and flexibility. These fascinating stories reveal how this emerging trend of modern and stylishly built bus homes comes from the intersection of Americas robust RV culture and the emerging tiny house and digital nomadism movements. Those who follow this trend exhibit how these portable, self-designed homes are permitting them to live their lives on their own terms. Along the way, youll get a look at the basics behind the process of converting a bus, including tips from the bus owners themselves. Consider this book a call to think outside the box, a challenge to ask yourself what you need to live a fulfilled and meaningful life.

The Tiny House Movement (a.k.a. Mortgage-Free Housing)

A growing number of people are looking for alternatives to the status quo. For most, the notion of home is a house or an apartment with exterior walls, a bedroom or two or more, a kitchen and a bathroom, and perhaps a balcony or a big lawn and backyard. In addition to a conventional home, success and the good life for many include a shiny new car, a closet stuffed full of clothes, and a purse or pocket full of all the latest gadgets.

However, having all these trappings of success often comes at a high price. It can mean exchanging our free time for grinding commutes, working long hours at uninspiring jobs, paying down a decades-long mortgage or making the monthly rent for an apartment, and repaying any personal debt we may have accrued. Its a tradeoff that leads many of us to wonder whether we are truly happy giving up most of our free time in a never-ending pursuit of bigger, shinier things. Might we be happier with fewer things and a smaller home, especially if that means doing away with a mortgage and having more freedom and time to do the things that matter most to us? Now what if this smaller home was on wheels?

This idea of a mortgage-free, tiny home on wheels isnt as crazy as it sounds. In fact, these so-called tiny homes have been gaining popularity in recent years, thanks to the housing market crash and global recession of the late 2000s. When the housing bubble burst, many people were forced to default on their enormous debtsas many as 9.3 million American families lost their homes to foreclosure. The apparent breakdown of the cherished American ideal of anything is possible if you work hard caused many to become disillusioned and to look for alternatives to an unfair and broken system. There had to be a better way.

It was around this time, after the housing bubble collapsed, that interest in mortgage-free tiny homes exploded. These tiny but robust homes are usually sized at 400 square feet or less, and come in a variety of styles. The smaller footprint of tiny homes means that it costs less to outfit them with high-quality materials. Many are also built on wheeled trailer bases to make them portable, meaning that if you move, you get to keep your home. Many of these tiny dwellings are built by the homeowners themselves, and they are often great examples of stunning design and clever multifunctionality. Not surprisingly, theres an environmentally friendly aspect to tiny houses too. They require less materials, produce less construction waste, and are generally more energy-efficient in the long run to maintain: their low energy requirements mean they can rely on solar power or other alternative forms of energy.

Two examples of tiny housesone is the typical tiny house with a gabled roof (above), the other is built with a more modern aesthetic (below).

But the biggest and most compelling difference between tiny and conventional homes may be the price tag. Tiny houses typically cost a fraction of a conventional home to construct, usually anywhere from $15,000 and up for self-built structures, and from $40,000 to $100,000 for professionally built tiny homes. Even at these prices they contain many of the usual attributes of a regular house: comfortable sitting areas, well-equipped kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. The idea of being able to build and own your own home outright, without needing to borrow money, appeals to many, especially to those who were affected by the housing market crash.