03/13/2021 17:15
Clarín.com
International
Updated 03/13/2021 5:15 PM
Luke Walker and Charlie MacVicar are a couple from England.
He is 27 years old, while she is one younger, 26. In short, they both had a
shared dream
: to move in together.
Of course: neither of them had any idea of the adventure they were about to embark on.
It happens that tired of the high rental prices, they decided to do something different.
Since MacVicar's father owned land in Essex (northeast London), the couple considered
buying a motor home and moving there.
The American portal Insider portrayed it: the initial search, which began around 2017,
was not easy at all
.
The couple saw several vehicles and even considered buying a
container
to repair, but nothing convinced them.
Until they found something that ended up
exciting them
.
The bus is parked next to a pond in Essex, England.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
It was a
two-story London bus
, Volvo brand.
And they did not hesitate: they bought it for almost 3,500 dollars (just over 300,000 Argentine pesos).
There, of course, the new challenge began, that of transforming it into his
new home.
The couple paid $ 3,500 for the two-story bus.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
Like any renovation, a large investment had to be made.
In total, they allocated 20,600 dollars (more than 1,800,000 Argentine pesos) to give themselves
all the luxuries
.
And the result is in sight: within the two-story collective there is
from a bathtub to a fireplace.
The collective has a wood-burning fireplace inside.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
Unbelievably, neither of them had any design or construction experience, but they accomplished something amazing.
"It was definitely a shock to the system. At first we were really overwhelmed, it
was the first time I had grabbed a screwdriver,
" MacVicar recalled.
The bathtub is at the top of the bus.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
There was, of course, help from professionals for some aspects of the construction, in order to
make the most of the collective space
(it is four and a half meters high, almost 10 long, 2.5 wide and 51 square meters). total space).
The bottom of the incredible collective.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
What is it like
on the inside
then?
On the ground floor there is a full kitchen with oven, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine and a table for three people.
In addition, there is the living room, which has a wood-burning fireplace and a small desk, according to Insider.
The upstairs also has a walk-in closet.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
The
top part is
still surprising.
Along with a double bed (with its respective night tables and a television) there is an antique bathtub and a large dressing room to store clothes and change.
There are no curtains of their own accord: they want to take advantage of and enjoy the sunlight.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by @doubledeckerhome
They are not lacking in comfort: there they have Wi-Fi, water and gas.
For all this, one of the
necessary
parts
was to raise the floor of the bus, to be able to install the different pipes.
The couple plan to build an outside shower.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
But there is more, in the
pets
section
.
Do they have dogs, cats or any other domestic animals?
None of that: with so much free land (the bus remains parked next to a pond), Walker and MacVicar live there with
two goats.
One of the goats they have as a pet.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
With all this in the balance, there are also
some negative aspects
, which have to do with the weather.
As they said, despite having heaters, the fireplace and a small air conditioning, in winter and summer they feel the cold and heat.
The lower part has a refrigerator and microwave.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
For now, the group has
been stationed in Essex since 2018
, but among the renovations that were carried out there was one that allowed them to continue working to move somewhere if they so desired.
The terrain on which it is parked also allows them to enjoy the outdoors.
Photo: @doubledeckerhome
And there are expansion plans: soon they want to build an
outdoor shower
.
"This was honestly the best decision we made. Some days I sit here and think, 'Oh, why am I living in this collective? This is so annoying.' But most of the time we are very
grateful that
we
can do something quite creative, when we are not creative people, "reflected MacVicar.