Do you often spend time sitting on your laurels and waiting for your dreams? Why don’t you go out and turn those dreams into a reality!

Well, that’s exactly what happened in this story of a double-decker bus being converted into a top-of-the-line living space. Adam Collier was never one to sit back and wait for things to happen. Adam is 42 years old and resides in the UK working as a carpenter.

Collier loves the outdoors and exploring them with his daughter, Devan. They both enjoy surfing the many waves that rise and fall along England’s coast.

As a do-it-yourself kind of guy, Collier had an interesting thought when he saw a double-decker bus on his drive home from work. Instantly, his mind started racing at the possibilities.

A man with a plan, Collier decided that he needed to budget out his project. He wanted to make it a dream home but didn’t want to spend a pretty penny on it either.

The goal of the whole experiment for Collier was to prove that you don’t have to have gobs of money lying around to live a little luxurious. He felt that a budget of £10,000 was a good start to buy the bus and completely renovate it.

The bus just went out of service, so the engine side of things was fine. But, Collier had noticed a few things about the infrastructure of the bus that needed proper fixing.

This project was no joke. The bus wasn’t meant to hold living quarters but rather people.

It was going to be a difficult task for anyone, let alone a 42-year-old carpenter with a small budget.

The bus had 42 seats that were welded to the floor. Colier took out the seat benches and quickly realized that this was going to take a large amount of time.

The bus didn’t have any insulation behind the paneling either.

This was a bit surprising for Collier, and he knew that it was going to take a good amount of time to get this done.

After stuffing every bit of space he could find with sheet insulation, the hard-working father got to work on drilling beams together to reinforce the structure of his soon to be home.

He used sheet insulation behind the panels and then began with the overall structure. Reinforcing the frame by drilling beams together was a big focus early on.

A solo-worker at heart, Collier took on the entire project himself, stating in an interview with Amazing Spaces that he wanted it done right and had the ability to get it done on his own.

At this point, Collier could have easily asked for help, but, he decided to solo the project.

He mentioned in an interview that he knew he could do it himself, and he wanted to make sure that no one cut any corners.

“I’m a tradesman as well, so I knew how to do everything, and there was no point in asking anyone else to help. Also, it was my project. I couldn’t expect others to share my level of enthusiasm.”

The challenges and difficulties hurled themselves at the carpenter over and over again. Everything from changes in overall structure and layout, to finding the right materials kept Colier busy.

He took every detail seriously to create a beautiful project that he had envisioned.

The design work was equally time-consuming. He knew he had to keep the majority of the weight on the lower deck to make the vehicle drivable and not too top-heavy.

He made the decision early on for a dining space on the lower floor near the rear of the bus. This was where he had ripped out the old seating.

He settled on a special foam substance and crafted luxurious cushion benches for the dining room. He topped them off with a beautiful, bright green upholstery.

The dining table even closes away for extra space in a high traffic area.

Colier wanted a high-end design that was extremely functional as well. So he designed a tongue-and-groove wooden wall system that holds in heat while remaining perfectly symmetrical.

But Collier didn’t want to change everything. The past memories of the bus needed to be present, so he left a few details alone.

He left old signage up like the bus’s seating capacity and warnings to “Watch Your Head!”, as well as the mirrors for the driver to be able to monitor both decks while moving. Some of the old signs remain unchanged, and the mirrors on the side give it a very unique vibe. Included in those signs is one specifically that reads “Watch Your Head!”

Putting the kitchen on the lower deck, Colier firmly planted the weight distribution at the bottom-center of the bus. This helped to keep some of the double-decker’s prior layout.

The carpenter purchased the bus for £4,500, giving him almost half of his budget to still work with.

Pretty soon due to costs piling up such as a broken generator, he realized that sticking to his budget wasn’t realistic. But he didn’t just want to scrap it altogether, so cutting costs became a big priority.

Quitting isn’t something that Adam Collier takes lightly, so he decided that in order to keep costs low, he might have to abandon his dream of a fully efficient kitchen.

Just a carpenter and a dream, Collier found a way to make it work.

The adventurous carpenter found a kitchenette that would fill the storage needs on the bus. He wanted to add some design, so he created a brand new facade that blended with the color palette and existing interior.

One of the biggest and most expensive elements to the kitchen area is the wooden countertop, said Collier.

“The most expensive part of it [kitchen] was the worktop. The whole kitchen cost peanuts, really.”

Collier is pretty pumped about the kitchen, and it’s a larger area than he has at home.

You can head from the kitchen to the special staircase that leads into the top floor-transitioned to a sleep/rest area.

In this photo, Adam fused some of his carpentry skills to create a seating space for passengers. This is one of his favorite spots.

Collier pays attention to all of the details in his new home, including decorations. Houseplants and other greenery make the home feel realistic and inviting.

Because Collier loves traveling with his daughter and allows her to bring friends, he has prepared adequate sleeping quarters and food supply as well.

The hallway that leads to the sleeping area is a beautiful corridor that allows natural light to flood the walkway.

The “pride and joy” of Collier’s project is the sliding bedroom doors that blend into the walls and seem hidden when closed.

The sliding doors lead to the bedroom area that the expert-carpenter has beautifully handcrafted. He designed the beds around the windows of the bus to add to the overall aesthetic.

The space in the bedrooms is surprising, to say the least. Three bedrooms fit up to six people comfortably and look absolutely stunning as well.

It only took Adam Collier six months of incredible struggle, and sweaty work to achieve his dream home. It’s ready to go whenever he and Devan decide to go hit the rolling waves.

So what was the total? Did the carpenter stick to his £10,000 budget while creating the perfect rolling beach house?

Well, not quite. The price ended up being more than he originally planned.

The total cost of everything, from the original bus purchase to the paint, to the kitchen and bedroom design cost Collier around £15,000. But still, that’s an incredible deal considering Adam could have purchased a beach house for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

To get the full tour, check out the video from Amazing Spaces below!

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Sources: youtube.com, shareably.net