A couple created the tiny home of their dreams — all with a school bus and their hard work and dedication. Tanya Nestoruk and Arya Touserkani long ago decided that the road life was the kind of life they wanted to lead. In 2021, the couple sold their four-bedroom home in Canada and decided to move into a van. Tanya, as an environmental educator, and Arya, as a photographer, loved the "simplicity and versatility of being able to live and travel wherever you want, have minimal impact, and explore new places." But soon after, they realized they needed a bigger space. This is where the school bus came in.
“We wanted to do something more adventurous and we thought the school bus would be a fun way to give a second life to a retired vehicle,” Tanya, 31, said. So, she found the bus on Facebook Marketplace for a price of $7,200. “Someone drove it on its last school run and then we took it home right then and there.”
The couple agreed that they wanted to renovate the bus within the next six months. Whatever they could recycle, they did, such as donating the seats to a local kids camp and selling the luggage racks to someone who wanted to repurpose them for their garage.
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Tanya and Arya DIYed their entire renovation, which meant they spent a lot of time Googling and watching YouTube videos on how to accomplish certain tasks. “It was nonstop and we worked on it as much as we could,” Arya, 38, said. “I got so obsessed with everything that needed to be done with that bus. It was a challenge because we weren’t able to disconnect because we had to plan for the next steps while trying to do the current steps.”
Over the course of nearly one year, the couple worked hard on renovating the school bus into the tiny home of their dreams. They spent around $30,000 on the transformations, which include a bedroom with a king-sized bed, a living room with a pullout couch, a kitchen with a three-burner stovetop and oven, a bathroom, an RV washer and dryer they found on Facebook Marketplace, hidden storage for food, an on-demand hot water heater, and more.
One of the details that many people seem to fall in love with is the skylights they installed. "They provide so much natural light, and it really makes the space special for us,” Arya shared, while Tanya added that they were also a cost-effective way for the couple to raise the roof in important areas without having to do the entire thing. The bus also has solar panels so the couple can be completely off the grid.
The couple also built stairs that lead up to the roof and had a friend weld a rear hitch deck to hold their motorcycles, which is what they use for their everyday transportation. There’s a table latched onto the outside of the bus that they use for barbecues and whenever they have guests.
Though they don't think they'll ever truly be done renovating their space, they did stop the transformations in November of 2022 to head down to Mexico. “We found there was a certain type of energy that the bus attracted and it was just fun,” Arya shared. “Everyone always had a strong connection to it. It’s been a lot of fun interacting with people who are attracted to the bus.”
As with any home, the bus requires maintenance, like remaining proactive with everyday chores. And, with living on the road, the couple faces both pros and cons. “If you’re signing up for living in any sort of a vehicle, there is always going to be some level of maintenance work that needs to happen," Arya explained. "It’s not as carefree as living in a house." While the couple one day hope to build their actual dream home on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, they are enjoying the bus life for now. “We’re hoping to enjoy the bus as long as we can and we hope that the next owners will take it on new adventures,” Tanya said. “It has lots of life left.”
