Adobe-Style Mobile Home Has Been Customized To Resemble a New Mexico House

Felicia and Jake are living in a 40 ft (12.2 m) Bluebird International 3800, called Zia, the bus. They have been customizing it into a home on wheels and have been living in it for about eight months. Jake has experience in the architectural field, which helped a lot when transforming the bus into a home all by themselves.

They chose the adobe style for their home, and the exterior has been designed in warm green, red, and orange colors that match perfectly this particular style. As we have seen in many buses, the exterior has lots of storage compartments that provide just enough space to store all the outdoor equipment and electrical stuff. The bus runs off-grid with the help of 800 watts of solar panels on the roof.

Once you step inside, you are greeted by a house that resembles the ones found in New Mexico, the couple's home city. Similar to the exterior, the color scheme chosen is warm, giving it a homey look.

The front side of the bus has been mostly untouched besides being painted in a brown color, adding a few plants, and a coat hanger. Behind the driver’s seat, Jake has his office area. He added a foldable table and a wall-mounted TV. Being able to work from home while living on a bus has offered Jake the possibility to work from different places throughout the United States, including the beach and mountain sides.

On the opposite side, we find the living room, which is just a couch with storage underneath that can be pulled and transformed into a queen-size bed.

Like in many mobile homes, the kitchen is perhaps one of the most important spaces. This is even more true when you are living full-time in a motorhome or have a family you need to feed. The kitchen is in the middle of the bus and takes up most of the space.

Felicia loves cooking, so not having a functional kitchen was out of the question. It is designed with a vintage fridge, a black farmhouse sink, and a range. The base cabinets offer tons of storage space, and there are also some spice racks above. Most of the furniture here has been handcrafted and then teal painted. The backsplash is made of terracotta tiles that were handpicked. The same tiles can be found behind the wood-burning stove.

If the kitchen looks impressive, then the bathroom is breathtaking. Not only is it fully inspired by adobe-style homes, but it is also custom-made by the couple. If something was not handmade then it was thrifted. From the unique open shelves built into the wall to the composting toilet, everything here is unique.

The couple had enough space to work with, so they equipped it with a bathtub, a rain showerhead, a medicine cabinet, a full-size mirror, and a shelf. However, they are being careful with the amount of water used when showering since an unlimited supply of water is quite hard to have in a motorhome. One of the amazing features here is the skylight decorated with faux plants. It can be opened, and they can access the roof of the bus from here.

From the hallway, we can access the bedroom, which was placed at the very rear. It comes as a surprise that they still have plenty of space available here. Besides the queen-size bed, we find a large wardrobe, two clothing cabinets, a washer, and a dryer. Lots of storage separated into two parts is available underneath the bed platform. The top part holds a 125-gallon (473-liter) water tank, 100-amp batteries, and other electrical stuff. The second part is used as a garage-like storage that can be accessed from the outside.

The bus has been built during the pandemic so the price of materials was quite high. For this reason, the transformation of this mobile home ended up costing between $25,000-$35,000. Even with this price, it is still much cheaper than any city apartment you might find. If you are intrigued by this couple's story, the tiny living lifestyle might be worth giving a chance, especially if you are trying to find a way to escape the concrete jungle and enjoy life.

Besides motorhomes, some tiny homes come with a similar price, depending on how big it is and what features it has. They are also more friendly to the new tiny living fans than a school bus because it still looks like a house, just a pocket size one.