No one likes to be preached to, talked down to, or ordered around to recycle, upcycle, and be more thoughtful about their carbon footprint. Butternut doesn't preach or do any of those other things. Butternut leads by example.
The whole conversation about the amount of waste we generate daily and the need to be more efficient with our resources, which should include the upcycling of old items, can become tiresome after a point. Going in circles around the topic of a more sustainable lifestyle can – and probably does – feel like you're constantly listening to PETA scream and throw flour at those who wear fur: you know they're right in doing it, but can't take the noise anymore.
In the hopes that you're more inspired by those who lead by example instead of empty talk, here's Butternut, a houseboat that touches on a couple of other interests we have in common like watercraft and sustainable upgrades to our current lifestyle while being one of the most luxurious instances of downsizing we've seen in a while. Butternut is a houseboat, though you'd probably have a hard time telling that from its rusty, submarine-inspired exterior.
Butternut started as an old 31-foot (9.5-foot) lifeboat to an oil rig working off the coast of Scotland. When musician and events manager Drew bought it in 2018, it was precisely in the shape you'd expect an old and very used lifeboat to be: it was damp, molded, and in no condition to serve as permanent residence to a couple of young lovebirds like Drew and Miranda.
Photo: Instagram / Project Butternut
While the entire world baked cookies and sourdough bread over the 2020 lockdowns, Drew spent his time, money, and, we assume, a big chunk of his energy on turning that sad lifeboat into a home that Miranda would agree to share with him on the water. Part of the process and the big reveal were featured in a February 2022 episode of George Clarke's Amazing Spaces, one of the most popular shows of its kind in the UK. A segment from the episode is also available below.
To us watching at home, Butternut proves that impossible is only a word if you have the right set of skills and an incredible amount of determination. Drew had both, along with the help of a solid and talented group of friends, Miranda included, so he was able to carry the project to completion. It was not an easy one, or cheap, taking Drew nearly two years and £11,500 ($14,300) to complete. But the result is nothing short of impressive.
Butternut offers only 310 square feet (28.8 square meters) of living space, but has all the creature comforts of a proper home, with touches of personalized luxury. We've covered luxurious houseboat conversions before, and they stood out for the use of expensive premium materials and super-fancy elements like entire walls made of fake flowers. This is not the case with Butternut, where the sense of luxury comes from personalized items and incredible attention to detail, from the hand-laid floors to the custom bathroom and the crazy pulley bed that hangs over the kitchen island. "Hanged," because Drew has since removed it.
Photo: Instagram / Project Butternut
Like all conversion projects, this one, too, started with Drew stripping the hull to the bare steel and adding plumbing, wiring, and holding tanks. As Drew himself said, when he bought the lifeboat, it looked like "she's just been dropped off an oil rig... and then the oil rig fell on top of her, then she sunk, then a whale used her as a porta potty for 3 years." There was a lot of work to be done before he could even begin planning the new layout.
Due to space limitations, it would have to be different from a brick-and-mortar house. Drew was set on having a couch in the living room, and Miranda was set on having a proper bathroom, so this led to installing the bed over the hand-made kitchen island. It was removed after Butternut made its debut on the show and relocated to the back room – even Drew knew that its original location made no sense.
But even despite the space limitations, the layout was a standout. There's a huge bathroom with the largest possible bathtub at one end and the kitchen at the other, with cement counters poured by Drew after realizing that you can't just go out and buy furniture and expect it to fit a space with curved walls. Everything inside Butternut is curved, from the perspex bubble skylight on top to the huge bathtub and that kitchen island, which integrates a gorgeous piece of an old Spanish olive tree.
Photo: Instagram / Project Butternut
Everything inside Butternut is beautiful too and colorful: the bathroom sink, the hardwood flooring, the kitchen tiles, the stained glass in some of the windows, the coffee mugs that hang on the wall, everything adds personality and playfulness to the compact space. The contrast between the rusty (though not really) exterior and the cozy, luxurious interior is intentional and with a striking visual impact.
Butternut is a real-life example of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover or, in this case, a "submarine” by its rusty hull. It's also proof that upcycling is fun and highly creative, even if time-consuming and costly.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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