Lucy Is a 1987 Bluebird Transformed Into a Functional RV With an Amazing Kitchen

Besides the freedom of traveling that you get from living in an RV, there is also another important perk when deciding to build a conversion. You get to fully design your rig. How cool is that? You let your imagination thrive while decorating the vehicle.

This is what Matthew did with Lucy, a 1987 Bluebird S1700 school bus. He is a chef, and since cooking is an important part of his life, he had to design his bus in that direction. And that means a kitchen worthy of a chef.

The outside of the bus has been painted white with blue brush strokes. Underneath the bus, we find a 3,500-watt generator inverter, a 100 lb. (45 kg) propane tank, a 7-gallon (26 liters) water heater, and 45 gallons (170 liters) of fresh water. When he is boondocking, he also has a 30-amp outlet and a freshwater inlet to hook into the shore power and water.

Starting from the driver’s cabin, the owner designed this area mostly as a storage space. It holds a shoe rack and a big TV above the cabin. Behind the TV, there are two cabinets with more storage for lots of books.

The front side of the bus has been designed to be a living and dining area. The left side is the dining, while the right side is the living/napping room.

The living room consists of a bench couch where he can hang out with friends and watch TV. The couch hides all the electronics, such as 600-amp lithium batteries, a 2,500-watt inverter charger, a 12V fuse block, and the main breaker panel.

On the other side, the dining is compounded of a folding table that was attached to the wall and two bench seats. Each seat has a small storage underneath filled with books and art supplies.

Of course, living in a skoolie means that plenty of natural light is getting inside. But having so many windows might be a problem sometimes, like the lack of privacy. To solve the issue, Matthew used leftover fabric from the kitchen and cut up the older curtains and make them more stylish. This also saved him some money he would have otherwise spent on new curtains.

In terms of lighting, there are two long LED strips on the left and right sides of the ceiling. A few hanging flowers complete the decor and make the nighttime look ethereal.

Going further inside the bus, we reach Matthew’s favorite spot, the kitchen. It was arranged on both sides of the bus and comes with two massive live-edge slabs countertops. The backsplash is crafted from leftover parts of the slabs. The shelves also use oak live-edge boards with industrial plumbing pipes to keep them in the spot.

It is a functional kitchen with a range, the biggest sink I have ever seen someone own, and a normal size fridge. The cabinets offer lots of storage, and there is also plenty of cooking space on them. The pantry might seem quite small, but it comes with a few drawers, and it looks like there is plenty of storage.

The bathroom is teensy-weensy, but he somehow managed to fit all the basics in there and even made it look ultra-modern. It comes with a metal roofing shower cabin, a custom-made composting toilet, a medicine cabinet, and a mirror.

What was supposed to be a pantry on the other side of the bathroom is now a wardrobe with a socks rack. Matthew admits that he had to get rid of a lot of his clothes since this closet is so tiny.

The rear side of the motorhome was designed to be a bedroom but also an office. He designed it with a single-person memory foam mattress and a small foldout TV in the back. The office has a foldable table with a small chair that goes underneath.

Moving on to the power unit, it is a highly durable, although slightly lazy International 420 cu. in. (6.9-liter) diesel V8. While this engine will take you anywhere without breaking a sweat, it won’t be fast, as this bus tops out at about 55-60 mph (89-97 kph).

It took Matthew and his father about two years to fully convert this school bus into a functional RV. He hasn't disclosed the total cost, but if you decide to get the same model, it could cost as little as $1,500 (€1,379).

This price is only for the bus, without all the upgrades that you would have to do in order to be able to live or even travel with the bus. Depending on how much you are willing to invest in your rig, the total price could go as high as it is allowed to.