This Beautiful Short Bus Conversion Boasts Gorgeous Woodwork and a Cool Roof Deck

Used school buses are cheap, spacious, and reliable and can be turned into comfortable living spaces that look like apartments on wheels. One such conversion was built by Weston, a Wisconsin carpenter who wanted a mobile habitat that would allow him to work, travel, and visit friends and still have his home with him.

Weston has been fascinated by the tiny home and vanlife movements for as long as he can remember, and he decided to take matters into his own hands, literally, and build a rig that would offer him all the home comforts while on the road. The result of over five years of work is one of the coziest and most functional shorty conversions we have seen.

Being able to travel and explore amazing locations is an incredible experience in itself, but doing so in your own mobile home is even more special.

Weston stumbled across an old Chevrolet short school bus for sale on Craigslist for around $2,700 and bought it on a whim. He then quit his 9-to-5 job and started working on the conversion, putting his woodworking skills to good use. He chose a nautical theme for the build, but there aren't too many maritime elements aside from the blue exterior and the extensive use of wood throughout.

Starting with the exterior, the modifications he made to the short bus include the addition of a cool roof deck made of solid Brazilian walnut with dovetails on the corner and a sturdy back deck where he can carry a motorcycle or bike. There are also 540 watts solar panels on the roof taking care of the bus's energy needs.

Weston got rid of the bus's original folding doors and recycled the glass to use it into a custom Brazilian walnut door. The back door is also custom built and can open to create a good airflow and enjoy the surrounding even from inside the bus.

The interior of the short bus is designed to serve as a one-person home on wheels and includes various repurposed materials and components, like the driver and passenger seats, which are sourced from an old Chevrolet Astro Van and swivel to face the rear of the bus.

Wood veneer was used to cover the curved ceiling and a lot of the trim, while the cabinets are made from African mahogany and Brazillian cherry woods. The woodwork throughout the bus is gorgeous, and the design keeps the interior open and spacious.

The clever layout includes a dinette at the back of the rig comprising a huge U-shaped sectional sofa and a massive dining room table, a kitchen, a shower, and plenty of storage options.

The dinette doubles as a cozy bedroom, guest room, and entertainment lounge. The table swivels and drops down, so when the night comes, it turns into a comfortable bed that Weston claims it can easily accommodate three adults. The middle seat in the back is removable, as is the table, and if these two elements are removed, you can have a full open passageway.

The gorgeous kitchen includes beautiful cabinets and countertops crafted from African mahogany and Brazillian cherry wood, and its functionality is ensured by a big sink with two removable cutting boards on top, a two-burner propane stove, and a vintage Frigidaire refrigerator that runs on 120-volt power. He chose this fridge due to its retro look and the blue color that matches the bus's exterior.

Next to the kitchen is the toilet/shower space, which seems a bit cramped for a taller person, but Weston says he had no issue using it so far, so we have to take his word for it.

In a surprising twist, the wood wall separating the shower from the kitchen space folds down to create additional countertop space for meal prepping. A really cool and clever feature that we haven't seen in any other conversion.

A generator and an air conditioning unit are also part of the build, and a Cubic Grizzly wood-burning stove sits opposite the kitchen and warms up the entire bus when necessary, while also enhancing the coziness of the interior.

There are no upper cabinets inside this mobile home, but there is no shortage of storage. Besides the kitchen cabinets and a dedicated storage space above the cabin, the couch has more hidden storage and houses the batteries and a 50-gallon (190-liter) freshwater tank.

Weston has only recently started using the skoolie for its intended purpose, and he says it's an awesome experience. It's no wonder since this is a very practical home on wheels that includes all the basic creature comforts one needs on the road, all packed in a very compact footprint.