A WOMAN has shared how she transformed a £7,000 van into her dream tiny home.
Rita and her dog live in a 2001 Ford Shuttle bus called Wilbur, which she has poured her heart and soul into making into a cosy home.
“It's been really liberating leaving behind the desire to follow the pursuit of a career and mortgage,” said Rita, who is now rent and mortgage free.
Throughout her childhood, Rita has fond memories of going on road trips with her grandfather, in his tiny camper van.
“Six-year-old me thought it was the coolest thing, and my grandfather had travelled everywhere in it,” she told Tiny Home Tours.
Determined to continue the family tradition of travelling, Rita decided to ditch her own home for a van and set to work putting her DIY skills to the test.
Using advice from her cabinet-maker uncle, Rita built her own kitchen cabinets.
“I think I pierced my finger with a nail gun whilst building this, it was an emotional project,” she revealed.
To save money, she even used her scraps from her grandmother's old kitchen, repurposing them for her cosy dream home.
Rita didn't want to deal with the stress of installing plumbing into her van, so an iced tea container filled with water serves as her tap, and an old bucket she found works as a washing up bowl.
She also saved money by buying a scratched and dented fridge at a hugely reduced price.
“You'd never know the back of it has scratches all over it,” she said.
Although Rita only has a limited amount of space in her van, she confessed that she is “not a minimalist”, so has had to come up with imaginative storage solutions.
Shelves stacked with herbs and spices line her walls and netting hangs from the bottom of the cupboards, which she also uses to place food in.
Rita is an artist and has even found room for her own studio in the van, complete with a fold-out art table.
To save space, Rita has combined her bedroom and her living room into one, by installing a large pull-out sofa bed into the van.
Is it legal to live in a van?
IF you are looking to live in a van to save money or travel, you'll be pleased to know that there are no UK laws stopping you.
However, you must ensure your vehicle has passed its MOT and is fully road legal.
There could also be restrictions onwhereyou can park up to sleep in your van.
For example, local authorities place restrictions on certain streets or lay-bys, and you could be fined if you spend the night there.
It could also be unsafe to stop in certain locations, particularly at night-time.
Check the The Highway Code guide for guidance.
To store her clothes and belongings, she has created a mismatched selection of cabinets using scraps donated to her by friends and family.
Instead of installing a shower into her van, Rita washes in the river or at the gym and keeps a compost toilet in the bottom of her wardrobe “for emergencies.”
Rita said that she has found having to fix her van as a single woman empowering, as it has shown her that she can do anything.
“It has shown me how capable I am,” she said.
