We've seen a lot of incredible tiny houses, from this adorable tiny house hotel in Portland to the compact but expandable Aurora, but the newest micro home to take the internet by storm is this one that fits inside a 2012 Mercedes-Benz van.
Designed and built by broadcast systems engineer Jack Richens with his girlfriend, sound engineer Lucy Hedges, this amped-up campervan can house a family of four, packing a double bed for the couple and two bunk beds for children.
The van's kitchenette contains a fridge, a small stove, and a sink, and for dining, the leather seats can swivel to face a table. There are various storage areas under the stairs and in the rear of the van.
Jack and Lucy had been traveling around in converted vans for years, but they always dreamed of creating a car that was both practical for a family and aesthetically pleasing. After drawing up ideas (and a bit of arguing!), the couple agreed on a design and got to work. The entire project took about four months.
As word spread of what they were building, the initial reaction from the self-built campervan community was "really quite hostile," Jack said. He received countless messages telling him the van was "a waste of time" and "useless." But he kept building.
"I figured that if I was designing a camper van that upset so many people, I must be doing something right. That kept me going on the hard days," he said.
Photos of the van began circling the internet beyond the campervan community and attracted attention from the tiny house movement. Now, a Tech Insider video of the van's interior has more than 12 million views and over 150,000 shares on Facebook. Suddenly Jack's inbox was swamped with emails, but this time, they were messages of praise and support.
The total cost of the project was just $18,500, with $10,000 spent on the van and another $8,500 on the interior, according to Humble Homes. Jack is already working on his next DIY van-home and is taking commissions through 2017.
You might have noticed there's one crucial area missing: a bathroom. But Jack said vans with bathroom facilities are in the works, along with other exciting new designs. "Our drawing board is bursting with ideas," he said.
For those looking for an affordable and efficient home on wheels, this tiny house offers all the essentials for life on the road.
(h/t Tech Insider)
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Jenae is the editorial assistant for Prevention.com, where she regularly covers nutrition, beauty, celebrity workouts, and health trends. Previously, she was an intern at ELLE and CountryLiving.com and a web producer for O, the Oprah Magazine. When she’s not writing about health and wellness, Jenae is either playing video games or reading tweets about The Bachelor.
