See How a Single Dad Transformed a Big Bus into a Special Present for His Daughter

For over a decade, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces has garnered worldwide attention by showcasing projects that transform unconventional things and tiny spaces into comfortable accommodations. One of them that the celebrity architect Clarke chose to present on the show was genuinely exceptional. 

George Clarke started his professional journey as an architect but, over the decades, has branched out into so many things that spread the sheer joy of building something from scratch. He is one of the most recognizable faces on television thanks to the show George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, which began airing in 2012. 

Before we get into details of the project Clarke was super interested in, let’s know a bit more about the man who brought design into everyone’s home. The man has always been passionate about homes and believes that good designs are a powerful tool that can change everyone’s lives forever. 

Born and raised in the beautiful port city of Sunderland in Northern England, Clarke comes from a strong lineage of builders. So, his fascination with construction began early in life since he spent a lot of time at the building sites when kids his age were playing with legos. 

Clarke’s foray into the media industry happened by chance. He was penning a book on architecture under an agency that also represented television presenters. They were looking for a charismatic and enterprising building professional with a strong screen presence, and he ticked all the boxes. 

George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces featured Adam Collier-Woods in 2015 as a skilled carpenter who had a problem he was about to address, however improbable it looked. He was doing it all for his daughter Devon. Having split up from her mother, the man looked for ways to take her to vacation spots. 

Collier’s top priority was taking his daughter on vacations. Although both lived in Brighton, on the southern coast of England, where they had easy access to the beach and could ride the waves leisurely, he wanted to take her further during Summer, when the breakers were good. 

Taking Devon on vacation was one of many things on his mind, but he also needed to find a solution to his housing issues soon. Property prices in the UK were at a peak, and he couldn’t afford a decent one on his budget. 

He might not have the dough, but he definitely had the skills as a tradesman to make something out of nothing. In fact, Collier did not even want to ask anyone for help; he could do it all by himself. After all, it was his project as a gift for his daughter, which made it more special. 

Collier, by then, had seen several videos in which people converted big school buses into beautiful homes and he felt inspired to travel that route. As a Brit, he went one step further and decided to go with something familiar on the UK streets – a double-decker bus! 

The good news was the bus was still functional, but it had structural issues that would prove quite challenging for Collier. How does one transform something that wasn’t supposed to be home into one? That wasn’t his only concern. 

Imagine how amazing the double-decker bus would have been if George Clarke had been impressed with it when he featured it on his show. As an expert in renovations, he could immediately see the charm of transforming the vehicle into an adobe. The bus, with its original features still intact, had character. 

Before diving into the actual work, Collier had to ensure that the vehicle was a solid base to build a home. While the bus looked spectacular on the surface, it badly needed structural reinforcement. There were a few worrying factors, like the rust eating away too much at the frames that held the conveyance together. 

Clarke probed more about Collier’s plans for his ideal vacation home in the show. The carpenter revealed that he was seriously considering setting up residence at a popular spot in a rural area southwest of Cornwall, one of the most sought-after destinations in England for vacations. 

Collier’s immediate concern was to get the double-decker in a stable condition to withstand the heavy changes that would follow. For that purpose, he started with the floors and the walls. He laid out new wooden floorings to level out the bus before installing other things that would go on them. 

Every artist knows the smaller the space, the higher the need for creativity. Thinking out of the box was the need of the hour for Collier. He had to be sharp about utilizing the space available in the bus to maximum efficiency. 

Even though Collier was highly skilled at his craft, he soon realized he could do it with some help. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford to pay for the labor, so he had no option but to pull up his sleeves and get going by himself. There was no point fretting about things that were beyond his control. 

In the show, Clarke pointed out the rotten floors with holes large enough to see the ground underneath. The carpenter paid extra attention to replacing them with wooden floorings. Another aspect that Collier spent a considerable amount of time on was in insulating the entire vehicle. 

Wood and water don’t mix; every woodworker worth his salt would know this. So, Collier had ensured he’d pick a spot and a time where there’d be little chance of his renovating mission getting washed away due to rain. 

As was his intended timeframe, six months after Collier made his debut appearance on George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, he was on the show again. This time he was there to reveal his vacation home to Clarke and his audience. Everyone watched with bated breath as the video panned to the transformed bus. 

The highlight of the interiors was the vibrant green living and dining space. It’s rare to find a dedicated dining table in such homes, but it was taking center stage in a cozy setting surrounded by couches. One of the best features was the wood-fired stove to heat up the interiors. 

When you are on a tight budget, you come up with ingenious ideas to realize your dreams. Collier’s ingenuity can be seen in the way he presented the kitchen. Interestingly, this kitchen was bigger than the one in his home. 

Clarke quickly spotted a fabulous nook with a modernized analog clock that brightened the space. Collier had furbished the place with old tags from the bus. It also had the vehicle’s headlamps which merged well with the interiors. 

During his childhood, when he used to travel by school bus, Collier’s favorite place to sit was right above the driver’s seat on the top deck. In this vacation home, he has transformed the space into a little reading nook by placing a deep blue couch. 

Thanks to Collier’s vision and dexterity, the rest of the top deck was transformed into dedicated sleeping quarters with three bedrooms. All of them are lined up nicely along the long corridor, showing how well Collier understands space and puts them to use with his skill and creativity. 

Of course, the entire project was his brainchild, but the one he considers his pride and job is the sliding door fitted to his bedroom that meshes well with the deck walls once shut. 

What impressed Clarke the most about Collier’s high-quality conversion was his intent to retain some of the original features of the bus. The old signage that read “Mind your Head” and similar others were kept intact. The mirror on the top deck that looks back on the bus still hangs. 

Halfway along the project, Collier knew he would exceed his budget by a few, and he did. His initial estimation for the entire renovation mission, including the cost of the bus, was $14k. The total cost was $16k, and he’d achieved much with that money. 

Collier had never intended it to be a mobile home, and he had also dropped the idea of making it his permanent residence. So, that left him with a few other choices. The first of which was to add some decking to the vehicle. 

It was but a seed of an idea that the audience saw taking shape from a plausible dream and finally into a reality. Collier wouldn’t live there permanently and would only use it as a vacation home for a short while when his daughter visited him.