HOME: A PVD family ditches the house for a tiny home on wheels

If the notion of converting a school bus is new to you, you’re not alone, but neither are the Stones. Known as a “skoolie,” these are retired school buses gutted and refitted as living spaces. “It all happened so fast,” Spike recalls. “We had been talking about doing something like it for a year or two but it didn’t feel like the time was right and we weren’t quite sure how to make it work. But when COVID cancelled the kids’ school, work went completely remote, and the landlords decided to sell the house we were living in for twice the appraisal, we decided to go for it.” The couple bought the bus on June 1, 2020, and two months later took to the open road. “I remember clutching the enormous steering wheel and I couldn’t stop smiling for a couple hours as we rumbled northwest into upstate New York,” Spike fondly recalls.

Inside, the bus is a master class of efficiency and ingenuity. “We wanted it to kind of evoke a beach house feel, keeping everything light. We also took inspiration from Swedish design so everything folds and nests and stores. Keeping it recognizable as a bus was also important. I think the coolest part is that it’s a school bus,” says Liz, responsible for accents

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few years,” he says, noting that longterm plans will always include travel, even if not full time. “There are some absolutely wild and amazing experiences you can have if you are willing to be a little uncomfortable.”

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Spike and Liz Stone share favorite things about the Ocean State:

FAMILY MATTERS “After our most recent adventure travelling around the whole country in our bus, we got homesick. Rhode Island really is a unique place with so much culture, great food, beautiful sites, central location, and access to the ocean. There truly is nowhere else like it,” says Spike. “We’re beach people!”

GREENHOUSE EFFECT “One of my favorite traditions is going to the Roger Williams Botanical Garden,” says Liz. “We get the season pass for the winter so we can stop by often. It’s amazing what an hour or two in the warm and balmy greenhouses will do to the wintertime blues.”

PVD LOVE “One of the spicy dishes at India put Liz into labor with Pepper,” says Spike of the Hope Street restaurant. “We love grabbing co ee (or hot cocoa for the kids) at The Co ee Exchange. We love getting up early on Sunday morning and wandering around downtown Providence when it is empty and still.” Other special stops include Paper Nautilus, Symposium Books, Tiny Bar, AS220, Wildflour, Sakura, Seven Stars, Providence Bagels, and The Grange.

Want your home featured in Providence Monthly? Email Elyse@ProvidenceOnline.com to learn more Photos courtesy of Spike Stone