Meet Connor and Mattie. They are two Irish students who completed a DIY van conversion for less than AU$800.
Don’t let the price tag fool you. The results of the DIY van conversion are pleasantly surprising.
The young couple tossed around the idea of vanlife on a Saturday night and by the next Tuesday, they purchased a van.
Connor and Mattie bought a Volkswagen Transporter T4 for €1800. Over three weekends the savvy pair had completed the DIY van conversion.
The pair reveal that they both had virtually no woodwork experience and had to ‘wing’ most of it.
A video on their YouTube channel ‘Our Venturing Van‘ gives a look inside the van.
Despite renovating it on a student budget, the van is stylish, homey and has just about everything a complete house would.
It’s decked out with a stovetop for hot dinners and a roof deck for watching the sun set.
The mobile home features a full-sized double bed which Connor describes as “the find of the century because it’s so comfortable”.
It has a second-hand mattress the pair bought for “ten quid” (less than AU$20).
You will find plenty of storage in the DIY van conversion. The pair built hidden compartments for storing their clothes. They use baskets for cooking utensils and food.
Extra space under the bed gives them room to store tools, hiking boots, wetsuits, fishing gear and equipment.
Connor and Mattie are both students so they say they “don’t have a lot of money”.
This just means the pair had to be very resourceful. A lot of the wooden panels and compartments are recycled or reclaimed.
“This is just a piece of plywood we found in my Aunty’s garage,” Mattie says pointing to her kitchen countertop.
“And this is just palette wood,” she says as she opens the gas container cupboard.
Just because the two are on a student budget, it doesn’t mean the van isn’t stylish.
Cosy cushions and fairy lights spruce up the interiors. Plus printed burlap sacks they got from a coffee roaster in Galway cover the driver seats.
The driver’s portion of the van was almost all grey before they covered it with a world map.
To top it all off the DIY van conversion is sunshine yellow.
Connor and Mattie weren’t always fans of the striking yellow colour. The student pair admit they thought it was “a little bit too much” at first.
They shopped around and got a quote of €1000 to have the van professionally spray painted.
Instead, they decided to keep the yellow and mute it slightly by adding in black and white feature stripes themselves.
The couple sourced cans of spray paint from the 2 Euro store.
The bright yellow van served Connor and Mattie well during their travels around Ireland.
They’ve since parted ways with their ‘beloved Shergar’.
That doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned vanlife. Connor and Mattie purchased a teal Peugeot J7 to undertake another DIY van conversion.
Connor and Mattie are travelling around Italy in the blue van renovation.
But a recent Instagram post reveals it might not be blue for much longer. They’ve ordered new paint to attempt the job themselves.
What colour will the van be next?
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Lead image © @our_venturing_van
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