In Refinery29’s Sweet Digs, we take a look inside the sometimes small, sometimes spacious homes of millennial women. Today, #vanlifers Bec Moroney and Eamon Fitzgerald showed us how they carved out a home for themselves on the road.
If you just spent five minutes and 23 seconds with your jaw on the floor, you’re not alone. We also watched in awe as Toronto-based couple Bec Moroney and Eamon Fitzgerald toured us around their (almost) 20-foot-long Sprinter van — which contains more useable and thoroughly comfortable living space than you ever thought you could possibly fit into 80 square feet. With a kitchen, multiple beds, a shower, a compostable toilet, and a roof outfitted with solar panels, the compact mobile home contains everything the couple needs for a nomadic lifestyle. The micro-space isn’t merely convenient, it’s also supremely chic; peppered with bohemian accents and even a little greenery that makes it feel like home on the road.
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One crucial comfort hack is the multitude of storage compartments that hide in every nook and cranny of the vehicle. (The couple even built a secret trapdoor to sequester sweaty post-workout sneakers.) The van’s kitchen is equipped with plenty of drawers for stashing everything from dishes to pantry items, and a diesel heating system hides beneath the white-washed bench. Underneath this rustic wood-block countertop is something even more unexpected — the van’s miniature, hyper-efficient bathroom, which includes an eco-friendly composting toilet and a shower setup. (Living in miniature space forces the couple to conserve and economise square footage and resources wherever possible.)
Despite being not much bigger than your average garden shed, the couple’s space is warm and inviting — thanks in part to bright white panelling and their keen eye for nostalgic travel-inspired design details. While the van itself is certainly replete with creature comforts, the appeal of the vehicular lifestyle is really more about what’s outside the car than in it. This is exemplified by the solar-paneled roof: “On a sunny day, we can lounge up here and catch some rays,” explains Bec. “And on a nice clear night, we can watch the stars,” adds Eamon. “It’s actually my favorite part of the van.”
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