Messes Welcome: Tour a Texas Painter's Home + School Bus Art Studio

While others are converting camper vans and school buses to hit the open road, Molly Mansfield's faded yellow school bus is perfectly parked in her yard, filled will botanical paintings from front to back. Step inside her paint splattered hideaway and learn how it came to be.

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May 21, 2021

By: Rachael Jones

Show: HGTV Handmade

Related To:

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Photo By: Sasquatch Mansfield

Get Down to Bus-iness

Artist Molly Mansfield lives a busy life with her husband Sasquatch and their foster children in Taylor, Texas. Daily chores and meal prep reign supreme inside the home, but every artist needs a space to call their own. “My husband came home from work one day and said, 'Hey! Do you want a school bus?'" Molly laughs.

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Inside Out

The interior of the bus no longer seats children, but now serves as a handmade space featuring some of her husband's handiwork. Surprisingly, a non-traditional school bus studio offers good light and plenty of space for functional furniture — it just required a few custom upgrades.

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Front Desk

"This is a desk that my husband improvised," Molly explains. "This is all one piece of wood and it's made out of small slats of wood that are laminated together."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

(Cinder)block Party

Opposite the desk, the other side of Molly's school bus studio works as a makeshift, mini art gallery where paintings are left to dry. "This side [of the bus] is just a piece of wood on top of some cinderblocks, and I’ve actually been utilizing the cinderblocks for storage."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Night Shift

Bright lights inside the school bus provide Molly with all the after-hours illumination she needs to create art when the kids are asleep. "I love being able to make my own mess and not have to clean it up," Molly says. "And not have to worry about any little hands coming and getting paint on other surfaces."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

That '70s Show

Molly's home, just a few steps from the school bus studio, rocks its own share of eclectic art and renovated beauty. "Our house was a complete fixer upper," Molly says, thinking back to the day they moved in. "It was built in 1935 and it hadn’t been updated since the '70s. So, it needed to be painted — it needed everything."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Pretty in Pink

And paint they did. While renovating the home, a foster care discovery helped drive Molly to leave her decorating mark in the living room. "When we found out that we were only going to be getting boys in our home, I knew right at that moment that I wanted to paint our living room pink," Molly says. "We [painted] the walls and ceiling all pink."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Molly's Way

"I think it was just a little bit of this rebellious nature in me," Molly continues, with a smirk. "If you’re going to say that I can only have boys, then I’m going to have a pink living room. I love the warmth it gives and the ability it has to make a space feel cozy and comfortable."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Planting a Thought

Easy-to-maintain, cozy furniture works in the bright pink space, along with another lively point of interest. "I’m also really inspired by houseplants," Molly says. "So I have a whole bunch of them in my home [and] I try to have multiple plants in every room."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Gallery of Artists

Molly's love of art extends well beyond her own collection in the living room gallery wall. "We have a lot of my art," Molly says, "but we also love to support other artists. There’s a few of my paintings and a photograph from an uncle of mine, and two paintings from a friend of mine, Inge Flinte, who’s an abstract artist."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Bathroom Break

Molly prefers a neutral palette in other spaces of the home, like in the bathroom. The crisp, white walls keep the room feeling simple and clean, only accented with warm wooden tones on the towel hooks and mirror.

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Favorite Place

The main bedroom is another muted, well-suited space. "It's probably my favorite room in the house," Molly says. "I love the light in this room. Every room in the house has a lot of windows, but this room has the prettiest light and I think it’s just the south-facing windows that get it."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Bedroom Function

In a working artist's home, even the bedroom walls should serve a greater purpose. "Part of this wall is white just so I could hang my artwork here and be able to photograph it with good light, without any tinted light from colors on the walls."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Living Art

In a real-life display of art imitating life, Molly marries her love of real plants with botanical paintings in the bedroom. "I do think that plants are one thing that every house needs, in addition to art. Both of those things give off their own energy and they make a home feel vibrant."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Dream in Color

A blue accent wall helps to define the sides of a shared space in her littlest artists' room. "I really love children’s art and the energy that it has," Molly explains. "It has such a playful and happy energy."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Art on the Line

Framing art takes up time and wall space, so Molly created a unique solution to keep up with the ever-rotating art gallery. "I love displaying my kids' artwork," Molly says smiling. "And just having the clothesline where they can trade it out and put up some of their fresh pieces."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Equally Divided

White shiplap walls create a neutral backdrop in the kids' room. The shared black dresser contrasts nicely against the neutral colors and draws the eye upward to the book-lined shelf.

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Dibs on the Top Bunk

With multiple kid spaces in the home, flow and differentiation is key. More colorful, green walls and a bunk bed give this room a fun, creative feeling. "I think something that is really important in your home is just having good flow of the floor plan," Molly says. "This is something that I didn’t realize until we moved into this house."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Mix-and-Match

A playful, striped rug provides comfort for little feet and works perfectly with the wicker dresser and armoire to keep clothes off the floor. More hand-painted art is displayed using Molly's clothesline technique.

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Home Is Where the Art Is

From Molly's renovated, eclectic home to her one-of-a-kind school bus studio, one thing remains true: art is everywhere. "When someone walks into our home, I really want them to feel comfortable and like they are at home," Molly says. "I want them to feel cared for."

Watch The Video: Tour a Texas Painter's Renovated School Bus Art Studio

Messes Welcome: Tour a Texas Painter's Home + School Bus Art Studio

Related To:

Shop This Look

Get Down to Bus-iness

Inside Out

Front Desk

(Cinder)block Party

Night Shift

That '70s Show

Pretty in Pink

Molly's Way

Planting a Thought

Gallery of Artists

Bathroom Break

Favorite Place

Bedroom Function

Living Art

Dream in Color

Art on the Line

Equally Divided

Dibs on the Top Bunk

Mix-and-Match

Home Is Where the Art Is

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