A SPEND-savvy artist saves £1,500 a month by living in a converted skip in central London.
Harrison Marshall, 30, moved into the wooden-topped former bin two years ago and doesn’t let the UK’s frozen winters stop him.
He made the triumphant transformation with a bright yellow skip that was donated to him in 2023.
Harrison said: “I was told I had to paint the skip black as it’s not really part of their brand anymore.
“It’s a shame because I quite liked it because it had more of that ‘skip feel’.”
The eight-yard metal container, aptly named “Skip House,” has been parked in Bermondsey, London, since January last year.
He added: “I’ve been in the skip nearly two years now – time flies.
“The thought of moving back into a shared house and paying a thousand pounds a month does seem too appealing.
“I’m just going month by month until something better comes up.”
The project was intended to be a temporary fix while Harrison was looking for somewhere to rent, but after 24 months he realised it wasn’t so bad.
With the cost of living still affecting millions and renting prices continuing to soar, he decided he was content with “skip life” for the moment.
He added: “I managed to fit seven of us in here once, although that was pretty uncomfortable.
“We were packed like sardines”
When it comes to dinner guests, Harrison admits over the two years he’s learnt to limit it to a maximum of people at a time.
“Standard skip-dinner is definitely pasta pesto, I’m an expert now.”
“Also washing up is a pain, it’s kind of like washing up when you’re camping, I just try and avoid using lots of different utensils.”
Inside the DIY home is the kitchenette and a wooden ladder leading up to a snug bedroom – these two spaces make up the whole house.
The toilet is a donated portaloo that remains outside and Harrison showers at the gym, which he says is the trickiest bit of skip living.
The architect said: “Even for two people, it does get cosy and it’s a little bit of squeezing past each other, going around in circles.
“But no negative reviews yet, or at least they’ve not told me to my face.”
Harrison only planned on getting cosy in his self-built project for around a year, but with it hitting the two-year mark in January he says he’s now happy to sit tight for a few more months.
He added: “A lot of my friends are still struggling to find places, it’s still very competitive.
“They’re still going to viewings and there’s 20 odd people trying to get to the same place.”
Since starting his project, production companies from all over the world including Germany and Japan have taken an interest in the unique home.
Skip House has also become a viral sensation, with the project’s channel racking up thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram.
Many of the comments ask Harrison the same question – is it not freezing?
It’s coming up to the second winter Harrison has tackled being skip-bound, but to the amazement of friends and family, he’s managed to keep it nice and toasty.
“I’m lucky enough to be connected to power and that makes a big difference.
“It means I can have my heater which does the job for me, it’s such a small space.
“Once the heater is on it doesn’t usually take too long to heat up and then it’s more than enough to sustain my night’s sleep, it’s pretty good going.”
With an insulated floor, roof, and wall, the timber-built home is transformed with minimal outgoing the energy bill works out at £30 a month.
The skip is on land owned by an arts organisation, which lets him keep it there free of charge.
Luckily, the actual skip hire was written off as well, so his only expenses are electricity and food.
There is a lock on the front door, a ring doorbell camera, and a fence surrounding the micro-home - but this didn't stop one bold intruder.
While Harrison was away for a few days, a man managed to break into Skip House and made himself at home.
Once he was discovered he claimed to be “looking after the place”.
Harrison said: “In his defence, he didn’t touch anything and nothing was stolen.
“But he did smash my window.
“He must have thought he was the luckiest homeless guy in the world.”
Harrison started his project in December 2022 to firstly create an affordable space for himself but also to make a statement about housing prices in London.
It’s not a permanent fix but Harrison liked the idea of making a home out of something that should never be lived in.
He said when living in a skip seems like a good option, you know something has to change.
“It’s better than a lot of the options on the market”, he argued.
Skip House was put together in just four weeks with the help of a friend and in balmy January of 2023, he officially moved in.
Due to his previous job in the field of construction field, he had the expertise and tools to keep the costs down.
Harrison said all the materials, the timber, the insulation, the main furnishing, mattress, and storage came to around £4,000.
With the additional bits of interior furnishing and decorations, the entire project ended up costing him £5,000.
In the 23 months he’s lived there Harrison has become a bit of a local hero with onlookers constantly peering over the metal fence surrounding his home.
Luckily, his local residents are on board with Skip House and were supportive of the move.
Neighbours have brought “random little gifts” and stuffed encouraging notes in his letterbox.
Aside from unexpected house guests and having to drag himself to the gym for a shower, the 30-year-old said there weren’t many downsides to his living situation over the last couple of years.
In fact, with the extra money saved on rent Harrison was able to splash out on a lifestyle that he wouldn’t have been able to before.
He said: “Because I know I’m saving on rent then I buy a bit of extra nice food somewhere else or go abroad whereas otherwise I might exclude that from my spending.
“So pros and cons, this has allowed me to live out of my means.”
Harrison has saved enough cash to fly out to New York to attend his best mate’s engagement party and stag do.
He said he even opts for a luxury microwave meal when he feels like it.
As it stands, Harrison has made no plans to move out but said he’s aware one day he’ll need to leave his cosy one-man-house.
He added: “I think if I needed to stick it out for years, obviously I could.
“I’m quite comfortable there right now, but at some point, I need a real place to live.”
Looking forward the artist said he’s got more live-in installations in the works but doesn’t want to give too much away.
For those looking forward to seeing Harrisons next creation, he said it will be ready to go on show in the coming spring.
In an interview last year Harrison was asked if he could save enough living in the skip to buy a proper house.
He joked: “Absolutely not.”
The average rent for a studio in Southwark, London, where Harrison is based, is £1,381 a month according to the Office for National Statistics.
This means the savvy designer is saving £1,351 a month compared to average.
Assuming you would put down 15 per cent of the mortgage as a deposit, the average you would have to pay is Southwark would be £70,620.
If Harrison saved the money he would have spent on rent for a deposit, he would need to live in his skip for 52.2 years.
