Sci-Fi Lover Spends $12K Building Spaceship in His Backyard, Complete with a Bed and Full Bar (Exclusive)

Chester Walsh documented the build online, gaining over 2.5 million views and inspiring others to create similar projects

NEED TO KNOW

• Chester Walsh spent three months and $12,000 building a spaceship-inspired hangout in his backyard in England
• The immersive space includes a bar, a curved seating booth that doubles as a bed, and a faux space “window”
• Walsh documented the build online, gaining over 2.5 million views and inspiring others to create similar projects

Chester Walsh doesn’t have to travel to a galaxy far, far away to get his Star Wars fix. He just has to walk into his backyard.

The 29-year-old prop maker spent three months and roughly £9,000, or $12,000, building an immersive spaceship-inspired hangout behind his home in Northamptonshire, England, complete with a bar, a curved seating booth that doubles as a bed, and a “window” looking out into space.

“I had the idea of building a ‘summer house’ style build but made to look like a spaceship, but also be a functional social space and bar,” Walsh, who shares his work as @chaptersofchester on social media, tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“I’ve always been a big sci-fi and comic book nerd,” he adds.

The spaceship wasn’t Walsh’s first attempt at turning an ordinary backyard space into something more imaginative. At his previous home, he modified part of an old shed into a makeshift tiki bar and transformed a garden cabin that served as his home office and gym with Star Wars-inspired wall panels.

But for his next project, he wanted to go bigger. The timing was right, too. While his home was undergoing renovation and extension, Walsh’s usual workshop was unavailable, giving him a chance to keep busy with a project that could also expand his portfolio and potentially attract new customers.

“It was the perfect time for this build,” he says.

With the idea in mind, Walsh began gathering references and creating 3D models before construction started. The finished ship pulls from several corners of the Star Wars universe and other sci-fi sources, but he says the main inspiration for its overall shape was the Intersystem Transport at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Because he wasn’t trying to recreate an existing spacecraft, however, Walsh had plenty of room to let the design evolve.

“I realized I had enough space to have a semi-circle sofa like I ideally wanted, whereas before I was thinking I would have to have benches on both sides, so I was pleased with that,” he says.

From there, the project moved from the computer screen to the backyard — beginning, somewhat unceremoniously, with a lot of digging. Walsh excavated the site, laid an MOT sub-base and poured a reinforced concrete foundation. He then worked with glamping pod company Made of Bits to develop a custom timber frame based on his specifications.

The frame sits on roughly 100 pedestal supports, which Walsh says not only allow airflow underneath but also help create the impression that the structure is hovering above the ground. He covered the frame with 6 mm plywood and EPDM rubber for waterproofing, then used EVA foam to shape the exterior panels before adding fiberglass to strengthen the structure and protect it from the elements.

Despite the scale of the build, Walsh did nearly all of the work himself. The only outside help came from a registered electrician, who ran an armored cable to the ship and connected the plugs and lights Walsh had already installed.

He had some construction experience to draw on, having worked alongside his father, a builder, on several jobs during his late teens. As a self-employed prop maker and artist, he had also accumulated years of experience building props and other structures.

But a backyard spaceship still came with a learning curve. The biggest challenge was fiberglass. Walsh had previously used the material on 4-foot faux-rock props, but covering an entire structure was a different undertaking.

“I’m still not 100% happy with the resulting smoothness,” he admits, adding that he plans to sand and refine parts of the exterior when he gets the chance.

@chaptersofchester

Building a Star Wars Ship Home Bar Man-Cave in my garden. And I need your advice on which ship! So comment A, B, C or D (A and D are the most practical plz plz) #Starwars #propmaker #galaxysedge

♬ original sound – Chapters of Chester

Once the exterior was complete, Walsh turned his attention to the interior, where the practical construction gave way to the more playful part of the project.

The interior came together with wood, Foamex and foam paneling, along with paint and other decorative finishes. And, as with the exterior, almost every choice was informed by the sci-fi worlds he loves. Walsh initially gave himself a maximum budget of £10,000, though he hoped to keep the total below £7,000.

“From the concrete base being pumped in to the timber frame, fiberglass, electrician, monitor inside and the multiple trips to Wickes for extra bits I hadn’t thought of, the end result in total for all materials came to around £9,000,” he says.

Inside, the Millennium Falcon as it appeared in Solo: A Star Wars Story was a major influence. Walsh was drawn to the cleaner look of the ship when it belonged to Lando Calrissian, before years of wear and tear under Han Solo.

That influence is especially visible in the oval doorway and surrounding paneling, as well as the ceiling, where smooth-edged white panels stand out against a black background.

The doorway also incorporates elements inspired by Ahsoka Tano’s ship, while the curved seating booth takes further cues from the Millennium Falcon. Large enough for one person to sleep on, the booth doubles as both seating and a makeshift bed.

@chaptersofchester

Building a Star Wars style space ship man cave bar in my garden part 2. Base frame from madeofbits with AMAZING customer service and contact. #StarWars #Galaxysedge #starwarsfan #spaceship #mancave #propmaker

♬ The Imperial March (From “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back”) – Geek Music

Elsewhere, Walsh looked to the Death Star for elements of the lighting and Disney’s former Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser for inspiration for the flooring.

There’s also a small bar with plenty of drinks storage. Walsh found the table he uses for it on Facebook Marketplace and says it happened to suit the spaceship’s aesthetic perfectly. But perhaps the most important detail is the one that makes the room feel like it’s actually moving through space.

At the front of the ship, Walsh recessed a monitor behind the wall paneling and aligned it with a faux windshield. The screen plays footage of outer space and distant planets, creating the illusion that visitors are looking out into the galaxy.

“There’s a lot of variety of inspiration and source material to draw from,” he says.

Of everything he built, though, Walsh has one clear favorite.

“My favorite feature is probably the oval doorway and surrounding paneling overall,” he says.

“There hasn’t been any stand-out specific thing that visitors have mentioned,” Walsh adds. Instead, he describes their reaction as “the overall shock and awe of the entire thing.”

His family and friends weren’t exactly surprised that he had taken on such an ambitious project.

“My family and friends know what I’m like in terms of big projects and they all think it’s really cool,” he says.

His neighbors have been just as enthusiastic. One helped Walsh excavate the foundation for the concrete slab and later returned to see the completed spacecraft, excitedly taking photos and videos.

“Another neighbor popped in for a cup of tea and was amazed with the ship,” Walsh says.

“We are quite secluded to the point our neighbors can’t actually see the ship from their gardens — unless they stood on a ladder to look over the fence — nor from their house windows,” he adds, explaining that he deliberately considered its placement and size with the surrounding properties in mind.

While the ship was being built for Walsh and his friends, he also knew it could serve another purpose: showcasing what he can do. Walsh planned to document the project online from the start, hoping it would grow his social media presence and ultimately lead to more customers and opportunities.

He chronicled the construction in more than 19 installments, taking followers through the process from the concrete foundation to the finished hangout. The detailed series attracted viewers, but it wasn’t until nearly a year later that the project really took off.

Walsh posted a condensed video showing the entire build, and it has since amassed more than 2.5 million views collectively across social media, according to him.

“There’s often a lot of questions and I can’t keep up with all the comments,” he says.

@chaptersofchester

Building a Star Wars Inspired Spaceship Bar In My Garden Part 14 #StarWarsfan #propmaker #starwars #Galaxysedge #ogascantina

♬ Fantasy in an Immersive World – Ernesto P. Neto

Rather than trying to answer them one by one, Walsh directs curious viewers to his original multi-part series, where he documented the construction in greater detail. Some commenters have even told him the project inspired them to create smaller-scale spaceship-style hangouts in their own gardens.

But for Walsh, the spaceship was never intended to be a prop that simply sits in the backyard looking impressive. He built it to be used.

“I’m a social person, [I] enjoy time with friends and it’s a cool space to be in,” he says. “If some people are in the house talking about one subject, another group can be in the ship.”

“There has definitely been a few memorable nights with friends in the ship,” Walsh adds.

@chaptersofchester

Building a Star Wars style space ship home bar in my garden part 12 I know! A new video part the day after the last one?! Not a 2 week wait! The Build is coming along and starting to take shape! #StarWarsfans #starwars #spaceship #propmaker #homebar

♬ original sound – Chapters of Chester

On one of those nights, after a few drinks, a friend decided to spend the night aboard the spacecraft, curling up on the curved seating booth.

When Walsh returned the following morning, he discovered that his friend had actually slept there — with the monitor still glowing with images of outer space.

“It was hilarious but also so cool to see the ship used in that immersive way,” Walsh says.

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