When people think of homes, they don’t typically think of shipping containers. If they are my age (and I might be giving it away a little) and they hear shipping container homes, they think of the Box Car Children book series.
And yet many of these style homes are actually very beautiful and they serve some very important purposes in our society. One of them is that the owners of a shipping container home helps protect the environment by using something that would have otherwise sat around and rusted. Another benefit is that shipping container homes already have the shell created so they can cost less. Don’t you wonder if this could be an ideal solution to meet your wanderlust, or to create a beautiful retirement project?
Shipping Container Home Designs
Here are some of the most beautiful homes on the web that I have found. I hope it is awe inspiring to you as well.
1. The Freedom by Minimalist Homes
This one is not worth showing you the outside. Although it has a beautiful grey color, and some nice wood accents, the container still says container.
Where it really shines though is the interior of the house.
Some of the wood edging on the outside, is similar to the wall next to the refrigerator, while the same grey color of the cabinets is used outside for a consistent look and feel throughout the home.
I am a big fan of stainless steel appliances as well and feel that it adds beauty to the kitchen. Plus, you noticed what is right beside the refrigerator, right? A washing machine. For smaller spaces, many appliance makers have made a washer dryer combo, where you do not have to switch it from one machine to the next. In a tight space such as this shipping container, this is perfect.
There is also the open shelving which is nice. Keeps things up and out of the way and gives people like me extra incentive to keep the place looking tidy instead of throwing it in a cabinet and shutting the door.
The bedroom is pretty neat too. My family is looking to purchase our first home soon and the girls have already requested beds like this. They understand that by having their beds higher up they have more space to do things that they want or need to do, such as studying or having a bunch of friends “camping out” below their bed.
As I said before, this house is pretty plain on the front but shines inside.
2. For the Traveler
There are people who dream of traveling all throughout the United States and purchasing a brand new pull behind camper would cost much more than purchasing a brand new pull behind shipping container. Averaging out at about nine thousand dollars for the base model, this shipping container costs much less than most people pay in rent for a year.
As you can see, space is much more cramped than the Freedom Home; however, this one truly gives the sense of freedom since you are no longer tied to one area. There is still a kitchen, a shower, and a living area making it the perfect getaway home to create the way that you want.
3. Modern Touches
On the other end of the spectrum is this modern home that boasts a city feel and touches that are unheard of for many homes, traditional, shipping container, or otherwise.
Obviously, this home has more than one shipping container, but the change in the appearance throughout the building divides it from the rest. It makes it look more modern and takes away from the boxy feel one might get if they see a shipping container home.
As with the Freedom Home, so many of this home’s “wow factor” is in the touches inside the house. Instead of the blue that is outside, inside corrugated steel has a red tint to it to match the brick on the outside of the building. Other areas, such as where the picture is hanging, has been walled over to give the presentation of this being similar to a traditional home.
The kitchen down below ties in nicely with the marble countertops matching the picture as well.
The only problem the owner had with this home? Too many onlookers. So he sold it for half a million dollars and built another further out in order to have some extra privacy!
4. Greenville Container Home
I absolutely adore this shipping container home. I won’t lie, the attraction to this was that the front screams “modern rustic” but then you get to the side and there is amazing graffiti artwork. Simply breathtaking.
The shipping container cost around half a million to make but the owner doubled their money when they sold it a few years later.
Part of the reason that this home cost so much to make was the add-ons- they purchased a salt water pool and combined thirty-three different containers to their purchase.
The interior of this home feels spacious and airy, letting in lots of natural light. I also like the sliding doors into the other rooms. Ziegler Builders did such a great job with this home that I will be looking to them for inspiration more often!
5. Solar Panels to the Rescue
This home is great because it really allows the light in and let the owners get the most out of the sun from a natural perspective and with the solar panels on the roof it provides the home with more resources throughout.
It is obvious there are approximately four shipping containers that made this beautiful home. Adding the extra decorative panels and creating the dimension between the two stacked together and the two off the side makes it seem as if it was an art piece as well as a home.
The interior of this home is no different. It truly showcases the people who made their vision come to life. The steel walls and lighting really add to the feel of the home, as does the subdued grey colors of the carpet and rug. The creators of this house did a great job of creating a balance between art and personal touches.
6. Simply Neat
As you approach Dallas for the first time, you notice USA Today’s Most Beautiful Skyline. As you get further into downtown, one of the first things that catch your eye is the Perot Museum and its stairway that sticks out of the building, with windows lining the wall.
This building is not actually a home. Instead, it is a business near industrial ports. The owners wanted to keep with the feel of the area so they chose to use shipping containers.
What a neat idea to turn the shipping container on its side, line it with windows and turn their stairs in such a beautiful manner. Creativity at its finest!
The fact that this building looks neat from the inside and outside adds to the wow factor. The sitting area off to the side really makes me feel like the business owners understand what it takes to attract customers.
7. Let There Be Light
The beautiful aspects of this house seem to go on and on and on in my opinion. One of the things that makes it so beautiful and unique is that there is a lot of light that goes throughout the building. I know I have said that about other ones but this one is truly spectacular.
A part of the reason why there is so much lighting within the home is because the owner is a photographer and needs the open space with natural lighting as it is vital to the business. This is a dual purpose building that serves as a home and a business center for the owner.
Here is another great example of the lighting, this time from the inside. The bottom area has mirrors and the top is open for others to be able to see what is going on down below. I love the garage door aspect to the home as well. Another thing that you would notice if you come in from the side door on the left is the portraits on the opposite wall.
This home is definitely worth heading over to the original post and looking at all the other photos, including the kitchen, the workspace, and the rooftop garden.
8. Home Within a Home
I was totally confused when I decided to read more about this shipping container home. The pictures were beautiful but then the article began talking about them buying a storefront and it being the perfect spot. I kind of shook my head and thought, “wait, they are sitting on top of their containers… did they tear the building down?”
No, they actually built a set of two shipping containers within their home that they purchased. These shipping containers double as a work space for the husband and a living quarter for any guests they may have in the home at that time.
The bottom layer shipping container contains a bathroom and a bedroom. Not entirely unique considering we have seen an entire house on wheels but they added elements that definitely put forth a wow factor, including a bathroom with a shower that has no doors around it, giving their guests freedom to walk around and not feel cramped while showering. Another wow factor is the drop down bed that, again, offers more space if needed.
From the window, you can see into the bathroom, the bedroom quarters and right into the living room of their actual home. This picture was taken in the kitchen. Worried about somebody seeing you while you shower? Simply flick a switch and it goes opaque.
To read, and see more pictures, head over to dwell.com
9. They Have You Fooled
They oddly enough named this house “The Old Lady House” yet it is anything but. Owned by a gentleman, the outside still looks of shipping containers, almost to the point of being able to count out just how many there actually are but the inside tells another story.
It is a well sought out balance between industrial and natural, combining each of these aspects beautifully within the walls of the home. And you would never know you were in a home created by shipping containers from the inside, as the walls have been leveled and seem as if most walls in other homes do.
As a lover of all things kitchen, I commend the owner on his twelve-foot long island that was created in order to combine the kitchen and the living room. There are two great reasons for this, the first one the island makes it easier to entertain, the second is the natural lighting all around, providing views of the outside world.
To see more pictures of the Old Lady and to hear more about her owner, head on over to inhabit.
10. On a High Note
My original goal here was to end with a bang and show you the most beautiful house I could find. However, when I ran across this farm that has taken their needs and used it to their advantage by creating eco-friendly buildings.
This farm is in New Orleans and is operated with the help of sixty high school students and the seven shipping container arrangement was made with the help of Tulane University’s Architecture Department. This is big for the city of New Orleans, giving their children a place to learn and appreciate their surroundings. They, along with the adults who work there, are creating a better environment both ecologically and economically.
In the same way, you can change the world – one shipping crate at a time.