Shipping Container Houses

Home sweet home?

Does the image of a lowly shipping container bring to mind thoughts of "home?" When I think of one, my mind goes to the port of Charleston, SC where they can be seen piled ten high all along the water. Or the local Lowe's, where they sit filled with pine straw during the gardening season, or perhaps Wal-Mart during Christmas, where one corner of the parking lot is filled with shipping containers that hold overflow merchandise.  I never thought of one as being a home. But there is a whole movement that is turning these utilitarian items into cabins, luxurious houses, even student dorms.

It's a perfectly "green" way of building. The containers, which come in standard sizes up to 8 feet by 40 feet, are sturdy and solid, and provide a great "module" that can be joined in any way imaginable. The results are almost unbelievable:

This award-wining beach house by De Maria Design is made of shipping containers.

I love the composition of containers that form this Canadian house.

Bark Design Collective created this "All Terrain Cabin" I can just picture it as a charming weekend getaway.

In Amsterdam, dozens of shipping containers were connected to form this student housing complex.

Who could guess THIS is the interior of a shipping container?

Great use of limited space with the built-ins.

Very Sleek looking.

The internet is awash with sites that feature these inventive structures. I'm feeling a little inspired myself--look for a shipping container house on my boards soon.

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