Here’s a really nice shipping container house tour.
It’s a shipping container design that comes ready made from the manufacturer (from Europe) with windows, a bedroom, kitchen, air conditioning, and more.
One drawback that some will like and others won’t is that it’s brand new. It has never been used for shipping so it is not a recycled container.
This makes it cost more but you avoid having to do a conversion yourself and everything comes ready made and seems to be of high quality.
It’s a nice design and can be used here for inspiration and ideas on your own recycled container project.
This particular product in the video is designed to be used in Australia. Enjoy the tour…
This shipping container design, the old lady house, is 40′ by 24′ which makes it a comfortable 960 square feet intended to sleep two to three people.
It has it all–a large closet space, kitchen, and laundry/utility room with storage. So room wouldn’t be an issue for three people here. Then there’s a roomy living and dining area with extra space surrounding it. This area has glass sliding doors to offer a nice view and allow some light in.
On the other side there are two small bedrooms and a bathroom in between. One unique feature of the design worth pointing out is the deck and extra sliding doors on the sides.
I want to thank Pat Hennebery for sharing his story and photos with us which I think you’ll enjoy. Here’s he is…
~ Alex
After traveling to Mexico in the spring of 2003, my soon to be wife, Kit and I decided to teach a cob workshop in the Baja [www.cobworks.com]. With a family on the way, [twin boys] I decided we needed something more than tent camping. I had always been against motor homes and big trailers but figured if I was to build a trailer; hey it would be cool.
Armed with a budget of $1500, I did some research, and fell in love with style, grace and philosophy of teardrop trailers. Never much one for plans, I began by cutting out a design on cardboard until a shape emerged that was oh so sweet. The first step was assembling a small trailer frame that came in a box and them bolting on a floor. The sides were plywood with tongue and groove spruce to form the curve of the top. This was then covered in aluminum and a recycled skylight installed.
The new “Baja Bullet” featured a door on each side, queen size bed, small shelf/bunk for the boys and an exterior fold up counter/kitchen. The sides were finished to match my 1970’s “woody” station wagon that was to pull it. It weighed 850 pounds and towed like a dream. There is nothing like camping when you have your own mattress, bedding and are not sleeping on the ground. On our road trips south, we would pull into a rest stop, climb in the Bullet and be comfortable,cozy and safe.
Everyone would give us a thumb’s up on the road and crowds would gather for a peek if we were parked. Cruising on the I-5 through L.A. with 10 lanes of traffic, I realized I needed to be over 5 lanes…….now! Kit glanced up at me and began chanting, “cute trailer coming through, cute trailer coming through” as I began my drift through traffic. Not once, in all our road trips, has anybody ever honked at us in anger. After 4 trips to Baja, we decided a bigger Bullet was in order.
It’s been a while since the last small space furniture post, so here’s #14. A collection of convertible / multifunctional furniture that will proudly double or triple serve your tiny house.
When furniture doubles its use as something it makes a big impact on the functionality of the house. Most importantly, it just saves space!
The first video below is a sofa that quite amazingly converts into a bunk bed in just a few seconds.
After that you’ll find a twin bed that also serves as a desk with storage. The best part is, no need to take things off the desk to go to sleep.
Chauncey and Dash Tudhope-Locklear, brothers, are creating positive social change in their community by offering a free bicycle coop, repair, mechanics, and education on fixing bikes.
They both make a living repairing bicycles and have started their own bicycle shop but it’s much more than just a bike shop because they offer so much.
They visit schools and teach the kids skills to work on their own bicycles, they give free services and labor to farmers, and so much more.
Anyways it’s really cool (and inspiring) to see what these two brothers are doing and have done in their own community, I think you’ll enjoy watching…
Michael Smith shows us how he’s used straw bale and cob to insulate homes. He’s created a passive solar design using methods that date back all the way to ancient Greeks and Chinese.
During the summer they open up all their windows at night to allow the cool air to come into the house. In the morning they close up the windows and that coolness stays locked inside (thanks to the cob).
During the winter the heat from the sun is absorbed in the clay, straw bale walls and flooring. So this heat is trapped inside the building.
So in the summer the earth material (cob and straw bale) absorbs the cold and traps it inside. During the winter the strategically placed windows allow the sun’s heat to come in, absorb, and get trapped inside throughout the day.
Make any sense? Watch Michael explain it better than me right here…
Most of you know that I live in a small apartment (about 500 square feet). This past week I finally put up some shelves that really helped make the place look and feel nice. Mainly my work area. Actually you can see exactly what I did here if you want.
On my last trip to the library I was so happy to stumble onto 12 by 12 by William Powers, have you heard of it?
I’m about 70% finished. Ever since I’ve been reading it it’s really got me wondering about putting together my own tiny off grid home near to where I currently live.
I’d be able to learn a lot and enjoy nature while still having my city apartment. We would use it to get away, write, read, relax, enjoy nature, and explore what it’s like to live without modern utilities.
I won’t ramble on about it, but the book really does get you thinking.
My next step is figuring where/how to go about getting a good place to do something like this in my surrounding area. Any ideas? South Florida.
Alan Cohen, architect, took a regular house and combined a unique space where he and his partner live and work, and now they are surrounded by a community.
Their home isn’t small but their story is still one of simplifying… They both eliminated their need of using vehicles everyday by combining their work space within their home as well as being in close proximity to everywhere they go.
They love it not just because the commute is gone but they are also within walking or bicycling distance from just about anywhere they would want to go.
Alan’s office is just a doorway into a 1050 square foot area. They share this space (Alan is an architect and his partner an artist).
The living space is 1730 square feet (down from 3000 square feet previously) but they have an architect office and an artist studio within.
