Meet Martha — a lifelong Star Wars fan who went tiny and now lives in a shipping container home nicknamed the “Death Star” inside a thriving tiny house village built by Incredible Tiny Homes. The single-floor container home has no loft, a farmhouse kitchen, a built-in workspace, and a community of neighbors she sees every single day.
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey
How Martha Found Her Tiny Community
Martha had been wanting to go tiny for a long time, and one night she came across Randy and Incredible Tiny Homes on YouTube. She stayed up all night watching his videos, discovered his village community, got in touch, and put down a deposit — all within a couple of days. That kind of gut-level certainty is rare, and it clearly paid off.
Most of all, Martha loves the community. Every day she has coffee, lunch, dinner, or walks with neighbors who are all living tiny just like she is. It is the social side of tiny living that often gets overlooked — having people around who understand and share the lifestyle makes an enormous difference.
Single-Level Living Without a Loft
One of the biggest advantages of a shipping container home is that you do not need a loft. The container’s structure provides enough room for a single-level layout, making the space accessible and comfortable for people of all ages and mobility levels. Everything Martha needs is on one floor — no ladder climbing required.
A Farmhouse-Style Kitchen with a Deep Sink
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey
Martha chose a deep farmhouse-style sink for her kitchen — a popular choice in container homes because it provides practical washing space without taking up too much counter area. The kitchen layout makes the most of the container’s linear footprint.
A Dedicated Workspace for Remote Work
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey
Having a dedicated desk is a thoughtful addition, especially for anyone who works from home. It shows that downsizing does not mean giving up productivity — you just need to be intentional about how you use your space.
A Beautiful Lot in the Village
Images via Tiny House Giant Journey
Living in a tiny house village means you get to enjoy outdoor space as an extension of your home. Martha’s lot gives her room to relax outside, garden, and socialize with neighbors — one of the biggest perks of community living.
Video Tour: Inside Martha’s Shipping Container Home
Watch the full tour of Martha’s “Death Star” shipping container home and hear about her experience living in the Incredible Tiny Homes village community:
Highlights
- Builder: Incredible Tiny Homes
- Type: Shipping container conversion
- Layout: Single-floor, no loft design
- Kitchen: Farmhouse-style deep sink with efficient layout
- Workspace: Built-in desk for working from home
- Community: Located in the Incredible Tiny Homes forest village
- Best feature: Walkable community with daily neighbor interaction
Why Consider a Shipping Container Home?
- Structural strength: Containers are built to withstand ocean transport, making them durable foundations
- No loft needed: The rectangular layout supports single-level living accessible for everyone
- Faster build times: The shell already exists, so construction moves quickly
- Community-friendly: Their compact footprint fits well in tiny house villages
Martha’s story shows that going tiny is not just about the house — it is about the lifestyle. Finding the right community can make all the difference.
Learn More
Explore More
- Jack’s $22K DIY Tiny House in Colorado
- Her 29-ft. Custom Gooseneck Tiny House
- Couple’s Tiny House With A Bedroom And Two Flush Rooms
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Natalie C. McKee
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Thanks. Your attitude and relaxing video really is inspiring. Glad you’re happy.
Wonderful and cozy tiny! The community sounds great as well. Her homework paid off!!
I thought it was so cute that she stayed up all night watching his videos!
getting in on the start of the community was genius – sounds like someplace that should be copied everywhere – so glad you found your tiny and lifestyle
good grief that balancing trick on those bricks is a tad more than a bit risky.
Bricks?… Oh, you mean the stacked wood post beam blocks they used to brace it up…
Unless you’re planning on placing it in an seismically active area, it’s actually pretty stable with the way they stacked them and once the weight of the home is on them, it’s like putting them in a clamp. So they’re locked into place and function just like a single pier footing when under load. They also did it at 6 points for added stability and not just in the 4 corners. While, remember, the whole thing is still on a trailer with wheels…
Doing it this way is pretty common… The blocks or bricks are inexpensive, easy to get and replace, it’s easy to adapt to uneven terrain to make the home stable and level, and it can be set up by even one person with a jack by just slowly raising each side and adding blocks as needed in a seesaw pattern. Avoiding needing permanent piers and a crane to set the home in place and you can re-use and bring the blocks with you as you set the home in other locations.
Besides, it’s only there temporarily as she waits for the mountain lot to become available and then it’ll be moved to it’s more permanent location.
Ah, they looked like bricks to me. And bricks are relatively unstable unless held together by mortar, or whatever they use nowadays. But having revisited I see that they are indeed blocks of wood. So 2 points in total to me and… oh dear, 437 to the inimitable James D. ?
Cost of these tiny homes .
Those containers had warning as cancer causing if you stayed in them to long. My supervisor had a office in one and later had cancer. Why would they use them to build tiny homes with them? Has the container material changed in the last 10 years?
Shipping containers generally won’t cause cancer. It’s mainly a question of what they were used for as they could have been used to ship toxic materials, which may have left trace amounts in the container. Thus why most now get single use containers that are basically new and not as many will use old containers.
Though, some do worry about the floor as it’s wood and they often use pesticides to make sure shipments of food, etc. don’t have bug issues but the floors are usually sealed over when doing the conversion or replaced.
While just like any home, it can also be a question of what products you use to do the conversion and build with, but it’s generally safe the way most do it as long as it’s a good builder or someone who knows what they’re doing if DIY…
Want to know MORE about this…
Randy Jones and his crew do amazing tiny homes. I would encourage everyone to check them out at Incredible Tiny Homes on YouTube. I can’t wait to purchase my own
Very well done!!! Love the black! But Death Star??? I would have thought that Vader House or something similar, though still sinister, would be better. Well, to each their own! 😉 If Death Star is liked, then Death Star is what it will be. It would be interesting to learn which States have favorable Tiny House regulations and where Tiny House communities are located. We see fabulous tiny houses here all the time but they are not acceptable everywhere. Has research been done on this subject? I know that California recently relaxed their ADU regulations in order to help ease the housing shortage but it would be helpful if there was some way to see, by region, where tinies are welcomed. If they are all outside of California, then many will have to give up that dream because moving out of state is unacceptable.
Spectacular!! This is such a cozy, warm home. Love all the wood! If you get snow where you are, the doors at the end of the container could be closed to save energy during a blizzard or extreme cold. Can I move in?
Love everything about it! Would be interested in finding out more, most especially about the newest section of the community, the Mountain.
Almost seems like one-stop-shopping with the Tiny Home builder on site too!