Designing and Living in Your Shipping Container Home

Try to Maximize Your Interior Space by Choosing a Bigger Container

First thing’s first; make a construction plan. When we talk about this, we are not talking about how to build a shipping container home or shipping containers like tiny homes. We are mostly talking about shipping container home designs. What type of space do you imagine living in? Is it a big one with a nice lawn where you can enjoy your drinks with friends and family? Or does it have a backyard where you might like to throw fabulous BBQ parties? Will you be using it indoors or outdoors mostly? Questions like that can be answered by planning ahead of construction.

First thing’s first. There are two types of general options for shipping containers depending on your budget and your needs. You can opt for new and used shipping containers. New ones don’t necessarily mean not used. They travel once-through water from their production site to the US, thus, they are called one-trip shipping containers or new shipping containers. They come with a state-approved certification. There are also used- which means traveled multiple times- options such as export shipping containers that are used but are safe for usage. They also come with certification just as the one-trip ones. Here are standard used export units such as 20 ft and 40 ft version shipping container units. However, you will definitely look for something like the 45 ft one for space or a custom-made shipping container depending on your requirements.

Courtesy of NYC Shipping Container Home

We suggest that you get a big shipping container unit so that you can utilize your space efficiently. If you are someone who enjoys the outdoors, the fresh space, and the cozy atmosphere, then you may want to get a shipping container with enough space. You don’t even have to use all the extra space as a living space. For instance, you can simply use a depot for your garden tools and supplies. However, if you want to use them you can create a fabulous area! You can make yourself a personal gym, create a creative arts room (no pun intended), open a free space for your meditations and yoga exercises, or maybe even utilize it as a garage, which is all very solid options! That’s why plan ahead and pay attention to details. Since we mentioned the details, let’s have a look at what type of modifications you may apply to your shipping container home!

Courtesy of El Tiemblo House

Focusing on the Details is the Right Way to Go

A home without windows, doors, and most importantly utilities wouldn’t be home. Here’s the fun part; you can modify your shipping container units just the way you can renovate your regular houses.

Needless to say, you can add any type of regular utilities that can be added for your home and even more! Electricity, water, a kitchen, a bathroom, and an AC unit are pretty essential additions that can easily be added to your shipping container home. If you are planning on having an outdoor living space such as a lawn, backyard, or even a pool (which can also be made out of shipping container units!) then we suggest you go for full windows and minimalistic utilities. You can even add solar power panels to your home and reduce your ecological footprint! For ease of installation, you can also pick up a readily available package for your new home.

Courtesy of SG Blocks

Below is a list of some of our modifications that we can easily add to your new lovely shipping container home:

• Electrical installations. We will easily install electrical systems in your shipping container units with no huss and fuss. They will be easy to maintain and operate from inside or outside of your unit.
• Kitchen. Traditional and cozy, modern and sleek, transitional and majestic; the choice is yours. You can add any style of kitchen to your shipping container unit.
• Bedroom Cabinets. You can easily add extra bedrooms for your home in any form you like. These can be installed as an extra if you plan on getting a larger space with a big single custom container or multiple containers.
• Bathrooms. Without spending a fortune, you can create inviting and remarkable living spaces with shipping containers. In addition to being cost-efficient, these bathrooms are very functional and minimalistic. You can also get a lovely shower or if you have the extra space as mentioned above; a bathtub.
• Air Conditioner. AC units are a must for your family and guests, especially during summer times. You can add them alongside different vents such as turbine vents, solar turbine vents, and louvered vents.
• Exterior and interior paint. We can custom paint your shipping containers to any color you like to suit your taste and needs. Graffiti, wall art, famous paintings are all wonderful options to go creative and stand out!
• Personnel door. If you desire something reminiscent of regular houses, we can install a sliding glass door. For extra class, you can select a french door to add class.
• Windows. As we stated above, we suggest getting full windows if you are planning on having an outdoor living space. This way you can enjoy the fresh breeze while sipping your drinks at your porch, which will be connected to your home through openable full windows. Finally, if you enjoy the weather you can opt for a skylight window.
• Security lockboxes for doors and windows. Now, this is rather neat and provides you a good amount of security. You can add high-security lockboxes for your doors and security bars for your windows. You can also add roll-up door lock boxes to your garage shipping container.
• Solar power. You heard it right, you can harness the power of nature with this renewable and long-term cost-efficient power option for your shipping container homes!

Courtesy of Honomobo Webber Island HO4+

A Fresh Color Palette is What You Will Want

This is our final and perhaps one of the most important sections for designing your shipping container homes: the color palette of your home. Now some people might argue, in a rightful manner from another perspective, that you are free to choose any color option for your new home’s decoration. On paper that seems right, but trust us when we say this, in practice things can go a bit different.

For instance, you might want to obtain a majestic and flamboyant decoration by opting for dark colors. This can look pretty neat if you are going for a large section, however, standard variations of shipping containers have a 1 to 2.7 ratio size difference between their width and length. That’s why you might want to go for a brighter color palette such as white, blue, and light green. This will not only refreshen your atmosphere by enlarging the space you have but also bring calm and serenity to your home. Other soft options such as salmon pink, cream, and soft yellow can all be good options. The choice is finally up to you. Last but not least, as we stated above make sure to consider adding creative artwork to the exterior of your shipping container homes to enrichen your environment!

This is the end of our blog post for designing “Designing and Living in Your Shipping Container Home”! If you are interested in learning more about shipping containers in general you can check out our other blog posts and pages such as “Shipping Container Home for Sale in Tampa”, “Brief Guide to Creating Shipping Container Hotels” and “An Introduction to Cold Storage Refrigerated Shipping Containers”.

We are sure you will find more useful information regarding shipping containers through our website. Until next time, be safe and be in a happy mood!