There are a million reasons to jump into the container home trend that is sweeping America – and there’s a must-have accessory or appliance to suit each one. Check out these great container home necessities!
With so many reasons to opt for homemade or repurposed shipping containers, the home accessory and appliance market is scrambling to keep up to match demand. In fact, so are lawmakers.
With every new change to what is considered the norm, old ways and archaic thinking often leave early adopters stuck with problems they need to overcome.
In this article, we would like to illuminate the reasons why people are jumping on board with the shipping container home trend, as well as some solutions that come in the form of accessories and appliances to address the unique requirements of these bespoke living spaces.
Why on earth do people want to live in old shipping containers?
It is no longer a secret that repurposed shipping container homes are becoming exceedingly popular in the last few generations. Millennials, generation y, and generation x are infatuated with the movement enough to call it one. Here’s why!
Shipping Container Homes are MUCH More Affordable Than Traditional Homes
The positives of using used shipping containers in home construction are glaring.
First off, they are much easier to build. They empower the home buyer because container homes are much easier to plan on paper. “Normal” people can go ahead and design their own dream home quite easily using apps like Google’s Sketchup, whereas typical homes with complex building codes and requirements seem much more daunting. And home buyers are up for the task.
The benefits of this trending DIY approach to home-building do not stop there, either; used shipping container homes are also vastly inexpensive in comparison to typical homes because they remove the necessity of putting studs and support beams into walls – shipping containers are amazing load bearers. A whole host of building supplies can be nixed in favour of a shipping container, but perhaps the biggest savings come in the form of manual human labour. The prefabricated nature of shipping containers allows home builders to put them together like Lego.
How much cheaper are shipping containers? Well, you can acquire a used shipping container for as low as $1,200. That’s one or two room’s building supplies for meagre pocket change. Beyond the $1,200 mark, I haven’t seen a shipping container cost more than $8,000 and that was for a custom container in mint shape which the home builder was going to do to keep as true to its original form as possible. He paid a little more for “one-trip” because 90% of the shipping container was going to remain visible in construction.
Shipping Container Homes are Sustainable and Eco-Friendly
Traditional building supplies you can find at your local Home Depot are freshly manufactured, just for you. New trees are cut down, new plastic things are created — leaving behind massive carbon footprints, and on the whole, it’s quite likely that none of these things will ever be reused, repurposed, or recycled.
Houses today are expanding in size, too. New open concept designs have become the modus operandi for home builders regardless of the heating and cooling electricity bills that accompany them. Bigger is better, and after all; you deserve it, don’t you?
Meanwhile, back at your local shipping port, there are thousands of used shipping containers for sale on the cheap, collecting rust in a back forty.
Our younger generations have seen where it goes, and they’re not biting.
Another feather in their cap is the ability to easily construct these homes in remote areas and go off the grid. Many shipping container home buyers love to romanticise the idea of living in nature, away from the troubles of contemporary society and the shipping container allows them to do so with less fuss, fewer supplies to transport to the site, and so on.
Shipping Container Homes Are Awesome Looking
For others, it’s the vanity of being ahead of the curve that appeals. Used and brand new flat rack container structures have been rising in metropolitan areas all over the world, from California to Thailand, Europe, and back again. Once deemed low-class and for the poverty-stricken, container homes are now for the gentrified neighbourhoods of the elite social class, too.
Shipping Container Home Shopping List
Whether you’re one of those people looking for an off-grid shipping container cabin in the woods, or you’re interested in modern design – these options are for you:
Kitchen Necessities
Due to the smaller nature of many of these shipping container homes, many are stuck looking for fixtures and appliances that are available in limited styles and designs. Obviously, you might be able to get away with smaller coffee machines, so you can take a look at these different machines if you need one. But for bigger appliances, you’re going to need to search hard.
Pro Tip: If you’re looking for sinks, lighting, refrigeration, cooking appliances and so on, consider looking at an establishment that sells these items for ships and yachts.
Marine vessels are widely respected for their excellent use of space, and just about any fixture or appliance built for a yacht will look great in a shipping container home.
Laundry
Small and inexpensive wall mounted clothes washers and dryers are also a perfect match for the container home with limited floor space. Not recommended for families living in one full-time mind you, but for a single man or woman living on their own – they’re absolutely perfect.
Toilet
There are many toilets available for this market based on a wide range of needs. Off-grid? Consider a composting toilet or an incinerator toilet. On-grid? Then you may want to consider an eco-friendly toilet that consumes less water. You really don’t need a gallon or more drinking water to be wasted every time you pee, do you?
Pro Tip: No matter where you get your typical toilet, consider repurposing some old soda bottles by adding sand, screwing on the cap, and placing them in the back tank of your toilet. They take up space – space that water won’t take up, meaning that every flush will use less water.
