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14 of the Best Shipping Container Homes For Sale

Looking into building or buying a shipping container home? Or maybe just in search of some inspiration? Below find 14 of the worlds most unique, interesting and well designed shipping containers of all sizes and shapes.

Shipping containers are flood and fire-resistant, making them an excellent building material. Shipping containers, which range in length from 20 to 30 feet, are normally used for 10 to 15 years, but they can endure much longer.

1. The Quik House

Location: New Jersey

Designer: Adam Kalkin 

The Quik House is an open, modern home in a forested area of central New Jersey that has been modified with concrete and fir flooring, stainless steel beams, and huge glass panes on nearly all sides. The main structure is made up of six shipping containers, while the other is made up of only three, yet the total complex holds a huge living space, various bedrooms, a bathroom, a walk-in closet, and other amenities.

A 12-foot kitchen island offers a wonderful view when cooking, and the large sofas in the living room allow you to relax by the fireplace on cold nights. The entire interior is smooth drywall, so unless you check behind the stairway, you'll never know the structure is built with shipping containers.

This stunning ultra modern shipping container home is located on 3 acres and is approximately 4000 square feet which boasts 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths.

2. PV14 House

Location: Dallas, Texas

Designer: Michael Gooden

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This stunning residence was constructed from 14 steel shipping containers. The beautiful edifice, located in northern Texas, is uniquely positioned to take in views of the surrounding townscape. The use of dramatic overhangs and many porches protect windows from direct sunlight without blocking the view, while the principal architectural materials are concrete floors, an exposed steel structure, masonry, and glass.

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The three-bedroom property has four elevated, covered balconies as well as a spacious sky deck. This magnificent property was built between about $350,000 to $490,000, making it more inexpensive than you might imagine.

3. Hybrid House

Location: Shadow Mountain (near Joshua Tree), California

Designer: EcoTech

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The Hybrid House or Palen Studio, a one-bedroom residence totaling 2,300 square feet, was created for a customer in the media industry who desired a photo studio and extensive storage areas in a lovely setting. EcoTech built it out of five shipping containers and recycled steel. Because it is in the desert, it includes a movable roof and a water-harvesting system that collects natural water.

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It really outperforms California's energy needs by 50%. This is a huge, eco-friendly, and attractive desert home with an open plan and solar-shaded windows to keep the hot desert air at bay. Shadow Mountain cost more than $300,000 to construct.

4. Modulus: Six Oaks Shipping Container Residence

Location:  San José, California

Designer: David Fenster

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David Fenster's concept for Modulus, nestled among the trees of the San José mountains and atop an abandoned railway that now serves as an emergency escape route, was designed to take up as little land as possible while having the least influence on the environment. Six shipping containers are spaced four feet apart in the private dwelling, with the second-floor crates piled perpendicular to the bottom. The stairs and much of the furniture is made of recycled redwood from the site, while the flooring is mostly made of recycled plywood that has been sealed and stained.

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5. Manifesto House

Location: Curacaví, Chile

Designer: James & Mau Arquitectura

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Unless it's very skillfully designed, the majority of cargo containers have an unappealing exterior. James & Mau Arquitectura decided to opt for a unique exterior concept by using salvaged wood pallets and shutters into the Manifesto House. The pallets also help shade the structure in the summer and heat the metal walls in the winter. The open-space design makes use of three independent shipping containers, each situated in such a way that there is plenty of space between the two external patios that line the interior of the home. It is likewise powered primarily by solar energy and has a cantilevered balcony on the roof. One way to put it is "eco-efficient."

6. Joshua Tree Residence

Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California‍

Designer: Whitaker Studio

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James Whitaker's container home at Joshua Tree National Park is blooming like a rare desert flower. While construction on this particular house is still proceeding (it was commissioned in 2017), the painstakingly generated concept graphics show just how incredible it will be.

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That star-like form also has a practical purpose: it helps maintain the house full of natural light regardless of where the sun is, and it enhances cooling. Whitaker continues to develop one-of-a-kind design concepts for further container-based housing and commercial buildings.

7. WFH House

Location: Wuxi, China

Designer: Arcgency, Esbensen, Teknologisk Institut

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The WFH House is more than just architecture; it is also a sustainable product. The house is a prefab home, which means it may be shipped anywhere in the globe; nevertheless, the first model was completed in 2012 and is located in Wuxi, China. It has solar panels and a green roof, as well as an underground storage container for rainwater. The WGH House's structural framework is made of 40-foot-high shipping containers, making it resistant to earthquakes, climate change, and other local difficulties.

8. Grillagh Water

Location: Cavan, Ireland

Designer: Patrick Bradley Architects

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The Grillagh River House, located on the banks of the Grillagh River in Cavan, Ireland, is a hidden gem in the rural countryside. The house is the first modern shipping container home planned and built-in Ireland, and it is made up of four 45-foot shipping containers that are joined together to form two cantilever shapes. The arrangement of the house has been intelligently designed to take full advantage of the surrounding pastoral views, resulting in a home that is as lovely to look at as it is to live in. If you are looking to purchase a home in Ireland, do check out this beautiful property in Cavan.

9 HO4+

Location: Prefab home certified for California, Washington, British Columbia, and Alberta 

Designer: Honomobo

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The HO4+ is another prefab homemade from four 40-foot shipping containers that could be your new everlasting home. There are now two-floor plans available, one with three bedrooms and one bathroom and another with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

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However, all floor plans include a huge living area, as well as a dining room and a full kitchen, the latter of which is clad in glass from floor to ceiling. This single-level home is 1,224 square feet in size and, because it is prefabricated, may be built anywhere.

10. Container Cabin the Catskills

Location: Saugerties, New York‍

Designer: Nowhere Studios

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If you don't want to commit to a shipping container house, you may stay in this lovely Catskills cabin for $195 per night. The 20-foot shipping container is situated on 20 acres and includes a wood fire, sofa bed, kitchenette, and writing desk, among other modern conveniences. Staying warm is easy with low-energy windows and sliding glass doors, as is relaxing with the hammock, hot tub, and 64-square-foot yoga platform right outside the door. Nature, on the other hand, is rarely as accommodating.

11. Bard College Media Lab

Location: Annandale-On-Hudson, New York

Designer: MB Architecture

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Although Rome was not built in a day, this Media Lab at Bard College appears to have been. The installers reportedly erected the building on-site in less than a half-day for a total cost of roughly $200,000. The two-story structure emphasises tranquillity, with open work areas, an understated black and white color palette, and plenty of windows to let in natural light and provide pupils with a view of the trees outside. The main space is accessible by a huge garage door that opens. While it is not exactly a house, according to MB Architecture's website, the same concept could be furnished with a kitchen and bathrooms to create a viable living space.

12. Seven Havens

Location: Lombok, Indonesia

Designer: Budi Pradono Architects

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The Clay House, also known as the "Seven Havens", was built in the southwestern part of the Lombok province, which is located immediately east of Bali. This opulent box house is perched on a set of concrete stilts, letting it sit just above the slope for the best views of the Selong Belanak.

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The container that forms the master bedroom's ceiling is similarly tilted at a 60-degree angle, giving the room a wedge shape that faces the bay. Budipradono Architects adopted a similar tilted design style, although a steeper one while building another private property in Indonesia known as "The Leaning House of Jakarta."

13. Ccasa Hostel

Location: Nha Trang, Vietnam

Designer: TAK Architects

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This lively hostel near the centre of Nha Trang was designed by the Vietnamese group TAK Architects. A stack of polished shipping containers within the property's walls has been repurposed into sparsely equipped dorms for travelers passing through Southeast Asia. During the warmer months, the pergola that surrounds the individual containers helps to protect the units from direct sunshine. The house is also only 600 feet from the beach, providing guests with delicious, sandy quiet when they need to escape the lively backpackers' hideaway.

14. 12 Container House

Location: Blue Hill, Maine

Designer: Adam Kalkin

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Although the open-space design appears to be growing in popularity, it is rarely seen in pre-fabricated homes. Adam Kalkin's take on spatial living, on the other hand, employs 12 shipping containers and a glazed glass structure to provide the home with a direct link to the great outdoors. Two steel staircases go from the living space and kitchen below to the upper bedrooms, offering welcome relief from any wind that may enter the house through the two garage-style doors.

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If you've made it this far then you've seen just how diverse shipping container homes can be. Although they typically lean towards a modern aesthetic, skilled designers and architectures can let their creativity run wild with the additional design opportunities shipping containers allow due to their rigidity and strength. Check out 100's of more small homes in our database for more inspiration.