Matt and Ilse live with their three children in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, in a fantastic sustainable home built out of two offset 40 ft.This amazing small home has been built using two 40ft high cube shipping containers, slightly of-set from one another to create a stunning, off-the-grid family home. shipping containers.
The family collect their water from a borehole on the property and use solar-generated electricity. The couple purchased two used containers that were in great shape but needed a bit of panel-beating. The containers were later repainted, soldered, refurbished and made to look like they were straight out of a manufacturing company.
Matt and Ilsa own an engineering company and so were no strangers to working with steel. That was a huge motivating factor as to why the couple chose to construct their family home using two 40ft shipping containers as a base.
Inside. the home is incredibly spacious. The offset containers providing a large living space for the family which includes the kitchen as well as the lounge. It’s also been designed to open out onto the deck, providing great indoor / outdoor living for this active family.
The kitchen is located along one wall of the container allowing it to not take up a tremendous amount of space within the home yet still providing ample workspace and all the elements required from a modern kitchen, including oven, fridge, a large sink, coffee machine and a great amount of storage. Copper is a recurring theme throughout the home, which perfectly compliments the white cabinetry in this kitchen.
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The design of the home allows for seperate rooms to be created at the ends of the containers including a dining room which is an essential part of this families life as they enjoy sitting down to meals together. It also provides an entertaining space for Matt and Ilse.
The couple cleverly grouped their three kids into one room while still maintaining peace in their home. The children share a room divided into two compartments to look like one-story. There’s a great sized bathroom in this home too, complete with basin, vanity, composting toilet and even a Japanese style soaking tub which is large enough for all the children to bathe together.
