Modern Urban Living in a 2x20ft Shipping Container Home

Thank you Thorm for sponsoring this video and helping what we do stand out with a unique ring or watch made from materials like Medite and Go to Thor Whiskey Barrel. comom and use promo code tiny to get 15% off your purchase. A bustling

urban

street is perhaps one of the last places you'd expect to find a

container

home

, but here in Tasmania we're about to visit an incredible space where two

shipping

container

s have been beautifully transformed into an incredibly cozy

home

. Hi Jermaine, how are you? I'm very well, thank you, how are you? I'm great, it's wonderful to be here and see your beautiful house, thank you and it's a great pleasure to have you. you here, this is such a unique place that you have created here, can you tell me how this all came to be?

Well we originally owned this block and we are going to build a different home here during that construction process, we actually bought the house next door so we ended up with two blocks next to each other about 3 years ago. My marriage fell apart, so during that process I decided I wanted to keep this block because I love

living

here. I love this suburb and I love my little town. I claimed this block and built an amazing little house and your kids now live next door to you too. Yeah, so I like to call it my happy little commune.

It's beautiful, so my two children, one of his partners, and his son live next door. Brilliant. So I have my lovely little privacy here, but I also get to see them very often, so it's lovely. I love it. There's a wonderful setup, isn't there? And you've built your house out of two 20-foot

shipping

containers. Tell me about that process. Well, when I decided I wanted to build a tiny house, I investigated all the possibilities within Tasmania. I wanted to keep it pretty local and then I met Jason, my builder, and we just clicked. I really had a great relationship with him and loved what he was doing. so sending containers with all of that, yeah, and the way he laid them out is really cool and then of course you have this beautiful outdoor area that's covered and that view, look at that, yeah, I love the view.

I love the sunlight and I love being able to see the river. I love trying out my gum tree and being able to see the city. It's a beautiful thing. I love being here. Yes. What was it about the shipping container home concept that made you fall in love with it? I've always been intrigued by

living

in a shipping container. I think I like the really strong industrial safety idea of ​​a shipping container and I also like the concept of living in something that wasn't made to be a home and making it beautiful, I absolutely love it. the way it has kept the true industrial look of the containers, as well as keeping their shipping numbers on the side, I don't like things that pretend to be something they are not, they are shipping containers and from the front too.

I love the fact that they are a strong industrial building and not very cozy and then you walk through my door and it opens to this beautiful, cozy home. Yes, I really like that, beautifully done. Can you tell me about the construction process? the shipping containers and getting them to the site because it's a pretty steep section to build, isn't it? Jason, my construction, built them off site and then they came to a very, very exciting place on the back of a truck and we put them under us, here is actually an existing concrete pad that was a carport, so we removed the carport and placed the shipping containers on top.

Brilliant and it looks like you've got a bit of dirt extending down here as well. Not water, yes, I know. I know people's gardens are often talked about right now. My garden is a work in progress. It was originally an Old Orchard for the house next door, so it's still an Old Orchard. I would like to one day claim it and fill it with natives because there is a fairly large population of native animals living in my backyard. I have jigger and the kidas and of course possums and native birds. So eventually that's what I would like but that's a tomorrow problem, very nice and then you have this beautiful entertaining space here as well, it really looks like it's set up for nice dinners and everything, yes, exactly, entertaining friends and family It's very important to me, so I needed to have a space where everyone could fit.

The kitchen takes up quite a bit of space in this container, so I needed to make sure I had enough outdoor space for a living space, yes, and it's really unique the way you do it. I've set this up so you have the living room and kitchen in one container and then your bedroom and another. Yeah that's right. I actually had a designer help me design the ideas, but I was pretty sure that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be able to have two separate spaces to have some privacy in my bedroom and then in the more public area, yeah, and how does that work in practice?

Because here in Tasmania it's quite cold and we can have this sort of thing. of cold, wet, rainy days, obviously you have the walkway between them, so it's covered, but you have to go outside between the two containers, how does that work? Honestly, I haven't had any problems with it. I've been here for 12 months so I've experienced all of our seasonal changes. It's something that a lot of people ask me, but there is no problem. It's the cover, I don't get wet and you have this roof that fits wonderfully. the two containers, can you tell me about how this was done?

Sure my designer originally designed this triangular roof and then we expanded the deck, so there was a lot of discussion about making the roof a more traditional square shape, but I went with my gut and went with my triangular roof and I really love it. I love the design of how it peaks at the top and makes it a little more unique and gives me a strange amount of joy. My triangular roof and It's quite nice to have part of the deck covered, but you can also enjoy some time in full sun. Yes, that's right, especially in Tasmania.

I love the sun, so being able to have some shade but also being able to do a little bit. worshiping the sun is pleasant. I totally agree. Well, I'm already very impressed with the look of the space and I'm really excited to explore the inside of the containers. Can we take a look? Well thank you very much. This is absolutely beautiful. Okay, so it's got such a contrast between the cold, hard exterior and then walking in it turns into this beautiful home that's much softer. Yes, that was definitely what I intended to do and yes, I think I have achieved it and you can really feel it. the height that comes from those High Cube containers here too, yes, you can.

I didn't want it to feel claustrophobic and I didn't want to feel too boxed in, so the High Cube was definitely a great solution, yeah and Can you talk to me about the way you've designed this house? I sure did a lot of SE Arch before the rebuild while Jason was building the container, there was definitely a soft industrial edge I wanted to create. I know what I like. It wasn't difficult, I found the whole process really fun and it's extremely satisfying to see the end result. I bet you're a creative spirit, plus you work as a hairdresser and have this wonderful creative edge you must have.

It's been really fun to explore that in designing your home too, it definitely was, it was really special and I feel really grateful that I was able to design something that was completely for me, but at the same time I didn't have anyone to go with. Oh, what's up with this? You know, sometimes you think, oh, the right decision is the right decision and I just had to follow my instincts, which luckily seemed to have worked. I certainly believe that was the case and immediately after entering the container, we are. in your living room space and this looks especially comfortable, it's a huge sofa, you have it, so I curl up on it quite well, it was always going to be this big, so this area was designed around that piece of furniture, right ?

I also have the mobile TV here, that's a pretty unique feature. Yes, originally I didn't want to have a screen in this space. I don't really like a screen in every type of person's room, um, but I found that in the In the evenings I would like to curl up on my couch, have dinner and watch something on TV, so I bought it recently and it worked great, yeah , an excellent addition. I love the coffee table which looks like a pretty interesting design, yes I wanted a coffee table that didn't take up too much space and I found that one and I really like it a lot because you can turn it vertically and use it as a taller table.

Having versatile furniture in a small house is definitely a good thing. Certainly it absolutely is and we're in such an

urban

area here and you have all the city noise and everything, but from the moment you walk into this house it's quiet and it's also wonderfully warm, so it's obviously a very nice space. isolated. Yes, I wanted it to be well insulated because of our winters and also because of traffic noise. I love the fact that you just close the door and it's like exhaling because it's so quiet and it's also very warm in the winter, which of course. it is very important and surprisingly cool in summer the combination of my roof line and double glazing is a beautiful temperature all year round and a very simple solution here too yes, due to the high insulation of the shipping containers I didn't need much as much it's so I just have one heater panel on each one and I set it to 18 and it makes it nice and cozy yeah nice and easy yeah and then your kitchen space it's actually a very big kitchen for the size of the container, it is not.

It's just that I sacrificed living space for kitchen space simply because I really love to cook and I really love entertaining, so the kitchen was extremely important to me, yes, and it makes a lot of sense the way you've done it too . because in many ways what you've done is pushed the living room into the outside area and you've created this lovely entertaining space Lounge and the outside space that's given you all this extra space to create the biggest kitchen in Here, yeah, that That's right, that's exactly what I wanted to do. It's not really the day to do it today, but they are folding windows, so when I'm entertaining there or even when I'm here alone, when the weather is nice, I can. open all the windows and open the door and it becomes a very large entertainment area so it's perfect for my needs and the style of this kitchen looks great too.

I love how you chose the galley style kitchen with the space to cook on one side and then clean and prep on the other. It's funny, it's as simple as just brewing on one side, turning and cooking on the other. It's very time efficient and I've had very large kitchens in my life and this. one is by far the best and great and tell me about what makes it better. I think it's just the ease of preparation that makes me laugh, actually because you don't actually have to follow many steps, but you prepare on one side and you do. a shift and then you're cooking in there, the refrigerator is there, it's a very, very usable space, yes, and I can see that you've also built a lot of storage space into this kitchen, yes, because I like entertaining, of course , entertainment. requires crockery, cutlery and kitchen utensils, so it was important to try to get as much storage as possible in this kitchen, yeah, sure, and all the good sized appliances in here too, yeah, I needed to go for traditional sized appliances, um , for this space just due to the fact that I like to entertain, the refrigerator was probably the only thing that I had to sacrifice and I had to do a lot of research to find something that fit the space, but I managed to do it, yeah, and even squeezed it in.

There is a washing machine here too, yes it is a washer and a dryer, and again it makes my life so simple. Laundry days are not a problem at all in this little house and it is pretty quiet and yes it is very convenient yes but there is no dishwasher no that is a The interesting thing is that I have a space that is currently my bar breakfast and could fit a dishwasher. I don't need a dishwasher when I'm here alone, obviously when I'm entertaining I sometimes wish for a dishwasher, but let's be honest. Standing there by the sink with that beautiful view washing dishes is not a hardship at all, it's also pretty fair.

I also really like the placement of the elongated window right at the end of that kitchen, that goes a long way to making the space feel so good. much broader, that's true and that's thanks to my designer originally in my head. I didn't want to have windows facing the driveway or the road. I wanted it to be completely private. I thought about it long and hard, but I'm very, very glad that it's there, especially because that tree is really pretty and it has a beautiful flowering in the spring, very pretty and next to it we have the bedroom container.

Can we take a look? We certainly can, oh. wow, I love it, what a pleasant space it is to be completely surrounded by these huge windows and enjoyof that whole view from your bed, yes, it was something I really wanted and I love it, it's so beautiful. place to sleep and a beautiful place to wake up. I just open my eyes, open the blinds and look out at the river, it's actually beautiful. I love it, the view is something else and it really adds a feeling of spaciousness to this area, but the blinds when they're down are like a little cocoon and I just, yeah, I love this area, there's something about your view too, it's just this beautiful assumption.between the relaxation of the water and then the bustling busy city behind it, yes it's a great contrast and you can also see the mountains in the background so it's really unique and one of the reasons why I chose to stay here it's just because of that view I can see why and the bedroom itself looks so cozy yes cozy is exactly how I feel when I'm here it's like a sanctuary I love it yes you also have the TV on the wall yes I do I do TV is a me, I'm just not a screen person, so it's actually a TV with pictures.

I just don't have a picture right now because I just wanted it to disappear as much as possible. Yes, it's a great idea. and you also have some storage space here. I do this with my nightstand. I have a thing for tall nightstands, which is nice because you have all that extra storage under this bed too. two very large drawers that hold all my bedding, bright and you're not short of places to put your clothes in here. How funny is it that this entire bedroom container was designed around my closet? I couldn't sacrifice my clothes. I love the clothes. and yes I have a pretty spacious wardrobe for a small house, yes what a great setup, although you do have so much storage space in there, yes I mean it's the reality of living in a small house that you need to have storage space somewhere , um, etc.

It's all there, yes, fantastic, without a doubt, that is the key to successful living in a small house. It's recognizing those things that are really important to you and making sure you prioritize them in your design. Yeah, it's actually very interesting because when I was designing where things were. I would go to the storage environment that I spent my day in how I did things and when I did them and where I did them and put them in the corresponding place and then, beyond the water, it burns in your bathroom, can we take a look? ? Alright, again, this is another really lovely compact space, but everything you need here is exactly again.

I sacrificed a little space here for the closet, but I don't get dressed here. I don't do my hair here. I don't wear makeup here it's basically a bathing area. I really love it. The mirror is actually one of my favorite things. It's actually like an old-fashioned shaving mirror. It opens up and has storage behind it, which is a little quirky and very practical. Yes it certainly is and then you have a really good size shower here as well and again you managed to get a little bit of extra storage by adding that shelf in there yeah that was Jason's idea and I'm really glad he suggested it because it's very handy for my products and stuff and I really like the look of it too.

Yes, there is a conventional flushing toilet here too. Yes, that was something I struggled with. I really wanted to compost, but in the end I decided that in practice it was probably easier to go with a conventional flushing toilet, yes, in a place like this where you are in the middle of the city and it is very easy to connect to that infrastructure , why not exactly? And I think that might be the smallest powder room in Basin that I've ever seen. Yes, it's actually too small and I'm going to change it. I had a lot of trouble imagining how small this space would be, so I bought the smallest sink I could find. and it's ridiculously small, yeah I can definitely understand wanting to change it because there's nothing worse than turning on the tap and having water come out everywhere, that makes me smile and I'm happy to admit it was my mistake. and I'm going to fix it, so you've been living here for a little over a year, how's life going in the shipping containers?

It's actually working perfectly, right from the sink. I wouldn't change yours. I'm extraordinarily happy here and yes, it's great, yes, and it's so nice that you have this wonderful space to yourself, but you're also so connected to your family, that's so special, yes, it is. I'm very, very grateful for that. They are growing now and need some space, but I still get to see them very regularly and yes, like I said, it is our happy little commune. Can you talk to me about what your downsizing journey to containers was actually like? a big relief I'm an anti-hoarder I don't like a lot of things around me I don't like clutter, it actually makes me quite anxious to be honest and as it came about out of a break up it was very easy because there were no arguments about little things that don't matter.

I just left it all there and it just made everything so much easier. You really have to start over for yourself, yes that's right, yes it was like getting rid of an old man. skin and yes, create a new one. I love that analogy. I really wanted to prioritize my mental health. I needed something that was sustainable and a life I could manage on my own. I didn't want to be overwhelmed by housework, maintenance or a huge mortgage, I just needed to have something that was compact and completely under my control, and can we talk about the cost involved in building the container home?

Yes, around a fantastic 200,000 completed, that includes moving them to the site, yes, and everything including all the furniture, artwork, everything, great results, yes, and now you are wonderfully settled into this beautiful new home. What does the future hold for you? Oh, the freedom of having adventures. I hope I like what's on the cards. I do not know what I have. I have no idea, but there is a certain freedom in that. I mean, obviously, I work full time. I have my family by my side. I also have an elderly mother who is quite dependent, so having the small house frees up the small amount of free time I have to create. a completely new and adventurous life for me.

I love it. Well, Jermaine, this is a cool house you've built for yourself. It's such a creative space and it's so wonderful the way you took these two industrial containers and converted them. in such a cozy place to call home. Thank you very much for sharing it with me. It is an absolute pleasure. I love the way Jermaine describes the process of building this house as being able to shed an old skin and grow a new one because it really changes. It is the only universal constant: we are always changing as people and our life circumstances are always changing and having the opportunity to grow a new skin to build a new home for ourselves that truly reflects where we are now is a beautiful thing that I want to thank Thorum enormously. for sponsoring this video and helping make what we do possible if you are looking for a wedding ring, anniversary ring or a ring that looks amazing look no further, thorum Thor rings are made from materials that support a true story meteorite dinosaur bone whiskey barrel antler rifle stems from World War II and many other materials I received the Jurassic made of meteorite and dinosaur bone that has millions of years of history and something that literally came from space and is now on my finger There is nothing more special than that.

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