Zack and Brie Smithey are among the few who see the potential in old shipping containers. You know, the kind you see on big trucks or massive ships. Those kinds of containers.
You might be converted to do the same once you see their home. Most people wouldn’t even look twice at shipping containers, but they have proven to be so versatile, and even stylish.
The Smitheys’ containers once transported tires it would seem. But no, the home does not smell like rubber for vehicles.
“It reminds me of the beginning stages of the construction here,” Zack told CBS Sunday Morning.
The couple’s dream home in St. Charles, Missouri is definitely Instagram-worthy!
The Smitheys built this 3,000-square-foot, three bedroom, two-and-a-half bath, two-story structure in 2016. It is made out of eight shipping containers that were manufactured in Shanghai.
These containers traveled around the globe carrying goods, taking in all of nature’s beating before finally finding themselves in a yard in St. Louis.
It is the same yard Zack and Brie found themselves in.
Brie said, “It was still, like, kind of surreal to go to this container yard with thousands and thousands of shipping containers and think, ‘We’re going to live in this?'”
It all started with a man named Malcolm McLean.
He was an American trucker who first applied to parent the shipping container in 1954. McLean’s invention changed the world and transformed many lives, influencing how the world would trade.
An estimated 90% of all goods go through 170 million shipping containers which then travel around the world.
Chances are, most of the stuff you have was once in a container.
McLean probably didn’t think people today would use the container for amazing architecture.
Many others have built restaurants, offices, swimming pools, houses, and more out of them.
Interestingly, the sports stadium for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was built out of shipping containers!
The Smitheys found shipping containers interesting since they would allow them the opportunity to recycle. And since they’re basically boxes of steel, it allowed the couple to show off their style.
Working with a budget meant Zack and Brie did the majority of the work themselves.
Zack said, “Many people have unrealistic expectations on how cheap a container home is going to be. They forget that the expensive parts, like kitchens and bathrooms and HVAC, electric and plumbing, are still there.”
The container home is fun, quirky, and full of upcycled touches.
In fact, it worked so well for them that Zack started a side business building container homes for interested clients.
“We had no idea all the opportunity that has come to us since building this home,” Brie told CBS. “It’s pretty crazy!
Containers can be cool, apparently!
“I think that people see the way houses have been built all these years and they think that’s what they have to do. But you can express your own creativity however you want. And I think that this has been a way for us to do that.” she continued.
Are you inspired to build with a container yet?
Check out the couple’s impressive home in the video below!
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