Shipping container home plans are like a blank canvas for the creative homeowner. Explore five of our favorite designs and why they might be your new place to call home.
Why Choose a Shipping Container Home?
Shipping container homes have become more and more popular in recent years because they’re a great solution for homeowners who are looking for something unconventional. Here are just a few reasons why shipping container home designs and plans have become more common than ever:
- Sustainability: Even with features like additional siding or insulation, shipping container homes require fewer new materials than traditional homes. Even more, converting shipping containers for housing allows homeowners to save these containers from the scrapyard or landfill, using fewer natural resources.
- Affordability: These converted homes cost even less than many manufactured or modular homes to build while still offering many of the same benefits—making them an ideal choice for homebuyers in markets experiencing housing shortages.
- Mobility: As with other types of manufactured homes, shipping container homes can be moved with relative ease depending on your foundation and where you live.
- Customization: Floor plans for shipping container homes can include all the comforts of a designer-built home. We’ve even seen some designs for shipping container homes include multiple floors, stylish contemporary interiors, and unique layouts with panoramic views.
- Rapid delivery: Shipping container homes can be ready for move-in within a fraction of the time it’d take for a traditionally built home.
Choosing Your Shipping Container Home by Floor Plan
Our container home partners generally offer their container home units in two sizes. These can either serve as their own living spaces or be combined with other shipping containers to create larger, more customized spaces.
20 Ft Shipping Container Home Plans
These smaller shipping containers are typically 20 feet long, 8 feet wide, and just over 8 feet tall. Although they’re smaller than most of our manufactured spaces, they can still include all the comforts of home or serve as recreational spaces, guest areas, home additions, off-grid glamping accommodations, and more.
30 Ft Shipping Container Homes
Splitting the difference between our smallest and largest container home sizes, 30-foot shipping container home plans offer a bit more square footage for living and recreation. These manufactured homes measure 30 feet long by 8 feet wide. They’re the perfect size for a tiny home or cabin.
40 Ft Shipping Container Home Plans
Among the most spacious options we have, these homes measure 40 feet long by 8 feet wide. At roughly 320 square feet of usable space on their own, they’re also larger than most people’s first apartments out of college, but with more privacy and room to customize.
Our Favorite Shipping Container Home Designs
1. Shipping Container Tiny Houses
This is perfect for people who want to downsize or live a more minimalist lifestyle. They’re also an affordable solution that still offers all the amenities you would want in a full-sized house, such as washer/dryer hookups, living areas, and kitchen spaces.
2. Accessory Dwelling Units
Shipping containers make excellent accessory dwelling units (ADUs) because they offer enough space to accommodate guests. Since we can also help you hook your ADU up with utilities like gas and plumbing, they can be a great way to host guests. In turn, everyone can enjoy a little more privacy without having to stay in a hotel.
3. Multi-Piece Shipping Container Home Floor Plans
This is one of the easiest ways to have a customized home design. With this option, the shipping container home builders can connect different container sizes to form the shape and dimensions you need to build the home design of your dreams.
4. Shipping Container Cabins
Whether you want a place to rest and stay warm during your next hunting trip or a private, quiet retreat away from the hectic every day, shipping container cabins are a great solution for a getaway. Our shipping container cabins frequently come both with spaces for sleeping and showering and with a storage area that can hold even your biggest ATV.
Even more, if you want to go completely off the grid, we can install your cabin without utility hookups so it can run solely on generator power. Or, if you want to connect it to a septic line and the electrical grid, we can adjust your home to suit those needs.
5. Home Additions
Whether you use a 20-foot or 40-foot model, shipping containers are an easy, durable solution for adding another room to your existing home. Whether you’re looking to add an entirely new wing to your house or just an additional rec room or gym area, shipping containers are an easy, affordable solution to helping your home grow to fit your changing life.
Find the Shipping Container Home Plans of Your Dreams
We offer shipping container home floor plans in multiple sizes and layouts. To find your new home you can call your own, view our available container home floor plans and schedule a tour with us today.
Find Shipping Container Homes for Sale Near You
Let Us Help You Find Your Dream Home
Preferred Homes has a variety of homes available, with options for all types of budgets. Check out what we have available, or if you're ready to take the next step—schedule a tour today!