This Couple Created a $20K Tiny House With a Cabin Aesthetic Out of a Shipping Container

As we have seen in most of these homes, they are a great way to start your journey in life as a couple or a single person since you do not have to spend 30 years paying a mortgage. But it is also a wonderful getaway from the concrete jungle for any tiny living endorser.

Matt and Paiton are a young couple that lives in a 45 ft (13.7 m) shipping container in Washington on five acres of land next to the Pend Oreille River. They started working on this project in August 2019 and finished it in April 2020. However, they did not work every day on the house, only when being free from their jobs. The couple is not new to the tiny living lifestyle as they previously lived in a skoolie. They decided to sell that motorhome and create something more home-like.

The shipping container ended up costing around $20,000, and that included all the furniture, appliances, and much more. The couple mostly used reclaimed and repurposed items to keep the cost on the lower side. The container was placed strategically so they could see both sides of the river, the upstream and the downstream.

The exterior comes with a large deck with the same square footage as the container, which offers 360 sq ft (33.4 sq m) of space. The original container doors were left in place to ensure extra security when the couple is not at home. It also keeps the container warm when the temperature outside drops. The roof expands from the top of the house to the lean-to, where they park the cars and store tools. It allows them to have a bit of shelter from the snow in the winter to still enjoy the outdoors. Next to the house is a utility shed housing a 500-gallon water tank and a propane tank.

Going through the sliding doors, you get into the kitchen, which is the first area accessible from the outside. It is quite a spacious space for a couple with a few prep areas. The cabinets are reclaimed, and they all come with soft-close hinges. Instead of backsplash tiles, they used an affordable metal sheet, which is easier to clean. The kitchen is fully functional, as it comes with an induction cooktop that can be stored in a drawer when not used, a sink with a chopping board and a dish rack, a microwave with a range hood, and a full-size fridge. The upper cabinets have LED lights underneath, and the metal sheets make them shine even more, especially at night.

The walls are made of tongue and groove pine, while the ceiling is reclaimed wood from a building that got torn down. Even the foundation of this tiny home is made of reclaimed materials. The interior is entirely made of wood, giving it a mountain cabin aesthetic while still being a modern house.

The living area is connected to the kitchen by an island bar. It is used as an office space for Paiton. The bar has an intriguing design made of tin metal sheets that were supposed to be used for the ceiling. It also has enough space to fit a washer and dryer machine.

In the living room, we find an L-shaped couch, which can be used as a guest bed, a wall-mounted TV, a floating mantle shelf, and a mini wood stove. The wall behind the sofa has a sublime decoration made of tiny mirrors, each representing a moon phase.

The last area on this side of the shipping container is the bathroom. It is separated from the living room by a giant barn door. The bathroom is more spacious than most tiny houses, as it comes with a large vanity, cabinets with tons of storage, a standard flush toilet, a laundry hamper, a mirror, a sink, and a custom-built shower cabin made of MDF panels with an epoxy coat giving it a marble aesthetic. The shower is not only impressive by how it looks but also because it cost only $50.

On the other side of the tiny home, we find the bedroom. It is the smallest area of the house beside the bathroom. Since it was placed at ground level, there is enough headroom space to walk straight, which is uncommon in tiny houses. This area was designed with his and her closets that have enough room for all their clothes and shoes and a queen-size bed placed next to two giant doors. These doors can be opened, allowing for magnificent views of the woods and river. The temperature inside is taken care of by a portable AC unit.

These homes' small footprint and affordability made them stand out from the traditional ones. Owning a home for just $20,000 is an impressive feat, so it's no wonder the tiny living movement is getting more and more enthusiasts each year. People have created tiny houses from very diverse materials, such as concrete, metal, wood, shipping container, and even stone, making them quite versatile.

A downside of tiny mobile homes is that you have to park them only in specific areas, which might be quite far from the city center. However, these lands are mostly between forests and mountains, making them a space where you can relax after a hard work day.