Repurposing items and extending their useful life has become a major trend in recent years. Some folks turn found treasures into artistic home decorations while others convert old warehouses into collaborative workspaces. Somewhere in the middle, crafty individuals from around the world are finding creative ways to repurpose shipping containers.
You can find shipping containers for sale in just about any major city. Those big, sturdy, metal crates used to ship items by land and sea eventually get cycled out of their regular use, meaning there are thousands of the things just waiting to be turned into something new. Here are five creative projects designed to make shipping containers useful in unexpected ways.
Homes/hotels
Believe it or not, shipping container homes are becoming pretty popular. “Tiny homes” and small living have become major trends, with folks finding joy in life by leaving a smaller footprint or getting by with less unnecessary clutter. Shipping containers have become a popular framework for crafting these smaller homes and, on a larger scale, motels replacing standard rooms with structures built from shipping containers are becoming more common.
Workshop/shed
It can be expensive to build a workshop, shed or art studio from scratch. Sometimes, all you really need is a sturdy frame and some creative planning to build the perfect place to store all of your hunting gear, organize your gardening tools or create the perfect place to work on your hobbies away from the house. So the next time you’re in the market for some extra exterior space and you see shipping containers for sale, try thinking outside the box.
Underground shelter
Whether you’re in need of a place to wait out a natural disaster or simply want to prepare for any type of emergency, shipping containers make great underground shelters. While you’ll still need to put in some extra work to prepare the space for your desired shelter needs, a shipping container is an inexpensive, readily available alternative to building from scratch.
Swimming pool
Similar to underground shelters, shipping containers are a great alternative when it comes to providing a shell for your own pool. You’ll still need to pay close attention to detail when it comes to plumbing, drainage and the like, but a repurposed shipping container should provide big savings over construction of a traditional pool.
Restaurant
Want to open a restaurant but don’t have the capital to invest in a brand new facility? Converting a shipping container is an increasingly popular alternative that, with some clever modifications, should offer all the space you need at a fraction of the cost.
