Home Sweet Cargo-Container-Home
Not all homes are made equal. Cargo containers are a hot thing when it comes to having a recyclable home these days. In some parts of the world, living inside a shipping container is almost always considered poverty. What when you don’t have any budget for concrete; and you just smother the interior with plywood so you don’t fry yourself every summer.
Not unless you have an interior designer such as Anna Cardell. She has transformed these rather mundane 118 square feet containers into studio apartments that we wish we could live in. Because around the world, people are already moving towards recycled cargo containers near the city centers. As urban dwellers who want to save on rent and save the environment, this is a very enticing proposition. We are going to show you how it can be done. Or we can just let Anna do some of the talking, and rightly so.
Inside the container, there isn’t really any space for a hallway. Instead, the MACKAPAR is your best bet at having a functional coat and shoe rack. “Not just for typical hallway stuff but for other household items too, so they don’t take up precious space in the bedroom,” says Anna. “It can also display your personality and make it clear who lives there,” she added.Speaking of coats and shoes, there isn’t enough room for a full wardrobe unit inside the small space afforded by a cargo container. Thus, the IKEA RIGGA clothes rack is where you hang your clothes. It is also sturdy enough so you can put boxes beneath your hung clothes.
“If you use one room for everything, share a space, or move often, portability is key. Think handles, wheels and lightweight designs wherever you go, so you can easily take what you need.”
It is a must to maximize the space available. And not many have known that the space under the bathroom sink is quite usable. The RAGRUND shelves can easily fit under the sink. And it easy to get stuff because it has no doors; which also saves space. “We chose open storage to make use of the space under the sink – with two sides each person can have their own shelves,” says Anna.
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The bed is where everything happens in this room, so we chose a modular sofa bed. It has mattress-quality filling so you can sleep on it every night, and hidden storage for bedding.”
Small spaces need functionality above all else. So the trick is to use multi purpose items. Or use items other than their intended function. For example you can use a trio of NORDLI chest of drawers to have drawers, a bedside table, and a bench all at once. Then there are FROSTA stools that can be used as a coffee table and extra seating for guests. Basically, we use this for that. Another example would be the KUNGSFORS kitchen trolley. We leave Anna for the explaining. “In a studio home you have a reason to be inventive and use things in new ways,” she says. “Like the kitchen trolley – it’s a DJ table on top, but underneath it stores the tableware. It’s easy to move around depending on how you’re using it, and it fits with the room’s industrial style.” Neat trick! The IKEA VALLENTUNA is in for sleeping duties. It is a corner chair when not in use. Then it can stretch into a comfortable bed when the lights are off.
“The gap between the containers was transformed into a meeting spot where neighbors and friends gather for a bring-a-dish meal – it’s a shared social space in their home environment.”
For shared spaces in your cargo container ‘hood, the dining place can be filled with the VADDO table. Potlucks everyday sound delicious, don’t you think?
All of this can be summarised in one thought:
““It’s a cool way of living in the city,” says Anna Cardell, one of the designers who worked on the container homes. “However small or temporary your space, it’s still important that it reflects you and your needs.” The team set out to design two unique homes in identical tiny spaces. “The challenge was to create small-space homes that are functional and full of character.””
