Family of Four Lives Mortgage-Free in a 20ft Shipping Container Home

I absolutely love shipping container homes, but when I heard there was a family of four living in a 20-foot shipping container, my first instinct was, how does that work? And today, we're going to find out. Hi Lorena, it's so nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. G'day Ryan, awesome to meet you. How are you? I am very well and I am very excited to check out this home of yours. You are a family of four living in a 20-foot shipping container. How do you make that work? It's definitely challenging, but we make use of the outside area as well, the depth that you can see here, and all the outdoor space as well. Absolutely. There's so much to ask about the house, but first, this bit of land of yours is absolutely gorgeous. This is actually your section, isn't it? It is, yeah. We've got a couple of acres here and it stretches to the front here and also to the back here where the creek is, and that's where the land finishes. Beautiful. And this is not your first foray into tiny house living, is it? You were living in a tiny home in Tasmania before building the shipping container. Yeah, we built a tiny house in Tasmania in 2018. We lived in there for about three years or so, and then moved back to Brisbane for a few years and now, yeah, we've built this one. Yeah. So technically, in a way, you've actually downsized into this shipping container home. Yeah, the last tiny house was eight meters long, plus it had a loft and it had a separate bedroom underneath the living room. So I think that one had, including a small deck, it had about 27 meters of living space. Here, we're a little bit under that. We make most of the outdoor area, so it doesn't really feel that small. Yeah, and especially here in Queensland, it never gets that cold here and you've got pretty good sunshine hours, so perfect climate for outdoor living. Exactly, yeah. And tell me about the shipping container build. Why did you choose a shipping container? Well, the shipping container structure already exists and it's easy to transport them, so we could buy one in Brisbane easily, put it on the back of a truck and move it up here, crane put it in position, so the structure part is all taken care of. And then it's a case of, you know, cutting out the windows and very quickly it turns into a house. At the time of the build, I was pregnant, so we wanted to do the things like try to speed up in a certain way. Yeah. So that's why we chose a small one as well. That makes a lot of sense. So the priority was to build something that let you get onto the land and start living here sooner, and then now you've got two acres to expand into and do whatever you want. Well, yeah, that's the plan. Now that we've got this one and we've got the shed, we want to build more tiny houses. The addition of the shed is great as well. That does give you a lot more space and storage area. Yeah, so, you know, that's our office. The kids keep their toys in there. I do my artwork in there as well, and that was the first structure we had when we moved in because we were traveling from Brisbane. We needed somewhere to stay, so we built the shed first and then stayed there while we were building this. And you built this yourselves, didn't you? Tell me about that. Yeah, we did, mostly. Certain jobs we weren't able to do ourselves, you know, like the electrical and things like that. But yeah, we taught ourselves from scratch, basically. People came and helped us as well, friends and family. And yeah, we just were learning as we were going, really, weren't we? And because we already built the home on wheels, that gave us a little bit of more confidence and more knowledge to do this. Yeah. So yes, it was easier than the first one. I think that's the great thing about DIY building. You built your first tiny home and that gave you the confidence and skills to be able to tackle another project. Absolutely. And everything else that you're going to develop here as well. The best thing about DIY, I think, is really how it just empowers you to be able to do that. Yeah. Absolutely. For me, dreams are very important. Yeah. So when you are able to show your kids as well what you do, Emilia, she's learning that. She sees us building something that gives her the power of Dream Big. Yeah, I love that. And she's at that age now where she's going to make those lifetime memories. And she'll look back on this when she's an adult and she'll remember that and she'll talk about that. Hey, this might even be her first apartment one day. Yeah, I know. Yeah. And are you off the grid here? We are off the grid, yeah. So that was always the intention moving out here. We didn't want to buy a property that had anything connected to it because it's all about, yeah, sustainability for us. And we don't have a lot of outgoings like we did when we lived in Brisbane. And yeah, being off the grid basically facilitates that for us. Brilliant. And you have extended beautifully into this outdoor area. You've got the dining table, comfy couch, and even the bathtub around the corner. It's a nice touch. Yeah. And that's absolutely necessary for the children as well. Right, of course. And for us when we get the time to just relax there. Yeah, when we get the time, which is not very often having two kids. I can imagine, but you can't beat an outdoor tub, can you? Yeah, it's such a feature. Yeah, absolutely. And then you've got the really cool fire pit area too. Yeah, so the fire pit, it doubles up. It keeps us warm. And yeah, we also use it to do quite a lot of cooking. Yeah, and the kids also love it. We have marshmallows and it looks very nice at night time as well. Yeah, beautiful. There's nothing like all huddling around a fire, eh? Yeah. Well, already I love everything you've created here. And I cannot wait to see how you've made a 20-foot shipping container work for a family of four. Can we take a look inside? Of course, come in. All right. Hey, this is lovely. It's definitely a compact design, but you have everything you need in here. Yeah, everything we need is in here. We've got the television on the wall behind you. We've got plenty of shelf space for storage, all the essential things. Small fridge, but we make it work. And plenty of storage for the kitchen as well. The more space you have, the more things you have. We learned from our previous experience living in a tiny home on wheels that you learn to live with less things. And then, yeah, that's why we only incorporated a few things that we really need. Fair enough too. And I love the style in here. You've got these beautiful green colours throughout the home, pops of gold, the natural tones coming in from the tiles. And then the live edge timber in here just totally sets it all off. Yeah, so all of the timber we sourced from a local mill just up the road. Timber Tony, we call him. And yeah, he's been more than helpful. You know, he's made this kitchen bench top for us. He milled it and joined it together. Some of the timber that you see outside on the deck, he helped us with. And yeah, it gives it that nice warm feel, like you said. Yeah, and because I'm a textile artist, I really care about handmade natural materials. And that's what we wanted to incorporate in our house. For example, this art piece made by Sarah. She customised every piece and it's very intricate. And it's such a special feature for our home. Yeah, I love that. And one thing that I noticed about this home as well is despite its very compact design, it doesn't feel like a small space when you're standing in it. And I think that's largely to do with your really great window positions here. Yeah, this window especially, we wanted it to take up as much of the room as possible. For that reason, it lets a lot of light in and it allows us to see, you know, the natural surroundings that we have. And it connects the outdoor bath area to the inside. Yeah, it's a nice way to just wake up and see the trees there. It's just very beautiful. Yeah, and tell me about your kitchen design. Yeah, so it's pretty straightforward. It's an L-shaped kitchen so that it can fit into the space. And yeah, it's just got all the essentials really. You know, the small fridge, freezer, the nice big sink, which obviously makes washing up a lot easier for us. And yeah, just basic. You know, we do a lot of our cooking outside so we don't need a huge amount of room in here. But enough for us to be comfortable as well. It's got the two burner stove. It's got the coffee machine and plenty of storage as well. And this bed is absolutely huge. Yeah, we managed to fit a king size bed here, which is great. We had to go for a big bed because it wasn't just us sleeping in there. We had the two kids in there as well. Right. All four of us. We do have the slide out bed now, but for a long time, for a few months, we were all sleeping in there. So it was a bit of a squeeze. You know, we were all getting a bit fed up with having four in the bed, the kids included. And yeah, they just needed their own space to sleep. And we had the ideal amount of floor space left so that we could slide it out easily. It's got lockable wheels on it as well, so it stays in position once the kids have fallen asleep. And yeah, it just makes everything so much easier for us. So much more convenient. Yeah. Tell me how that works sort of as a family, because obviously your children probably go to bed a lot earlier than you do. How does that work in terms of they've gone to bed and you still are up doing your thing in the house? Like how is sort of it living in the house once your kids have gone to bed and everything sort of so compact? Well, we have the shed next door, which doubles up as extra living space for us. You know, we've got the computer down there that we use quite a lot and it's quite comfortable down there. So once the kids have gone to bed, we quite often will make our way down to the shed. Yeah, true. You've got the whole outdoor space as well. Yeah, yeah. And the truth of it is sometimes we just go to bed when the kids go to bed. Yep, fair enough too. And next up, we've got your bathroom. Can we have a look in there? Yeah, of course. Let's go. Okay. Hey, again, the design in here is really nice. It's a compact bathroom, but again, beautifully done. I especially like the way that you've really curved this vanity as well. It just looks really good and kind of opens up the space. Yeah, we had to be very specific with the layout of everything because obviously it's small, but we needed to have a big shower as well. And so that's why this dividing wall was put here because it separates that from this. And yeah, the vanity just kind of finishes everything off. The tile work in here is fantastic. Again, it really kind of grounds it into that very natural aesthetic of the home. Yeah, our good friend is a professional tiler. He came out and got all this done in a couple of days. And yeah, we're very pleased with it. It's turned out beautifully. And then composting toilet here as well? Yep, Ecoloo composting toilet. That has definitely taken a bit of getting used to, not in terms of just using it, but everything that goes along with it. And we kind of upgraded because in our previous tiny home, we had a DIY toilet, so it was more difficult to use it because it filled in very quickly. So this one, it just looks like a toilet and it's easy to use as well. What about the washing machine? The washing machine is in the shed. And as well as that, all of our wardrobes are in the shed. That's where we keep everything clothes related. Gotcha. That shed is really a handy addition, isn't it? Yeah, we couldn't really get by without it, to be honest. Very multifunctional. So how long have you and your family been living here now? Six months almost. Almost six months. How's it working out? Yeah, so now we've worked out a nice routine and now that we're utilizing the outdoor space, we didn't always have this deck either. So now that we've got this, that's changed things massively. Going from a normal sized house to something this size has definitely had its challenges. But yeah, we seem to have worked them all out now. Yeah. Tell me about some of those challenges and what the process of downsizing into this home was like for you. For example, when the kids have gone to bed on the slide-out bed, we have to step over them to get into our bed. But there's not many challenges about living here with them here. There's the tidying up, the constant tidying up, because you're in a small space. Yeah, I can imagine. Kids are playing with their toys and the toys are everywhere. And yeah, it doesn't feel so messy when you've got a big house. Yeah. What are some of the really nice things about living in a small space together with your children? We moved out here because we wanted to spend more time with them. In Brisbane, we were both having to work full time. Amelia was in daycare. And now that we're here, we can take a more relaxed approach to just living. We don't have to work all the time. You know, we can just be with them and enjoy watching them grow because that time will pass quickly and you only get that opportunity once. That's very important for us. We chose this lifestyle just because we wanted to share time with each other, share time with our kids, see them playing outside where they should be. That's what we think. And they are enjoying it. Absolutely. Because that is so true. Even though the house is compact, they've got this huge section to adventure in, which must just be so special for them as well. Yeah, that's right. And we do a lot of things outdoors, not just here on the land. But, you know, we go camping a lot. We take the kids on adventures and, yeah, spend a lot of time outdoors. Yeah. What would your response be to people who might say you're absolutely crazy for wanting to live in such a small home with a young family? They're right. I don't want to sound pretentious or rude about people that think that way, but I would say, you know, come and experience it. Come and see what we're doing out here. And, you know, I talk to them about all the benefits that have come along as a result. And it boils down to family time again. We don't have to worry about finances like maybe somebody living in the city does with a mortgage. You know, we've got all the freedom that we need to do what we want, when we want. That's what I would say to people who say it's crazy. Yeah, I think that's such a great point. And it's just as easy to say that what's really crazy is both working two jobs, putting your kids in daycare, missing all of their milestones and missing watching them grow up and spending all of that quality time together as a family just so that you can have a mortgage and a big house. We totally agree. Yeah, that's always been our mindset. It means a lot. It's not just a house. It's a life. They are not just walls. It's something that we created with our own hands. And in the daily rush of everything, when you sit down and look at what you created, it's just amazing. When it comes down to, you know, the purpose and the reason for doing it, then there's a great sense of satisfaction knowing that A, that you've created this structure in this house, but also that you've created a life for your family, one that you can spend more time with each other. And, you know, the kids at this age that they are now, Amelia especially, she's going to remember this and she's going to grow up and that will be with her forever. At the end of the day, it all boils down to family and that's why we're doing it. Can we talk about the cost that was involved in building this home? We haven't figured out, like, we haven't done accounts. I would estimate between the shed and the container, we're between maybe 55 and 60. Oh, great. And that does include the deck as well, all the off-grid stuff, all the utilities that we've had connected. Wow, that is a phenomenal result. And obviously that's testament to you doing so much of the work yourselves. Yes, that saved us a lot of money. Yeah. Can I be extra cheeky and ask about the cost of the land as well? 105,000. Wow. We spent years and years and years working hard and saving up with the idea of doing something like this. And so, yeah, the hard work's paid off basically and now we're beginning to enjoy the fruits of our labour. And I must say that a big moment for us was when we decided to move Tasmania and decided to leave our tiny home. We were planning on moving it to Queensland but the cost of it was very expensive at the time. Yeah. So we had to sell it and that's how we were able to achieve this. I love what you've created here and I think that's just so special being in a situation like this where you can live so closely together as a family, on your own land, off the grid, minimal expenses, totally mortgage and debt free. That is a tremendous accomplishment. Congratulations to you both. Thank you. And obviously we've talked a little bit already about plans to extend with maybe some other dwellings on the property as well but tell me more about your plans for the property. What do you want to do with this place? Well, first of all, we want to build another cabin on the other side of the shed. Yep. Where the kids can play, somewhere they can keep their toys and that way it doesn't matter how messy it gets because, you know, we can use this space for ourselves but we can also double up and have it as somewhere where friends and family can stay when they visit us. What about plans for gardens and things like that? Yeah, so we're running on tank water at the moment which means that our resources are limited in that respect. We would like to bore down for water because then it's unlimited. There's a fair bit of cost involved with that though but it is something we'd like to do in the future and then once we've got that unlimited water then we can get livestock and... Grow veggies. Grow veggies, yeah. I love that. Very exciting. Well, I just think your property is beautiful. I love the home that you've created. I love the experience that you are creating for your young family and I cannot wait to see where this place goes from here. Thank you so much for sharing your home with me. Thanks, Bryce. Doug Stone wrote this song called Little Houses and the lyrics go something like love grows best in little houses with few walls to separate where you eat and sleep so close together you can't help but communicate and that song so perfectly reminds me of exactly what Brian and Lorena have created here with this wonderful little home. It's a tiny place where love and their family can grow big together and that's beautiful.