Believe it or not, there was a time when shipping container homes seemed like nothing more than a novel idea. While many saw the sustainability benefits from building a home with recycled shipping containers, most thought they looked much too ugly to call home. Well thankfully there are talented designers out there, with a much better knack for creativity and design than us. It’s these designers, architects, and outside of the box thinkers that have taken the trend of shipping container homes to new heights over the years. What was once just a bizarre thought has now become the ultimate dream for many of us.

These days there are a handful of companies waiting to make your dream become a reality, some right here in the United States. These steel shipping container homes (often referred to as storage container houses) are completely manufactured in a factory-controlled environment, so there is no need to worry about reliability or quality control. All you have to do is supply the land, and the money of course. Next comes the design process. What exactly are you looking for? Would you like a single container transformed into a small studio or office space? Or how about a collection of shipping containers fused together in order to create a much more spacious residence? We’ve been writing about these things for years, and have amassed a collection of the best shipping container houses to help you get inspired for your project (or just drool over). So without further ado, we present to you, the 15 greatest shipping container homes on the planet – in no particular order.

1. $40,000 Containers Of Hope Residence

With a $40,000 budget, Benjamin Garcia Saxe used two 40-foot long shipping containers to create this cozy 1,000 square feet space. The home is located in San Jose, Costa Rica, and proves you don’t need deep pockets to fund a shipping container home project. [Details]

2. Colorado Shipping Container Home by Studio H:T

The design team at Studio H:T thought a bit outside of the box with this one. Rather than build the entire home from shipping containers, they chose to add 2 storage containers to the outsides of a pre-existing structure. The residence is nestled on a ledge in Nederland, Colorado, and includes roof mounted solar panels, passive cooling, and much more. [Details]

3. Six-Unit Shipping Container Home

Based in Flagstaff, Arizona, this collection of 6 shipping containers has been criss-crossed every which way to create an amazing dwelling. The home features concrete floors, large glass windows, rooftop terrace, industrial finishes, and red brick colored stairs to really tie the space together nicely. The project took 2 years to complete as a student-designer collaboration. [Details]

4. Maison Container Life Residence

Another instance of multiple shipping containers being used, the Maison Container Life project was designed by French architect Patrick Partouche. There are 8 different containers, creating 2,238 square feet of living space. This residence took just three days to build, although they did have some help from some very large cranes. [Details]

5. Colorful Sao Paulo Shipping Container Residence

Rather than build the actual home from shipping containers, renowned Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan chose to integrate massive, vibrantly colored containers to the mix by stacking them all throughout the living space. [Details]

6. Shipping Container Guest House by Poteet Architects

Guest houses are typically small anyway, so why not build yours from a recycled shipping container? Designed by the team at Poteet Architects, this modern living space spans 360 square feet, and has everything one would need from a living room and study area, right down to the bathroom and patio. [Details]

7. Mojave Desert Shipping Container Home

Built by the folks at Ectotech Design, this is is the first ever shipping container residence to be constructed in the Mojave Desert. The 2,300 square foot home (known as the Tim Palen Studio at Shadow Mountain) is located near Joshua Tree, and encompasses six shipping containers along with pre-engineered steel components. The home includes one bedroom along with 1.5 bathrooms. [Details]

8. San Francisco Shipping Container Office & Guest Bedroom

Okay so technically it’s not a shipping container home, but the use of containers for this project could not be overlooked. Seeing that they have a large open space in their San Francisco loft, couple Jeff Wardell and Claudia Sagan placed 2 shipping containers right off the living room. One container serves as a guest house, while the other serves as a fully functional home office. [Details]

9. Stacked Shipping Container Home in Spain

Located in El Tiemblo, Spain (a province of Avila) this project materialized back in 2010, and still looks great to this day. There are 4 different 40-foot shipping containers making up the 2,000 square feet of living space. The project was designed by James & Mau Arquitectura while Infinski actually built it out. [Details]

10. Savannah Woods Shipping Container Dwelling

A young couple residing in the woodsy town of Savannah, Georgia commissioned Price Street Projects for this tiny home. While it might not look like much from the outside, the white walls, dark floors and skylights provide a nice modern touch throughout the dwelling. [Details]

11. Six Oaks Shipping Container Residence

Looking to create the ultimate getaway in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a local family hired David Fenster of Modulus in sunny California to build this beauty. Fenster went with darker containers than many of the projects on this list, and situated the home atop an old railway that now serves as an underground escape route during an emergency. The home is 1,200 square feet. [Details]

12. Redondo Beach Shipping Container House

Located just north of us in Los Angeles, this stunning home did a standup job combining traditional building materials with prefabricated shipping containers. Built as a collaboration project between DeMaria Design and Logical Homes, this residence has everything one could ever ask for – including close proximity to the beach. [Details]

13. Port-A-Bach Shipping Container Home

Designed to be inexpensive and portable, the Port-A-Bach is the exact picture that comes to mind when we think of storage container dwellings. The tiny home was built back in 2007 by the team at Atelierworkshop, and features a double bed alongside 2 fold out bunk beds, providing sleeping quartes for up to 4 people. Unfolding the boxy home provides a nice deck to enjoy to enjoy everything the great outdoors has to offer. [Details]

14. Shipping Container Complex in Scotland

Taking a different approach than many on the list, Edo Architecture was commissioned to design an entire complex of rentable shipping container residences in Cove Park, Scotland. The team welded 6 shipping containers together to create a tiny little waterfront resort. [Details]

15. Zigloo Domestique Shipping Container Home in Canada

Considered one of the very first shipping container homes in Canada, this dwelling was built using a total of eight 20-foot shipping containers. The home spans 1,920 square feet, and was designed by Keith Dewey. [Details]