10 Best Shipping Container Home Plans

Don’t contain yourself! The global market for container homes is projected to grow from $59.27 billion in 2022 to $87.11 billion by 2029. And it’s no surprise — container homes are eco-friendly, affordable, and stylish, and they’re only getting more popular as time passes.

Yet, there are so many different shipping container plans you can choose from. What are the best shipping container home plans? Here is your guide to the top plans we recommend. 

The Container Guest House by Poteet Architects creates a studio-style one-bedroom home or an Accessory Dwelling Unit. It can be built using a 20-foot container and the house contains a bathroom, deck area, and living space.

You can design the interior however you want. The property has a large window wall to let in natural light, but you can also connect the building to electricity and hang lights from the ceiling and walls. You can use part of the home as a shed, storage area, or additional bedroom. 

This 160-square-foot design offers all the amenities of a studio apartment in a small footprint — built with just a single 20-foot container. The Nook has space for a small kitchenette with a microwave and refrigerator and boasts a modern bathroom with a sink, shower, and toilet.

The Nook is a great choice for adding an external shipping container home office to your property or could even be used as a little rental cabin. For those brave enough to live super-small-scale, The Nook could be a great way to take advantage of affordable tiny home living.

The Pioneer is 320 square feet and contains one bedroom, one bathroom, and a spacious galley kitchen. It uses just one 40-foot container, so this container home plan is a popular choice for those looking to maximize a small footprint.

Thanks to its built-in wardrobe, full-sized kitchen appliances, and full-sized bathtub, a single person or a couple could comfortably live in The Pioneer.

If you’re looking for a two-story container home, the Short Stack from Custom Container Living is a great choice. This shipping container house plan uses three 20-foot containers and creates a 480-square-foot house. By stacking one container on top of the other two, this design creates a rooftop deck to help you enjoy the great outdoors.

The Short Stack includes a living space, kitchen, and bathroom downstairs. A quick trip up a cool spiral staircase leads to the bedroom and that roof deck! 

LOT-EK’s 4 X 40 c-Home is made from four 40-foot shipping containers. The property has two levels with an open layout on each floor, giving you options for customization. You can have a large kitchen, living space, and two bedrooms. The bedrooms have en suites, stair accesses, and walk-in closets. Both bedrooms are on the second floor, so you can use the first floor as a full living and dining area.

You can have two decks in your home. One can be used as a garden or outside storage space, and the other as a dining and entertainment space. 

The Triple Trio container house plan from Custom Container Living offers 960 square feet of space across three 40-foot shipping containers. The layout includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Plus, you get a nice open-plan living, dining, and kitchen space, a laundry room, and a primary bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and walk-in closet. The Triple Trio is a great option for larger families looking for a bit more space to spread out. 

The HO5+ by Honomobo is one of the most luxurious shipping container home plans. The home contains three bedrooms, one of which has an en-suite bathroom. The center of the property includes a den or storage area with two access points.

The living and dining rooms are open-concept spaces, so you can install any furniture you want. The kitchen contains an island for serving, cooking, and eating. Your home can have a staircase that leads to an attached garage or basement, though these are just options. If you need a spare bedroom, you can convert the garage into a primary bedroom. 

The 4 Bedroom Container Home places three 40-foot containers a bit apart from each other — rather than directly connecting them. Instead, roofs connect the containers, creating breezeways you can turn into outdoor living areas or decks. The left and right containers each have two bedrooms, and the middle container has a family area, lounge, and kitchen. You can also put a laundry room with a washing machine and dryer in the central space.

This concept is great for families with teenagers or older children who need more space. You could even rent one part out to someone and use the other two for yourself. 

Ecoliv’s four-bedroom Sanctuary is one of the most environmentally friendly shipping container home plans. The property contains sustainable features like a solar-powered electric system and a 10,000-liter water tank. The floors are made of Tasmanian oak, which has a minimal impact on the environment.

You can choose from several different design styles and floor plans. For example, your home can have two separate dining areas, a living room, an office space, and two full bathrooms.

The Lindendale is an industrial-style five-bedroom property. The home plan preserves your containers' original locks and surfaces and pairs them with metal railings. You can paint the exterior any color you want, though most prefer dark brown or black.

The exterior has a spacious covered patio and an area for a pool, garden, or meditation space. The interior has open living rooms and family areas where you can add your own electronics, artwork, and furniture.