While it would be
wonderful to buy a pre-fab cargo home off the shelf, they tend to have
inflated bottom lines and do not have my prized qualities in mind within their
design. I want to keep it one level, so that it is easy to age in place
and not have to go up stairs. To add room to the narrow width of
Cargo-tecture, most builders weld together containers. In my estimation
two 40 ft High Capacity containers is still too small, because they lack
virtually any storage space. A third container might be a good size, but the
hollowing out through welding really seems to considerably drive up
costs. So I may have to go another way.
Jon and Kristen Meiers' designed a stunning "Modern Farmhouse" container home for their show on DIY Network. The design linked
two 40 ft HC units with a covered breezeway. This solution gave plenty of
habitable space. It was intended as a place where a Texas grandmother could host her daughter and two teenaged grandsons, so one of the bedrooms was decked out with bunkbeds. On the episode, all seemed happy that it met their stated needs.
Reality Television is replete with home makeover shows, which is great for for sparking creativity and inspiring appealing designs. But reality shows often do not represent reality, more like Reality Blurred. Enquiring minds might wonder what is the rest of the story, as to whether the design concept really worked as living space.
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| Backcountry Container (Jon Meier) design of DIY Modern Farmhouse on Contain-ables |
Reality Television is replete with home makeover shows, which is great for for sparking creativity and inspiring appealing designs. But reality shows often do not represent reality, more like Reality Blurred. Enquiring minds might wonder what is the rest of the story, as to whether the design concept really worked as living space.
The Contain-able Modern Farmhouse seemed great, but as I studied the design, the plans did not account for a television watching area. Granted, that may have been a conscious choice. But the space also did not have any real closet or storage space in it. My best guess is that it was a weekend retreat aimed at extended family outings but it would for full time living it would need storage supplementals.
Another reality home improvement show which told compelling stories but sometimes proferred questionable designs was TLC's Trading Spaces (2000-2008), which has recently been revived. Trading Spaces would have two couples redo a neighbor's room over two days on a budget under the tutelage of a celebrity designer and shared carpenter. Many of the show pieces were thematic and provocative, sometimes resulting in cringeworthy conclusions, especially from notorious designer Hildi Santo-Tomas. The Beach Cabana Living Room looked more like a Circus Big Top filled with river sand. Then there was straw living room which festoonied walls with hay for a household with two curious children prone to pluck straw the more adult gathering space. Reportedly, producers paid to correct the epic fail and it took 17 hours to fix the mess.
The lessons that I've learned from Reality Blurred is to clearly discern lifestyle and practical considerations when designing a dream home and not to be afraid to customize cargotecture to suit those priorities. Presumably there will be a tension between being stylish and being practical. But because I will have to live with the decision, I want any Cargotecture to be right size both spacially and liveable.
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