What is a home? Is it a small cottage in the mountain, a luxurious mansion, or an ultramodern apartment in the city center?

For me, home is what is inside the four walls, the smell of cookies from the kitchen, the smile during the morning coffee, the laughter I hear from the backyard, and the peace I feel when we all lie down on the couch in the living room in the evenings.

One couple decided to make two shipping containers their alternative home, and they were quite successful in it!

Instead of living in debts and mortgages, Jaimie and Dave, a couple from Cowlitz County, made their home from one 20ft container and another 40ft one. Inside their home, they have everything they need, and filled it with love and joy.

Jaimie said:

“…We thought, how hard is it to stick a couple of containers together? It’s like legos, right?” 

They bought a small piece of land and spent about $80k turning two metal boxes into their amazing home. Their entire home is DIY built, from its structure, plumbing, electrical wirings, welding, and all the construction work.

After they calculated the cost to build the home, they started working Mondays to Thursday, and Fridays and the weekends were reserved for constructing the house.

In ten months, it was ready to welcome them.  And it looks spectacular! There is a beautiful bedroom upstairs, and a spacious lounge, kitchen, pantry, and a bathroom on the first floor.

Moreover, their garden is magical! Midway through the process, Dave suffered  a spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage.

Yet, with mutual support and strength, they managed to overcome the obstacle and did not give up. The process of building was actually an important part of Dave’s mental and physical recovery!

Smiling, Jaimie said that it was a valuable lesson:

“I think what this has taught us about ourselves is that we can do things that are really, really hard that if we do them together, we can definitely accomplish it.”