Flowerpot couple breaks into Tasmanian housing market with shipping container dream home
Meet the young newlyweds breaking the mould and embracing an unconventional approach to homeownership by building their dream house out of shipping containers. Photos, video >>
Tasmania
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A pair of newlyweds are embracing an unconventional approach to home ownership by building their dream house out of shipping containers amid sky-high building costs and a challenging real estate market.
The Flowerpot couple tied the knot in November and wanted to see how far they could get building a home with a small budget and a bit of DIY.
They hope to inspire other young Tasmanians trying to break into the housing market.
“This was a good opportunity for us to have a beautiful home, in the location we want without the massive expenses that come with a traditional build,” owner Kiara Rolf said, “It’s been a pretty awesome journey and adventure to go on with your partner.”
The build began in February and the Rolfs hope to have it finished by June.
The couple has learned plenty of new skills throughout the process of assisting the builder, with plumber Josh also lending his expertise.
“We chose to do this as a way to be creative, think outside the box in terms of building and not going down that conventional route and being more eco-friendly, sustainable and recycle something,” Mrs Rolf said.
“If we went conventional, one of our wages would completely go to the mortgage,” she said.
The original quotes they received for a conventional home ranged from $550-730k for just two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
With their $230k budget for their shipping container home, the couple will have three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
“The main thing you save so much money with is you avoid the framing costs, in that period you can wait up to three weeks so you avoid that process completely.”
“With the containers, it went from nothing to a whole house structure in 12 hours,” Mrs Rolf said.
The newlyweds bought the block of land back in 2017 and previously lived in Kingston but wanted to get out of the suburbia lifestyle for more space, land and views.
The couple received inspiration for their build on social media and had a practice run converting a 40-foot container into a home and sold it last year.
The couple bought their pre-furbished spaces from family owned Tassie Containers.
Director Wayne Silver said they saw an opening in the market for custom conversion, where they could offer a more affordable alternative for building.
“We had our biggest peak in Covid which has continued on,” Mr Silver said, “There’s a lot going in for Airbnb and for kids who can’t go out and afford their first home.”
The Rolfs started an Instagram page following the build and have since received plenty of positive feedback from friends and the community wanting to follow in their footsteps.
To follow the couple’s build, visit southern_highcube on Instagram.
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