Camden Avenue Container House

Combining the best aspects of shipping container construction and traditional architecture, this novel home is sure to capture your interest. It’s set in the Detroit metro suburb of Ferndale, amidst an older neighborhood of traditionally built homes.

But one look at this home shows it’s anything from ordinary. From the street, the colors and lines clearly signal the contemporary design. The stacked set of five horizontal windows beside the front door, the two intersecting roof lines, and the staggered texture across the elevation view all provide character.

Peering slightly to the right, just in front of the separate garage, gives a view of perhaps the home’s most distinctive exterior element: the second-floor porch made from a container. By cutting two of the sides off of a container and replacing them with steel columns and railing, this container is transformed into a covered, indoor-outdoor space.

Inside the home, modern touches surround you. It starts with the Nest thermostat and Ring doorbell security system, then transitions to the high-end fixtures and cabinetry. There are also quartz countertops and 20-foot ceilings in some of the public areas.

While the home is built with four containers, you only catch a few glimpses of this from the inside. Other than a small section of one container, most of the flooring in the house is polished concrete or wood. You can also see the corrugated metal of the shipping container porch from the second-floor catwalk above the kitchen and master bedroom.

One other bedroom has an ensuite bathroom as well, while the remaining two bedrooms do without. But, there are 1.5 other bathrooms in the house to use.

We really appreciate the thought that went into this container home. While the majority of the home is traditionally constructed, the design intentionally showcases the porch container from the interior and exterior.