East Atomic Ranch Container Home

The East Atomic Ranch Container Home in Austin is a tiny backyard container house that lives much bigger than its footprint. It also has tons of interior and exterior style that have made it a hit on Airbnb.

Building small is often an opportunity masked as a constraint. It gives you the chance to try new things to maximize space that you likely wouldn’t have attempted with a larger building. For the owner of the East Atomic Ranch Shipping Container, several innovative design ideas presented themselves through the reduced size of the home.

But before we get into the specifics, let’s first get our bearings. This is a backyard ADU (accessory dwelling unit) in a residential neighborhood of Austin, Texas. The main house is actually available for rent as well, in addition to a separate non-container tiny home on the property. Together, the various structures on this suburban lot comprise what the owner calls the East Atomic Ranch.

The name presumably is a nod to the modern design evident in all of the short-term rental listings here, with the container home certainly included. It’s a style that is fitting for Austin in general, and the even more eclectic East Side of Austin in particular.

The owner stated that the overall inspiration of the East Atomic Ranch including the container tiny home is from El Cosmico, a hotel in the west Texas artistic mecca of Marfa, Texas. So let’s explore the design choices in this 20 foot container home that showcase some of these inspirational ideas.

You approach the container home through a side alley with concrete steps surrounded by contrasting color gravel, then enter through a custom metal gate. Already, there’s a feeling of modernity.

The container home is slightly elevated above ground level on a series of concrete piers, then surrounded by an expansive deck on two sides. So even though the interior is small, there is a surprising amount of outdoor living space if the weather allows its use.

Your eye probably catches one of two things about the house, both of which are worth describing in detail. First is the absolutely huge picture frame window that takes up almost half the side of the container. Together with the glass front doors on the end of the container, this window brings in tons of natural light.

The second obvious element of the home is the loft area accented with wood paneling. The loft, accessible via a retractable ladder from inside the home, is the primary sleeping area of the container house. Taking a page from the more common mobile tiny homes on wheels, this container home has a hole cut in the roof, and this lofted area is constructed in its place. The loft rises roughly three feet above the container roofline.

The container loft is a smart way to get additional living space without any additional building footprint. After all, how often are you standing up in your bed? If never, why do you need a full-height ceiling in this area when a loft would suffice?

Granted, anyone with impaired mobility is going to have trouble accessing the near-vertical ladder that leads to the loft. Luckily, this container rental unit also includes a fold-out couch that offers room for additional guests on the main level.

When that couch isn’t serving as a bed though, it’s the central piece of furniture in the main area of the container house. Whether you’re watching the high-mounted TV or admiring the outdoors through the windows, the couch is where you’ll likely spend a lot of time.

Adjacent to the living area is the small kitchenette, with a dorm-size refrigerator, small sink, and limited cabinetry. You’re not going to be doing much cooking here, but with tons of restaurants in the area, most guests probably wouldn’t want to cook anyway.

A wooden barn door slides open to access the bathroom at the far end of the container. Here, elegant gray tile continues the industrial aesthetic that still hints at a touch of luxury. The bathroom is small but still offers a walk-in shower, small sink, and toilet.

If you weren’t paying attention, you might completely miss the lofted bedroom area. A custom metal ladder folds up into the ceiling when not in use, so there’s really nothing that pulls your eye upward other than the hole in the ceiling that doubles as a light shaft from the windows in the loft.

Once you climb up the ladder, you’ll find a mattress laying on the floor of the loft with quite a bit of room to the side between it and the custom railing. Up here, there’s another wall-mounted TV if you’re too tired to make it down to the living area. And the mini-split HVAC unit is up here as well, ensuring an optimal temperature for your sleep.

We think the East Atomic Ranch Shipping Container Home is a great size for a backyard ADU. Thanks to the loft, it feels livable despite only taking up 160 square feet of backyard space. And with all the natural light and deck access, you don’t feel cooped up.

While this type of small design is probably best for a weekend cabin or short-term rental, some people might find a small container home with a loft suitable for full-time occupancy. The great news is that this container home can be rented on Airbnb, so you don’t have to wonder if you’d like something like this before committing to building or buying one.

We always recommend spending a day or two at a container home like this one to see how it feels. Do the walls of a single-width container home feel too narrow, or do the windows make you forget you’re in a room that is less than 8 feet wide? Is using a ladder to access the bedroom loft annoying, or do you hardly notice it and appreciate the elevated views?

Take some time to explore this design, and consider visiting it or one of the other container homes in our Container Project Database. It’s the best way to get inspiration for unique design ideas and find out if you actually would enjoy living with them!