Tiny Victoria DIY Container Home

This shipping container tiny home in British Columbia was built as a DIY project but has a very high build quality. You’ll be surprised how much of a livable home the owner created in such a tiny space.

The home’s owner, Lance, found the construction of the home to almost be therapeutic in the way it gave him something to focus on and a sense of accomplishment. We’ve all heard the adage, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Lance was faced with the death of a good friend followed by the death of his mother a short time later, and it caused him to really want to reprioritize his life.

Before building this container home, Lance was living in Northern Alberta, working 12+ hours days designing roads. While he making good money, he felt isolated from friends, family, and a social life.

He was almost reawakened by the loss of his loved ones and a newfound desire to make the life he still had more purposeful. So he quit his job and moved back closer to family in the area near Victoria on Vancouver Island. He realized he was tired of running the rat race and wanted to find a life that was simpler.

Part of that new life meant dramatically cutting his expenses so he could reduce his cost of living and thus the amount of money he needed to earn. Free from the corporate environment, he wanted to pursue being a hockey coach and member of the local artistic community.

His grandfather owned some acreage that he could use, so he quickly decided that building and living in a tiny shipping container home was the next step in his journey. By having a tight budget, he’d be able to get housing that was much more affordable than other alternatives, yet still safe, durable, and customized to his needs.

And by nature of living in a tiny home, he’d have to focus on minimalism and let go of some of the possessions that were bogging him down in life. Furthermore, living tiny would also mean his operating costs would be much less because utilities, furnishings, and upkeep are much cheaper for a smaller space.

Lance started with a 20-foot shipping container but felt he needed a little extra space. So he took the creative step of adding a 4-foot extension onto the home by opening the two containers doors at 90 degrees and enclosing the space between them. His home, now effectively 24-foot long, gained an extra 32 gross square feet.

When you enter the home from the side of the container, you’re immediately thrust into the kitchen. There’s a large refrigerator, double sink, and ample countertop and cabinet space. The counter is made from wood with a glossy coating, giving it an almost butcher block appearance. To the left is a doorway that leads to the bathroom, and adjacent to it is another set of cabinets along with a two-burner propane cooktop.

Entering the doorway to the bathroom, you have a full-size shower on your right and provisions for a toilet on the left. Lance hasn’t actually installed a toilet as of yet, choosing to use an outhouse or perhaps the bathroom in the main house on occasion.

The bathroom in the container is certainly tiny, probably no more than three feet wide or so. Its size is minimized by doing without a sink. Instead, the sink in the kitchen pulls double duty. After all, it’s only a step or two away, and when you have less than 200 square feet of space to work with, you can’t afford to have unnecessary duplication.

Back out of the bathroom and walking toward the other end of the container, you face the bedroom. Here, a foam mattress is placed on top of a system of three massive drawers that hold all of Lance’s clothes and personal items. With each drawer being almost five feet long, that’s actually quite a bit of space. 

Up against the wall is a good-sized TV on a pivoting mount that allows it to be viewed from the kitchen or while laying in bed. There are a few smaller shelves above and near the bed, but the walls are actually kept pretty empty save for some of the artwork Lance has collected.

He’s actually put quite a bit of thought into decorating his tiny living space. Most obvious is the large Arbutus tree branch that stretches across the width of the container and is covered in ivy. But there’s also a terrarium as well as several cool driftwood stumps and rocks tucked into various nooks of the home.

Together with the peaceful view of the forest out the home’s windows, Lance’s decorating helps impart a sense of nature and calmness to his space. And that’s exactly what he wanted.

His ability to stay comfortable in the home is aided not only by the aesthetic but by the temperature level. He used a combination of 1/2 spray foam and 1/2 polystyrene board to insulate the container, with a total of 4 inches in the walls and 6 inches in the ceiling.

This gives the home impressive R-values and makes it a very efficient space to heat. Given the weather patterns on Vancouver Island, it’s usually never hotter than about 65°F. Staying warm is the primary concern, but with just a simple radiative heater plus an occasional candle or two, Lance is able to stay nice and toasty in his container.

When you actually look at everything the home contains and the quality of the craftsmanship, it’s easy to imagine it was a professional build with a steep price tag. But thanks to being creative and doing much of the work himself (along with a little help from friends), Lance kept the costs down to about CAD 14,000 (roughly $10,500 at 2019 currency conversion rates).

With the small size and only a 30A electrical service needed to run the few appliances like the refrigerator and TV, operating the home is quite affordable too. Lance stripped life back to the essentials, but he doesn’t seem to feel like he’s sacrificing anything at all.

Instead, he seems immersed in a place that feeds his soul and continues to provide him healing. By moving into a tiny home, he’s been able to live closer to the people important to him and focus his efforts on creative and meaningful work that brings him joy. What more can you ask for?