Nestled between the tiny towns of Pinedale and Boulder, Wyoming, lies a community steeped in rugged natural beauty. This idyllic setting just off US Highway 191 is the backdrop for a surprising container residence that uses shipping containers configured in an H-shape. It’s not a container configuration we see all that commonly, so it definitely caught our eye.
The High Meadow Ranch community is blessed with large residential lots that have breathtaking views and proximity to Wyoming’s untamed wilderness. Towering mountains, rolling hills, and lush meadows surround the area, providing an awe-inspiring panorama that changes with the seasons. And just minutes away, you open up a world of thousands of acres of public land anchored by the Wind River Range.
It’s no wonder that a creative builder wanted to take advantage of the natural scenery. nearby amenities, and incredible recreational opportunities. But enough about the area, let’s talk about the container house!
Two 40-foot containers and one 20-foot container are combined into an H-shape, as previously mentioned. This configuration has several pros and cons, which are worth discussing.
The H-layout essentially creates two wings of the house, one public and one private. It also allows for both front and back patios that are surrounded by the home on three sides, ensuring both privacy and a break from the wind.
The downside is that despite having multiple containers, no part of the home is wider than one container, meaning narrow room widths just like with much smaller container homes. Additionally, the sprawling floorplan and narrow rooms can make HVAC difficult, especially with the split units that are common in container homes.
Nevertheless, there is a lot to like about this unique home. You start from the front patio, where you step under an inviting wood pergola and notice the matching wood trim on the surrounding windows. Wood is also used to fill in the gaps below the bottom side rails of each container, and to support the shingled shed roof above.
As you step onto a small landing and into a sliding glass door cut into the side of the 20-foot container, you enter the foyer that connects the two wings. In front of you is a duplicate sliding glass door, this one leading to the back patio. Altogether, the front and back patios account for 520 square feet of space! Back inside, the left side of the home (from the front) is the residential wing.
The 40-foot container of the residential wing is divided into front and back bedrooms separated by a full bathroom. Each bedroom has a small closet, but you’ll want to pack a light wardrobe given the size. In fact, there isn’t much storage in the entirety of this container home, although you probably wouldn’t expect much given that it’s only 800 gross square feet.
Going back to the foyer and turning toward the right side of the home, you approach the public wing. Here you have the small dining area, kitchen, a half bathroom that also serves as the laundry area, and the living room. Everything is bright, full of light, and built with high-end materials like quartz countertops and including appliances from Kitchen Aid and Electrolux.
The intersection of the 20-foot and 40-foot containers creates an open T-shaped space where the living, cooking, and dining spaces all come together. Coupled with the natural light, it does make the area feel larger than it actually is.
Now, let’s talk more about the construction of the home. It’s built on a perimeter foundation with a crawl space, which gives a little bit of storage and easy access to under-floor utilities if maintenance or repair is ever needed.
The shingled shed roofs are sloped to reduce snow accumulation and their supporting structures provide a nice vertical surface for those wood accents we see in other areas of the house’s exterior. The wing containers are painted a contrasting color from the inner 20-foot container, which helps break up the elevation view of the home. A similar theme carries into the inside, where the 20-foot container has a dark, shiplap interior while the rest of the home has lighter-painted drywall.
In the walls and ceiling, three to five inches of polyurethane spray foam was added to give up to R35 insulation. And high-efficiency doors and windows from Simonton help reduce heat losses from those gorgeous views. Clearly, the home was designed and built to promote a low-maintenance, innovative, and efficient way of living.
