Video
About Alternative Living Spaces
| Project | The Green Box |
| Builder | Alternative Living Spaces |
| Containers | One 20 ft |
| Location | The Big Island, Hawaii |
| Year | 2024 |
Some of those who choose to downsize and move into a tiny house do so out of conviction, because they want to adopt minimalism and turn to more sustainable living practices to minimize their environmental footprint. Others are simply trying to survive and make ends meet in an era of lack of affordable housing solutions.
Brandie is one of those people who chose to live alternatively out of necessity. Her family has been living on the beautiful island of Hawaii for generations, and she wanted to be able to come back to her roots and live on the island whenever she felt like it. Unfortunately, with the exorbitant prices on the Hawaiian housing market, after selling her family's home in Hilo, she couldn't afford to build a new house or buy a pre-existing one.
However, she couldn't let herself be "priced out of paradise," so she decided to take a different approach to fulfilling her dream of homeownership on the Big Island. He bought a shipping container and turned it into a beautiful off-grid tiny home that offers her an affordable living option in Hawaii. It’s not her permanent residence, but it is equipped with all the amenities needed for a comfortable stay.
Brandie's container tiny home is called The Green Box, and if you've browsed the picture gallery, you probably know why. It measures 25 feet long by 8 feet by 9 feet high and sits on a triple-axle travel trailer, which helps it abide by local regulations regarding mobile homes and makes it easy to move around.
It was built by Alternative Living Spaces, a Las Vegas-based small business that specializes in transforming shipping containers into customizable homes and is tucked into the lush Hawaiian scenery. Surrounded by mandarin, orange, jackfruit, mango, and coconut trees, this grass green-painted house on wheels blends in with the surroundings. Moreover, with a five-foot picture window and two 8 by 5-foot floor-to-ceiling slider windows, it allows the owners to truly feel connected with nature.
These large windows bring in plenty of natural light, blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor while also creating a great cross breeze to bring you in that wild jungle environment. There is also an outdoor folding deck where Brandie and her partner can sip their coffee while watching the birds and the beautiful scenery.
The interior has been designed as a comfortable holiday home in the jungle with four functional areas: the outdoor deck, the kitchen and dining area, the living room/bedroom space, and a full-size bathroom. To increase space efficiency and keep things clean and organized, Brandie used multifunctional furniture, such as a Murphy bed and a rolling table.
The nine-foot kitchen has plenty of cabinetry and generous counter space and is properly equipped to offer full functionality. This makes the container feel more like a house because you're not confined to a tiny kitchenette and you're not forced to cook on a little RV stove. It's fitted with a large sink, an undercounter fridge, and an induction cooktop. Across the cooking space is a beautiful live-edge breakfast table. It's on wheels, so it can be moved around and serve multiple purposes.
The center of the house is a multi-purpose space that is used as both a living room and a bedroom. That's made possible by the inclusion of a full-size sofa with integrated drawers and a space-saving Murphy bed. Past the bedroom, there is an open shoe rack and a custom shelf with a slide-out rack for jackets and coats.
The bathroom is surprisingly spacious for a container home, with a full-size shower cabin, a vanity that matches the style of the kitchen cabinets, a large ceramic sink, and a toilet. It was very important for Brandie to avoid the feeling of being in a trailer, so she added floating shelves, potted plants, and a nature-themed shower curtain to make it feel more lively.
What's more, Brandie's home is completely off-grid, with a clever water catchment system, six solar panels on the roof for a total of 2,600 watts of solar power, electrical appliances, a mini-split, and a dry flush toilet. All these help her keep living costs down, as she never has to pay for water or electricity.
For those moments when Brandie and her partner are not living in the container home, it was also important to create a secure and waterproof structure. So all the windows and doors have sliding metal covers that close up the house and keep it secure from burglars and tropical storms.
Though The Green Box is not her permanent home, Brandie thinks that container homes are a viable, cheaper alternative to traditional houses that would allow many to stay in areas where real estate prices have gone through the roof. In addition, the minimalist lifestyle it entrails would allow people to rethink their priorities and discover new life possibilities.
Video
About Alternative Living Spaces
Inspired by the need for there to be an affordable housing alternative, ALT is a leader in the container housing industry and in the new wave of modern modular construction. Based in Las Vegas, NV, we are committed to expanding and having a global impact.
| Address | 6500 W. Richmar Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89139 | |
| Phone | +1 725-225-1371 | |
| https://www.facebook.com/alternativelivingspaces/ | ||
| https://www.instagram.com/alternativelivingspaces/ | ||
| info@alternativelivingspaces.com | ||
| Website | https://www.alternativelivingspaces.com/ |
| Hours Open | |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8AM–4:00PM |
| Tuesday | 8AM–4:00PM |
| Wednesday | 8AM–4:00PM |
| Thursday | 8AM–4:00PM |
| Friday | 8AM–4:00PM |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
Links
- https://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-green-box-is-an-off-grid-container-tiny-home-tucked-into-the-lush-hawaiian-scenery-243739.html
- https://www.thecooldown.com/green-home/the-green-box-hawaii-shipping-container-tiny-home/
20 ft Off-Grid Shipping Container Home on Wheels, Hawaii