Having a little getaway home out in the desert has always been a dream of mine. It was also one for my friend Ben Uyeda, who recently made it a reality! Who is Ben? If you’re not familiar, he’s not only an architect, designer, author, and maker extraodinaire (he’s even given a TED talk!) Ben is also the guy behind HomeMade Modern and the Homemade Modern Youtube Channel, where he shows his viewers how to make all kinds of cool DIY projects.
Which brings us to Joshua Tree. I recently went there to visit Ben’s new desert home – a home made out of shipping containers! Ben has been documenting the whole process on via his instagram stories, and he also has been producing episodes on a dedicated youtube channel just for the project. I sat down with him to get the low down:
How did the idea for building a home out of shipping containers come about?
I am always looking for a new design / making a challenge and there is a lot of misinformation out there about shipping container houses. I saw this project as an opportunity to experiment, learn, and share results on a topic that has a lot of interest – but few answers. I approached Home Depot with the idea and they jumped on board as a sponsor.
Where does one go to actually purchase a shipping container? Are there any special requirements needed?
Containers are in circulation everywhere but it is really important to buy one that has a traceable history. I suggest “one trip” containers that were made after 2017. You wouldn’t want a container that has had toxic or even radioactive materials in it. Containers made before 2017 are likely to have lead in the paint. I bought my “one-trip” containers from https://www.containerdiscounts.com/ and the delivered them to my land in Joshua Tree.
Why did you choose Joshua Tree?
I have been coming to Joshua tree with friends for the last 10 years and love the place. On the business side of things i saw that the number of visitors to the park is increasing year over year and that an Airbnb property could do really well.
How long did the actual build take?
Physical construction took about 20 weeks and some of that was also waiting for permits, inspections, or utility companies.
In any kind of construction, there’s always the possibility for something unexpected to come up. What was the biggest challenge you experienced that you didn’t anticipate before hand?
The biggest challenge was getting the permits. California is a regulation intensive state that makes building any type of new home expensive and time-consuming.
If you were to give one piece of advice to someone considering doing a similar project, what would that be?
Building a new house is not like buying an existing house. it is harder to get financing and you need to have quite a bit of cash on hand for construction contingencies. plan conservatively and don’t fall in love with any one idea that you saw online. Shipping container houses are cool but they are only affordable if you build it yourself or find someone willing to give you a binding quote at an affordable rate.
As I mentioned, Ben has documented the entire process on his Youtube Channel, as well as getting very detailed in his Instagram stories (under ContainerHouse in his story highlights)
Here’s the first episode below:
See the rest of the episodes here, and follow Ben on his main channels where he is also now making custom furniture pieces and other projects for the home (and showing you how to do it yourself!) : @benjaminuyeda HomeMadeModern Youtube