Missouri couple makes an affordable, recycled home out of shipping containers Zach and Brie Smithey of St. Charles, Missouri, have remodeled several homes, but none of them were the perfect fit. ?We were looking for something that wasn?t quite the norm,? Zach explains.
?We renovated homes built in 1880, 1904, and the 1970s. With each house, we got closer to our flavor, but never quite hit it,? he says. ?We realized that to do something different, we had to start from scratch?to get what we really wanted, we couldn?t follow someone else?s template.?
When they purchased an empty lot in 2011, they pictured building a more traditional house made out of conventional materials. But as the years passed, their vision shifted, and at some point, they stopped thinking about what a house should be and began wondering what other forms it might take. Ideas such as a concrete house, a geodesic dome, and a tiny house were weighed and rejected. ?Realistically, how many people could live in a tiny house for the rest of their lives"? wonders Brie.
When Zach and Brie Smithey designed and built their container house, they left some of the metal uncovered, creating an effect that could be compared to exposed brick in a more conventional house. The art is by Zack, from a Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln series.

The couple doesn?t remember how the concept was raised, but when the idea of a container house came on their radar, it immediately felt right. ?I had neve...