London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Ship Shape: An Austin Home With a Shipping Container Addition Asks $499K

Ship Shape: An Austin Home With a Shipping Container Addition Asks $499K

Patrice Rios combines her love for modern interior design and shipping containers in collaboration with local architect Mark Reynolds.

Designed with local architect Mark Reynolds, the duplex creatively reuses shipping containers as home additions that can serve as guest bedrooms, offices, or art studios. "The intent was to give the homeowner a place where they felt inspired to live and work," says Rios. With one unit already sold, Unit B, which mirrors the same floor plan with more feminine finishes, is being offered for $499,000.



A stained concrete floor gleams throughout the first floor. "The staircase is a real showstopper," says Rios, "connecting to the industrial steel of the containers, but warmed by wooden beams."



Rios describes Unit B as the more feminine of the two units. Here, black and white cabinets feature a glint of brass hardware. Made of brass galvanized pipe and glass, the shelves by the kitchen sink combine aesthetics and function.



"I definitely wanted to give buyers a real sense of Austin," says Rios of the kitchen. "We have such beautiful restaurants and super unique design in our city. I feel like the shelving, high vent hood, gas stove, and double-stacked cabinets really expand on the volume of the home."

In her discussions with Reynolds, Rios requested that the architecture of the building reflect the shipping containers in the backyard. The modular appearance of the duplex, clad in white Hardie plank siding, mimics the look of a two-story container home. With large windows and 11-foot-tall ceilings, the two-bedroom, three-bath residence feels more spacious than its 1,484 square feet. On the ground floor, the living, dining, and kitchen areas flow into one another; potential guests in the shipping container also have easy access to a full bath of their own. A steel-and-wood floating staircase leads to the second floor, which holds two bedrooms with patio access.



Both the master bedroom and second bedroom enjoy access to a private deck, perfect for reading, enjoying a cup of coffee, or simply lounging in the sun.



The master bathroom features brass mirrors, light fixtures, and hardware, taking visual cues from the brass accents found in the kitchen.



Rios asked architect Reynolds to derive a design from the shipping containers. The duplex takes the shape of stacked volumes clad with vertical and horizontal Hardie boards. The covered patio features clear-coated cedar wood.

"This home brings a downtown high-rise feel with your own private work space and is literally steps away from one of the most popular neighborhoods in Austin," says Rios. "The east side is vibrant, funky, and very open to new concepts. There is no other place I would have rather built my first home including the shipping containers."



The two units in the duplex share a wall in the main house, so Rios continued the mirrored effect by placing the shipping containers side by side about 10 feet away from the home. Cut into the sides, the windows allow natural light to illuminate the shipping container and are designed to give parents a view of the kids playing in the backyard.



The front facade upcycles wood from the pallets used to ship in the cabinets.



It's up to the homeowner to decide what to do with the additional 160 square feet; here, it's staged as an office. The shipping container features track lighting, wall sconces, a full-height cabinet to hang clothes, and a mini split air conditioner. The floors are a mix of engineered wood and hand-painted tile from Clay Imports. From inside the container, you can see through to the front of the house.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×