• Welcome
  • Community
  • Blogs
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Join
  • Log in
Follow MNN    
MNN - Mother Nature Network - Envrionmental News
improve your world

 

Saturday, May 26, 2012
  • Earth Matters

    Browse All » Animals Weather Energy Politics Space Translating Uncle Sam Wilderness & Resources

  • Health

    Browse All » Allergies Fitness & Well-Being Healthy Spaces

  • Lifestyle

    Browse All » Arts & Culture Travel Natural Beauty & Fashion Recycling Responsible Living

  • GREEN TECH

    Browse All » Computers Gadgets & Electronics Research & Innovations Transportation

  • Eco-Biz & Money

    Browse All » Green Workplace Personal Finance Sustainable Business Practices

  • Food & Drink

    Browse All » Beverages Healthy Eating Recipes

  • Your Home

    Browse All » At Home Organic Farming & Gardening Remodeling & Design

  • family

    Browse All » Babies & Pregnancy Family Activities Pets Protection & Safety

Tweet
Pin It
Email Bookmark and ShareShare
WorldShares lets you earn donations for your favorite nonprofit. Earn up to 20 points now.
Learn More

Earn Points
What's this?
MNN.COM›

MNN BLOGGERS

Matt Hickman

Shipping container homes go 'mini'

'Tis the season for gingerbread houses, miniature Christmas villages, dollhouses topped with bows ... and tiny shipping container homes?

Tue, Dec 08 2009 at 5:02 PM EST

 
It’s a definite sign of the times when instead of bestowing your little princess with Malibu Barbie’s Dream House or a battery-operated hamster habitat for Christmas, you can present her with a miniature shipping container home replete with baltic birch flooring, sliding panel doors, and tasteful, doll-sized modern furniture that's decidedly Design Within Reach meets Fisher Price. The only thing missing is a mini solar array.
 
Although I’ve written about both eco-friendly dollhouses and the green building practice of transforming derelict shipping containers into beautiful modular homes in the past, M112 Pod Miniatures from Paris Renfroe Design are something totally new, and well, a bit unexpected.
 
 
St. Paul, Minneapolis-based “industrial modernist” Paris Renfroe is established at designing life-size modern furnishings but his foray into doll-house scale shipping container homes is a relatively new one. Each M112 Pod Miniature home is 20 inches long, 8 inches wide, and 8.5 inches high. They’re available (for $175) in an array of colors including White, Orange, Gray, Apple Green, and Sky Blue or for a bit extra ($250) you can order a M112 Pod home in natural rust.
 
As mentioned, each home is outfitted with baltic birch floors, ceilings, and walls; sliding panel doors; a frosted window wall; a metal rung ladder for roof access; and port holes in the ceiling and floor for stacking. Renfroe’s 1:12 and 1:1 scale furnishings — his own designs plus iconic pieces from Minotti and other designers — are available separately.
 
 
Pretty impressive, I must say, and an interesting way to get your kids hooked on both modern design and the possibilities of green building at an early age. What do you think? Would an architecturally advance dollhouse like the M112 Pod fly in your home? Or would you rather just stick to traditional, humdrum plastic dollhouses? 
 
Via [Inhabitots]
 
Images: Paris Renfroe Designs
 
Previous Post
Throw, don't blow, that snow
   Next Post
Energy savings at home and abroad
You might also like:
Related Topics: Green Architecture, Green Design, Green Gift Ideas, Green Kids

Comments

Follow this conversation
Add your comment
View:
  • All (2)

anonymous
Keith 03/22/2011 16:42 PM

Just lovely! Very innovative design here, am just not sure if I'm all for making it obvious that your home used to be a shipping container. I think that it should be subtle :)

But these pictures are just beautiful!
______________________________
Storage Container Pro

  • |
  • Reply
  • report this post 

anonymous
Daniel Sokol 12/13/2010 19:41 PM

I liked the concept so much I built my own. Great design, energy efficient, low carbon foot print, green materials and manufacturing, grid and off grid, a complete array of interior designs and applications from cabins to kiosks to guest homes. Take a peek: www.leedcabins.com

  • |
  • Reply
  • report this post 

Add your comment

Sign in with one of these accounts or just add your comment below.
    Log in or
    create an account
     
    •  
Used only for emailed comments and will not be displayed with your post
Notify me with an email when other people comment on this article.
The posting of advertisement, profanity or personal attacks is prohibited.
Click here to review our Terms of Use

EDITORS' PICKS

tease to asteroids

tease to pet facials

tease to emotional eating

ADVERTISEMENT

NEWSLETTER

Mother Nature. Delivered

CONNECT WITH MNN

Follow @twitterapi
 Tumblr
 Google +

About Matt Hickman

Eco-living expert blogs about best ways to go green at home.

RSS feedMore about Matt

Recent Posts

  • Playing Catch up: 'Til Tuesday
  • Composting that cuppa: PG Tips launches tea bag recycling initiative
  • No, you're not hallucinating: Designer unveils wooden light bulb
+ Add this to my site

Matt's BLOGROLL

Design BoomDwell
GOODCo.Design
Jetson GreenCurbed National
Core77TreeHugger
NY Times Home & GardenL.A. at Home

ADVERTISEMENT



Quick Links

  • About Us
  • Advisory Board
  • Editors' Blog
  • Press
  • Privacy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms of Service
  • WorldShares

MNN Tools

  • Advice
  • Blogs
  • Day in History
  • Eco-glossary
  • Infographics
  • Lists
  • Photos
  • Videos

Connect

  • Community
  • Contact Us
  • Contests
  • Idea Lab
  • Mixed Greens
  • Newsletters
  • Polls
  • RSS

Channels

  • Earth Matters
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Green Tech
  • Eco-Biz & Money
  • Your Home
  • Family
  • State Reports

Follow MNN

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Google+
  • StumbleUpon
 

Copyright © 2012 MNN Holdings, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Website by GLICK INTERACTIVE | Powered by CIRRACORE
 
SPONSORS