Addie Welch Design: Shipping Container Design

In my Intro to Design I had to design a pool house using a shipping container. This project though detailed was alot of fun. The class was given a fictional client who lived outside Charleston, SC that wanted a pool house designed. She wanted a low cost sustainable option and a shipping container fit perfectly. Space was an obvious challenge. Though the square footage was a reasonable amount for a pool house, the shipping container was only 7'7 wide inside.

Mrs. Smith (client) wanted a place for dining, entertaining and a place to curl up a read a book. She also wanted to have good views of the pool and would love to have a covered porch. She has two children so functional and fun design is something to consider.

When I started thinking about what I wanted to do with this long rectangular box, I knew that I wanted to change the height of the roof in some way to change the "boxy" shape. I also knew I wanted fun bright colors, lots of windows and a rooftop patio.

After finally finishing my floor plan, I began to pick out my fabrics. My inspiration for the color palette was a really fun bright print designed by Trina Turk for Schumacher. It had bright orange, pink, and yellow. I decided on an orange wall color and a neutral sofa. The picture below is my design board that we were required to make for our presentation. It shows all the fun furniture choices and my bright color palette. A couple of my favorite pieces are my ottomans that separate to become 5 stools. My coffee table also has an adjustable height and becomes a dining room table.

In addition to our design board I was required to render my floor plan. Please excuse my hand drawn patio radius.

To quickly walk you through my thoughts, I wanted different zones or lounge areas. The first zone is the large sectional sofa and the two ottomans that break apart and can form 10 stools for additional seating. The second are is formed by the "cloud" chair, coffee table and lounge chair. The final zone and my personal favorite is my reading nook. It is a built in window seat with storage below and a bookcase above that doubles as a privacy screen. It may be hard to visualize, but the bookcase sits on top of the base and the cushion is built around it. This is what makes it feel like a "nook". In order to snuggle up you have to go on the other side of the bookcase. I wanted it to feel like a retreat, but not be too isolated from the rest of the room. Another reason the reading nook is my favorite part of the shipping container is the way nature is brought inside. It is completely surrounded by windows on all three sides with views of the fun garden that surround it. In addition to all the windows, there are transoms above the windows and a skylight to let in lots of light.

Rooftop floor plan - It features two lounge chairs, a low table with eight pillow seats, two ottomans and a planter. The planter brings an aesthetic value as well as providing a safety buffer for the skylight.

I had alot of fun with this project and can't wait to see what we are doing next.