Bento Home

Small Home/Large Life

SHIPPING CONTAINER HOME FOR SALE.

Bento Home is the brainchild of Scot Hull, a designer by trade. The inspiration came from a visit to Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 2010, where he traveled to help devise a plan to house displaced victims. After watching the housing challenges his own children faced, the idea resurfaced to build shipping container homes to fill the affordable housing void. Scot purchased two single-use 20-foot shipping containers, and set off to create a prototype. Follow the build here.

Sketches

3D Renders

Entry

The first series of photos represents the view as you enter the front door, which is an extra wide pivot door clad on the outside with burley maple and a durable laminate finish inside. The peephole is custom-made with an electrochromic film that turns opaque when not in use. As you enter the home, a shed roof expands upward, creating vertical space. The flooring throughout is Cali Bamboo, one of the most durable and hardest flooring materials on the market. The overall width of the home is larger than two shipping containers—an extra four feet of space has been added between the two, making the overall width 20 feet. Immediately to the left of the front door is the home control system, and immediately to the right is the entry to the bathroom. Directly ahead is a standup desk with a video monitor that displays a digital calendar or photo/art display.

Bathroom

The bathroom is designed as a full spray-down space for ease of cleaning. The toilet is a commercial style wall-mounted. The walls are clad with durable, waterproof textured laminate and accented with custom-made stainless steel towel bars. The vanity is made from Baltic birch and purple heartwood and is designed so that the drawers open around you allowing for more efficient use of space while standing at the vanity. Looking up you’ll see an extra-wide mirror that lifts up, revealing the medicine cabinet. To the left is the shower. The surround is made from stainless steel and sustainably harvested South African wallaba wood. The whole bathroom is sealed with slip and waterproof white epoxy flooring.

Kitchen

The kitchen cabinets are custom-built and feature sliding doors designed for color customization on the surface using automotive vinyl wrap. Exposed Baltic birch edges highlight the quality of materials used throughout the home. Other amenities include the drawer unit, which pulls out to create an island for extra workspace, a spice rack nested into the cabinets for added efficiency, and a removable wine rack, all celebrating the art of joinery. Immediately to the right, the wall separating the kitchen and bathroom is repurposed from the other container’s ceiling panel. White quartz countertops and European appliances complete this high-quality build.

Kitchen Details

Additional Kitchen Features.

· Cabinets slide open rather than pivot to save space

· The exterior of the cabinets is wrapped in laminate for easy cleanup

· All cabinets are bolted together vs. screwed together

· Under-cabinet lighting is flush and built-in

· To further maximize space, a broom closet is built as a slide-out feature between the refrigerator and kitchen wall

· The stove hood was custom-built from stainless steel so that it extends down only 1” from the cabinet

· The stove backsplash is custom-made steel coated in ceramic for easy cleanup

· Exposed steel panels that make up the wall and ceiling in the kitchen and bathroom are painted with industrial-grade paint

Bedroom and Livingroom

The container opposite the kitchen and bath houses the living room and bedroom. That entire space is designed to be expandable with a movable wall not shown here that doubles as an entertainment center on the living room side and a dresser/closet on the bedroom side. The bedroom is furnished with a murphy bed. When the bed is in use, the wall slides out, serving as a divider between the two rooms. When the bed is not in use, it folds up and stores vertically, and the movable wall slides up against it, creating a larger living room space. Whatever position the wall is in, the entertainment center on the living room side can be in use.

The walls in the living room/bedroom area and throughout the home are Baltic birch panels set on Z-clips and attached with industrial strength magnets, making them removable for easy access to the electrical work. An oversized sliding glass door is set off the living room, creating an abundance of natural light and access to the outdoors. The ceiling features insulated, 4’x4’ white sound-absorbing laminate panels.

Bedroom features include a custom-built-in dresser surrounding the headboard, sliding-door cabinets above the bed, and end tables on either side of the bed with pull-out storage, charging stations, and built-in lights. The headboard is detailed with padded Horween Leather and built-in reading lights. Above the dresser and cabinets, there is additional storage for linens, towels, and necessities. A 4’ x 8’ space behind that cabinet offers even more storage, accessible from the home’s entryway.