[imagesource: Anthony Richardson]

There’s something romantic about the idea of off-the-grid living.

In South Africa, there’s also something practical about it given the dire situation at Eskom and the lower building costs involved.

The ‘tiny living’ movement, where homes are usually constructed using old shipping containers, has been growing in this country for the best part of three years.

This ‘tiny house’ above and below might be found in Australia, in the small town of Mansfield at the foothills of the Victorian Alps, but it’s worth a closer look.

Perhaps Melbourne designer Robbie Walker’s home will serve as inspiration to somebody in this neck of the woods.

Here’s Dwell:

…he wanted to be able to make use of the land as a spot for family holidays as quickly as possible. Just months after purchasing the steep, rocky site, he had utilized two 20-foot shipping containers to create this tiny off-grid cabin…

The two 20-foot shipping containers have been configured to create a 30-square-foot cabin.

In one container is a living room with a fold-down deck, a kitchen and living area with a fold-out table and a fold-out guest bed, and a bathroom.

The other container serves as the bedroom, which has a fold-down double bed and a triple bunk for his kids.

You’ll have to be comfortable sharing a room with the young’uns, then. I hope that doesn’t ruin the idea of a holiday.

It’s not a bad second life for a shipping container.

First, they roam the world delivering goods (South African shipping logistics experts Berry & Donaldson can help you there), and then they are converted into cost-effective and off-the-grid holiday homes.

A large hydraulic deck connects the two containers and extends the usable space outside. With a large fireplace, the space can be utilized even in cold weather…

As the cabin is off-grid, it was essential that services were built in. Both containers have water bladders on the roof that can hold 1,000 litres of rainwater, solar panels with batteries to generate and store power, and steel screens to shade the glazed areas.

The view at night isn’t terrible:

Neither is the view out the front:

When we hit load shedding stage eight at some point this year (at which point an Eskom employee comes round and blows out your candles), I will think of this house with much envy.

[source:dwell]