When homeowner Rosie dreams, she dreams big. Yet her home is anything but. Totaling only 60 square meters, her off-grid home is made from shipping containers, creating an environment that transports her into nature.

Dubbed Ahurewa, the home sits in a protected area of New Zealand’s Mahakirau Forest Estate. Rosie was able to buy a 23-acre parcel of land in the preserve following the sale of her home in Auckland. As such, Rosie is an appointed guardian of the land through an agreement with the QEII National Trust.

Related: Dvele prefab, off-grid homes are dedicated to the environment

Four shipping containers were fitted together to make up the main living spaces within the tiny home. It features a kitchen, a single bedroom and bathroom, sitting areas and a library with reading area. 

Because Ahurewa is completely off-grid, each system was selected to provide comfort and efficiency. Solar power is produced by a row of panels on the roof. A fifth shipping container houses the inverter and battery storage, as well as functioning as a mudroom to transition between the outdoors and the main part of the house. 

Two 25,000-liter water tanks sit outside the home. Water inside the home functions like any other house. The toilet flushes and is diverted into a black tank equipped with a worm-composting septic system. Greywater is similarly diverted and filtered.

The home is tightly insulated with natural eco-insulation for energy-efficiency. A small wood-burning stove supplements heating needs. The wood stove also features a built-in oven in case the home runs out of gas for the primary oven in the kitchen. 

The modular design of the tiny house allows for expansion at a later date if Rosie decides to add on or build up. Each cargo container is placed to provide views from every window. All of the units surround a central outdoor deck and large doors open up the indoor space to the outdoor area. Natural light streams into one side of the home in the morning and the other side in the afternoon and evening. 

Throughout the space, natural materials like wood are used from floor to ceiling, all working in conjunction with the industrial theme throughout the interior design.

+ Living Big in a Tiny House 

Images via Living Big in a Tiny House

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Totaling only 60 square meters, her off-grid home is made from shipping containers, creating an environment that transports her into nature.

Dubbed Ahurewa, the home sits in a protected area of New Zealand’s Mahakirau Forest Estate.

As such, Rosie is an appointed guardian of the land through an agreement with the QEII National Trust.

It features a kitchen, a single bedroom and bathroom, sitting areas and a library with reading area.

The toilet flushes and is diverted into a black tank equipped with a worm-composting septic system.

The wood stove also features a built-in oven in case the home runs out of gas for the primary oven in the kitchen.

The modular design of the tiny house allows for expansion at a later date if Rosie decides to add on or build up.

Throughout the space, natural materials like wood are used from floor to ceiling, all working in conjunction with the industrial theme throughout the interior design.