Seven Containers Later -- A Stunning Home | News

Placement of seven shipping containers yields a unique house in Nokomis.

The view from the kitchen includes the caged swimming pool, outdoor kitchen beyond the pool and master bedroom above the outdoor kitchen area. Doors to the left lead to a spacious outdoor patio. In the far corner, what appears to be bookshelves, open as doors to a hallway holding office space and a guest bedroom and bath.

Ruth and Jason Miner with their children, Jupiter, 11, in front and Pepper, 8, at right.

A spiral staircase leads to the second floor master bedroom of the container house built by Jason Minor in Nokomis.

A caged swimming pool is within the interior court space with outdoor kitchen beyond and master bedroom over the south end of the pool.

There is even space for a game room in the container house being offered for sale in Nokomis.

Placement of seven shipping containers yields a unique house in Nokomis.

A spiral staircase leads to the second floor master bedroom of the container house built by Jason Minor in Nokomis.

NOKOMIS — Shipping containers aren’t just for tiny houses anymore.

When the chance to purchase five acres in Nokomis, on a private road but with access to Pinebrook Road, came along, so did the opportunity for Jason Miner to design a 2,250-square-foot house for his family.

At 13, Miner had lived on a sailboat for a year. He traveled the east coast of the U.S. from Maine to Florida with his family. As a college student, he studied in Ecuador, followed by two months of travel in Colombia. Later, he lived in the Bahamas for three months

He is married to Ruth, a native of the Caribbean. They met 15 years ago on a flight out of Charlotte, North Carolina and married six weeks later. They have two children: Jupiter, 11 and Pepper, 8.

Except for a stint as the owner of a bagel shop in Venice, building homes and working with metal sculpture have been a big part of his life. A sculpture he created while living in New Orleans can be seen from the east end of the kitchen looking toward the pasture

He was building houses in New Hampshire when Katrina hit the United States. Miner headed to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding efforts while continuing his metal sculpture.

The Miners then came to Venice, living in Venice Gardens.

Ruth and Jason Miner with their children, Jupiter, 11, in front and Pepper, 8, at right.

When he learned about a 5-acre site on a private street in Nokomis that had access to Pinebrook Road, he bought the lot.

The homebuilder bug had bitten once more.

“I approached the county as an owner-builder,” he said. “Although not licensed as a builder in Florida, I could build the house myself as long as I had signed drawings by an engineer.

“I built a model with cardboard and duct tape, and took it to a designer here, and his draftsman and engineer drew it up and signed it.”

What he designed was not a normal stick home nor one made of concrete blocks but a house built from seven shipping containers, on 38 concrete pilings, topped by steel ribar-reinforced poured concrete pads. The house is basically U-shaped with an in-ground swimming pool in an interior court and outdoor kitchen with barbecue at the open end of the “U.”

Standard shipping containers are all 8 feet wide and available in 10-, 20-, or 40-foot lengths. Miner purchased seven of the 40-foot containers, which would yield roughly 310 square feet of living space per container after deducting the wall thickness and any additional insulation. Container door openings are 7’ 8” wide.

“I opened the doors, and if there was a a hint of fuel (odor), I’d say ‘No’,” Miner said about his shopping trip to a dealer of containers in Bradenton.

Planning and construction took two years.

From shipping containers to a home

The completed house is U-shaped, two-containers deep on three sides, surrounding a courtyard with an in-ground swimming pool covered with screening at the top. On the open end of the U shape, he created an outdoor kitchen area with the seventh container above for the master bedroom.

That room has windows on both sides and is accessed with an interior staircase. The staircase is in one end of a container on the west side of the house.

Its neighboring container is not parallel but stepped to one side of the staircase area, yielding a similar area at the north end of the house for the home’s entry. An added touch is a container door that can be closed over the otherwise normal entry door, should the family go away for an extended vacation.

This is yet another feature of working with these modular units that come in standardized shapes and sizes. Other container doors will close and protect other areas of the house.

The spacious kitchen with its view of the pool from one side and acreage at the east end features a stunning counter of wood from Brazil with the bark left on to be the edge of the 4-foot-by-11-foot, 6-inch island.

The waterproof finish enhances the wood grain. A sink is inset on the working kitchen side, opposite the built-in range. Cabinets above the range are trimmed with more of the Brazilian wood. In addition to stools on the other side of the counter, there is a table at the east end of the room as well as doors to the east wing of the house.

When closed, the doors look like built-in shelves for books or other items. That wing houses home office space, a bath and an extra bedroom.

There is even space for a game room in the container house being offered for sale in Nokomis.

In the west wing, the children each have their own bedrooms with built-in upper bunks and plenty of play space below.

The master bedroom is the only room on the second floor. It has windows facing north and south. Interior decor is mostly white but with some bright accent colors to enhance the contemporary feel.

An out-building contains more than simple garage space. It could yield studio space for an artist, as one example. The property can be used as farmland or to raise animals. It also could be rezoned to allow 4.5 houses per acre, Miner said

The property is at 360 Bristol Lane, Nokomis, FL 34275, off Edmondson Road. It is listed for just under $1 million. Visit Zillow.com for more information, a visual tour or to make an appointment to see the house.

'I built a model with cardboard and duct tape.'

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Local public notices delivered daily to your email account.

Local weather information and warnings.

This week's top entertainment stories.

The areas top boating and fishing news will be delivered to you email every Thursday morning.