Forest Shipping Container Cabin on Vancouver Island

The Building

This gorgeous study in contrasts was put together by Dana Ramler, a design consultant on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Dana bought an aux box Model 240, and upgraded it include an AC Mini Split, prefab deck, and an electronic mechanical storage door.

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Project Costs

Site costs specific to the unit itself were about $10K CAD, and the building was about $185,000 CAD

Site prep is a bit difficult to parse out, as some of the elements needed to be done to the property anyway (ie septic upgrade, tree removal, etc) but the prefab unit was reason to do them sooner instead of later.

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Q&A

What do you use your prefab for?
We are just about to launch a B&B! Fern Fall is a luxury rental experience on our lush forested property/hobby farm on Vancouver Island. It's perfect for guests who want to feel like they are tucked away in the woods, but want the convenience of being a walk or short bike ride to the center of one of Vancouver Island's best beachside towns. Bookings will open up later in the fall of 2022.

Why did you choose prefab, and why did you choose this option?
From the moment we stepped foot on our property, we could see it was just bursting with opportunities. Uniquely positioned on a five-acre agricultural plot of land within walking distance to town and biking distance to the beach, our first thoughts were of tourism and how we could live out our hobby farm dreams while simultaneously creating a destination that would attract like-minded individuals and create a business we could run alongside our everyday life.

Before buying a property and “settling down," we had traveled all over the world, and over time came to seek accommodation that provided a unique experience, rather than simply finding the most economical hotel room in any given location. More and more, we became convinced that there must be other travelers with similar values.

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We drew inspiration from the dozens and dozens of worldwide stays that left lasting impressions on us and began to dream up our very own B&B ideas. But big dreams were all we had; we didn’t have a building or structure that we could host anyone in.

Enter aux box. Itching to get started on our B&B as soon as we bought our property, but with many other projects that required our immediate attention, we were drawn to how much faster we could implement our plans by using a prefabricated structure as opposed to building something ourselves.

We also loved the draw of the “tiny living” experience. While not technically a tiny home, there’s no doubt its small but efficient footprint would attract the types of travelers looking for something unconventional.

In just a matter of months, what would have been a five or ten-year goal is going to be made possible within one! aux box's Model 240 has exactly what we need: a cozy space for sleeping, a full-size bathroom, and a kitchenette.

Guests can drive or bike to town to enjoy the local restaurants, or they can make simple meals in the aux box and enjoy the quiet serenity of our property. The addition of the deck added space for outdoor dining, getting cozy fireside, and stargazing.

Though the footprint is small, the possibilities feel expansive.

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What’s your favorite thing about the space?
I love the high-quality materials and finishes, heated bathroom floors, intelligent simplicity, and incredible attention to detail. Most of all, though, I love the enormous window that frames the scenery so perfectly. These trees are so special to us, and we love that our guests get to wake up to this incredible view.

Get in Touch

Learn more about this project and book a stay in this prefab as a short-term rental on Instagram at @fern_fall

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Have a prefab? Know someone who does?

Nominate yourself or a friend’s prefab and get a chance to be featured on the community! Reply to this email or email prefablist@gmail.com to request to be profiled.

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