The struggling housing market has caused some prospective homeowners to think outside of the box. In the case of one New York man, he’s thinking inside the box, and he’s living inside of it too.

According to the San Francisco Globe, designer Tim Steele wanted to construct his own home, but was looking for a way to circumvent the extensive labor — and costs — that traditionally accompany a custom build.

Instead of opting for the standard hammer-and-nail construction, Steele was inspired to build a countryside home made completely of steel shipping containers to save on both cost and time.

Steele’s company website, Tim Steele Design, says that his interest in developing unusual structures came from building his own farm in Livingston Manor, NY.

“From outdoor summer kitchens to treehouses to dwelling structures,” the website reads, “Tim is combining recycled and new materials to create structures that are both livable and distinctive.”

Ever since building his farm from shipping containers, Steele hasn’t looked back. In addition to the countryside home he has already finished, the designer is now buying and customizing the containers themselves to aid others who wish to build a home composed of shipping containers.

Finding new uses for shipping containers has become a popular trend as more people start to realize their ubiquitous appeal. As of this moment, there are about 20 million shipping containers crossing the world, and many of them will eventually become literal building blocks for new homes.

According to The Daily Mail, a group of young professionals in San Francisco has taken the idea of shipping container housing to a whole new level.

They developed a shipping container village in nearby Oakland, dubbed “Containercopia.” San Francisco features some of the highest rent prices in the country, and a custom container can be had in the village for as little as $600 per month.

As for Steele, his countryside estate was made from three large steel shipping containers costing between $1,500-$1,800 each. The custom container home can be seen in North Branch, NY.