PHOTOS: Couple Moves into Stacked Shipping Container Home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

"People in the neighborhood call it Casa Blanca," says contractor David Boyle of his four-level white house in Williamsburg, but there's something else besides the color of the home that makes it stand out from the others on the block. A labor of love between Boyle and his wife, architect and <a href="http://www.nyit.edu/">NYIT</a> professor <a href="http://michelebertomen.net/" target="_blank">Michele Bertomen</a>, the residence is made up of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/brooklyn-couple-moves-into-stacked-shipping-container-home-in-williamsburg/">six shipping containers</a> stacked atop one another, and is the first and only legal residence of its kind in Brooklyn. Bertomen and Boyle understand that the home may be unconventional, but for them, it's the perfect example of the American dream (not to mention a way they could afford a 1,600 sq. ft. property in the middle of NYC's priciest locales). We recently had a chance to visit this very special home on Keap St., and snapped photos of everything from the two amazing <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-couple-moves-into-stacked-shipping-container-home-in-williamsburg-brooklyn/williamsburg-container-hous/">rooftop decks</a> to the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-couple-moves-into-stacked-shipping-container-home-in-williamsburg-brooklyn/wburg-shipping-container-ta/">clever repurposed furniture</a> to the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-couple-moves-into-stacked-shipping-container-home-in-williamsburg-brooklyn/wburg-shipping-container-ho/">house's furry mascot, Zero</a>. Click through our <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-couple-moves-into-stacked-shipping-container-home-in-williamsburg-brooklyn/wburg-shipping-contalead3/">gallery</a> to take your own tour through this inspirational abode.

Zero, the shipping container home's mascot.

Many of the home's doors, windows and other materials were purchased from <a href="http://www.bignyc.org/">Build It Green!</a>, a resource for salvaged building supplies in Astoria.

A kitchen space leads out onto a balcony that was created by cutting away pieces of the shipping container.

Bertomen and Boyle used recycled elements for many of the fixtures. This toilet roll holder used to be a pipe.

More sprinkler pipe acts as a towel rack.

"I just picked this up at LaGuardia place," said Boyle of this mini sink that fits perfectly into a corner of one of the home's three bathrooms.

The spiral staircase was one element that wasn't purchased used because the couple wanted the sturdiest, safest one they could find that would also fit perfectly into the space.

The energy-efficient home features radiant heat and Super Therm insulation.

This upcycled dining table/desk is actually an old bank teller window. It can also be expanded using a slatted series of boards designed by Michele.

The lower rooftop deck is the perfect place to grow vegetables and host gatherings.

"The adversity we experienced had to do with something that shouldn't exist," said Bertomen of the many layers of paperwork and back-and-forth with city officials she went through trying to complete the shipping container house. "People should be able to build their own homes, even in New York City."

A model of the shipping container home sits proudly in the living room.

"Trust in your community. A community of people built this house," said Bertomen when we asked her what advice she might have for someone wanting to take on a similar project. "We weren't closed. We trusted and we were cautious, but we didn't go through Angie's List, you know? I called on my community." Boyle also explained how they entrusted much of the home's steeelwork to a neighbor and even had teens from across the street install much of the drywall.

The sprinkler pipe was also used as a clothing hanger.

The downstairs "guest room" can be partitioned off using a simple clear plastic screen that Boyle rescued from one of his work projects.

The upstairs bedroom is a serene space that even has its own balcony.

An upstairs bathroom.

"It feels great and we'd like to empower other people to do this too," said Bertomen of being able to finally move into her self-built home.

As you can see, the windows and balconies are basically all just cutouts.

A "guest room" on the first floor features custom bookcases and the bathroom was created by cutting away parts of the shipping container walls and bringing them downstairs.

Looking up to the bedroom through the cavern created by the two side-by-side shipping containers.

"This is Michele's favorite piece of technology in the house," said Boyle as he gestured to a clothesline on the lower roofdeck. "Our clothes smell so good." The pulley system shown above is used to pull objects from the first level up to the rooftop decks.

The home's containers are help together by locking connectors, which is the same way they would be secured when traveling overseas on a ship.

Looking down from the lower roofeck on Zero.

The couple operates their initiative for neighborhood improvement through small changes, Practical Urban Solutions, out of the office/library on the ground level.

Designed by Bertomen and made by Boyle, this smart shelving system uses the actual shelves as bookends.

The main living space.

The space between two shipping containers creates a staircase.

At the end of the day, the home ended up costing the couple $400,000 (with an estimated $100,000 due to the interest accrued during the delays caused by the Department of Buildings).