THE HOME SHOW: Shipping container home is featured

 A tiny house created from two shipping containers is the centerpiece of the Buffalo Homes and Garden Show at the Buffalo Convention Center.

The home represents the cutting edge trend of micro-housing, according to Erin Kent, a North Tonawanda designer who is leading members of the Interior Design Association of WNY in the building and decorating of the project.

“My favorite thing about the house is that it’s minimal, with clean lines and multi-functional spaces,” Kent said as her team worked at rapid pace to finish the space on Thursday, in time for Friday’s opening day. “We’ve downsized the appliances in the kitchen, and we have a Murphy bed which can be pulled down at the end of the day.”

It’s called “cargotecture,” and it’s a new wave in housing, according to Michelle Peller White, president of the IDA, who explained that people take one or more shipping containers and use them to create housing on small spaces, particularly in urban areas.

Container housing is a great way to reuse shipping containers and provide compact, upscale housing, she said. “People want to live minimally,” she said. “they don’t want these big, fancy homes.”

The 620-square-foot home being featured at the home show, while not actually built from shipping crates, was inspired by a design using two shipping crates connected by a breezeway. The home includes features created by local companies, including a full wall of speakers from Sounds & Theater and flooring from MP Carroll.

The design association is also featuring the work of local student artchitects who created their own designs for shipping container homes.

The show also features celebrity guests Matt Muenster, host of DIY network series “Bath Crashers” and “BATHtastic” and husband and wife duo John and Whitney Spinks from HGTV’s “Flipping the Block.”

Visitors can learn “behind the scenes” secrets from Muenster, with his exclusive bathroom furniture line, and the Spinks, a power-designer couple from Jacksonville, Fla., who are known for creating elegance from filth while on tight budgets and time-frames.

The Spinks presentation will take place at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. today.

Muenster will be presenting at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. next Saturday and Sunday, March 14 and 15.

 Also new this year, will be a craft beer tasting event, hosted by Tom Ragan of the Shredd & Ragan radio show.

For more information on seminars and presentations, visit www.buffalohomeshow.com.  Tickets are $11 for adults and $3 for children with children 5 and under free, and tickets purchased on the website will be offered at a $3 discount.

The 2015 Buffalo Home Show, which began Friday, continues today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then opens again next weekend from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, March 15.