Episode 103
Chloe Millard: Innovating Sustainable Living with Boxed Luxe Homes
Chloe Millard, the pioneering force behind Boxed Luxe Homes, is reshaping the landscape of modern living through innovative container home solutions that emphasize both luxury and sustainability. In our discourse, we delve into the pressing issues of homelessness and domestic violence recovery, examining how container homes can serve as a viable answer to these societal challenges. Millard's extensive background in entrepreneurship and marketing enables her to effectively communicate the transformative potential of container homes, which not only offer affordability but also align with contemporary environmental consciousness. The episode provides a profound exploration of the unique advantages of container living, particularly in the context of a burgeoning housing crisis, and invites listeners to envision a future where high-end design harmonizes with eco-friendly innovation. Join us as we unravel the myriad possibilities that container homes present, marking a significant shift in how we conceive of residential architecture.
The podcast delves into the innovative realm of luxury container homes, drawing upon the expertise of Chloe Millard, the founder of Boxed Luxe Homes. Through a rigorous examination of the intersection between modern aesthetics and sustainability, Millard articulates her vision of redefining contemporary living. She discusses the evolution of housing, from traditional structures to the burgeoning acceptance of container homes as viable, eco-friendly alternatives. This episode not only highlights the practical benefits of container homes, such as their cost-effectiveness and speed of construction, but also addresses broader societal issues, including homelessness and the pressing need for affordable housing solutions. Millard's entrepreneurial journey serves as a testament to the potential of container homes to offer a sustainable lifestyle while simultaneously challenging preconceived notions about luxury in housing. The conversation encapsulates a movement toward greener living, underscoring the importance of innovation in addressing the housing crisis faced by many today.
Takeaways:
- Chloe Millard, founder of Box Luxe Homes, exemplifies the fusion of luxury and sustainability.
- Container homes are emerging as a viable solution to contemporary housing crises, including affordability and homelessness.
- The innovative use of container homes permits unique architectural designs while promoting environmentally conscious living.
- Marketing container homes requires dispelling misconceptions about their size and quality, emphasizing their potential as luxurious dwellings.
- Utilizing gently used containers can significantly reduce costs while maintaining structural integrity for new homes.
- The promotion of container homes aligns with current trends towards energy efficiency and eco-friendly living solutions.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Boxed Luxe Homes
- Freight Farms
- Ideal Home Improvement
- Legacy Custom Homes
- Stardust Building Supplies
- I Foam
Transcript
Ever want to build a luxury container home with sustainability in mind?
Speaker A:Meet Chloe Millard, the unstoppable force behind Box luxe homes.
Speaker A:A serial entrepreneur, marketing guru, a reality TV star and a container home innovator.
Speaker A:Chloe is redefining modern living where high end design meets eco conscious innovation.
Speaker A:Get ready to see luxury reimagined.
Speaker B:Since the dawn of time, mankind has searched for ways to shelter themselves from the elements.
Speaker B:Over the centuries, these shelters have evolved from bamboo huts to concrete towers.
Speaker B:The last few years, there's been a push to save the planet.
Speaker B:Are you ready to embark on a more sustainable lifestyle?
Speaker B:Look no further.
Speaker B:You're about to enter the adventures of container home living.
Speaker B:And now, contractor, radio and TV personality and your host for Boxcar Universe, Steve Dubel.
Speaker A:Hi, I'm Steve Dubel, host of Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:And here's what's coming up on this week's edition of Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:We're talking with Chloe Millard from Boxlux Homes.
Speaker A:Today we're going to be diving into an innovative approach to to solving some problems in our country.
Speaker A:Homelessness, domestic violence recovery, and the nonprofit housing solutions.
Speaker A:And what we like to use, container homes.
Speaker A:That's what we talk about here on Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:All that and more on this week's edition of Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:Your source for remodeling and renovating your world.
Speaker A:And we want to welcome all our listeners today to Boxcar Universe.
Speaker A:It's a very special edition of Boxcar Universe because as most of you know, our followers that I always try and touch on a lot of different ways that container homes could be used as they come from overseas and they get emptied from freight, mostly from Asia.
Speaker A:And when they get over here, they just are put out to pasture, so to speak.
Speaker A:And they are either bought for storage or you know, from before years ago that that's about all they used to use them for.
Speaker A:I mean, as you've known in the past, I have mentioned that they were used for the military for storage for different things.
Speaker A:But then they started being used for other purposes such as container homes.
Speaker A:And one of the other guests I've had on the show that I'm sure you have, if you followed us, you found it called the company called Freight Farms, which actually creates, it's a hydroponic garden inside a freight container, a 40 foot container.
Speaker A:So we want to use containers for a lot of different reasons.
Speaker A:And our guest today, Chloe Millard from Box Lux Homes is with us and we're going to be diving into some of the solutions that container homes could be used for.
Speaker A:And Chloe, thank you so much for being on Boxcar Universe today and taking time out to be on this show.
Speaker A:Welcome.
Speaker C:Ah, it's my pleasure.
Speaker C:Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker C:Happy to be here.
Speaker A:It's great to have you on the show and tell our listeners a little bit about, you know, your history and how you came to be the founder for Box Box Lux Homes.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So just quick overview of my background.
Speaker C:I come from a family of salespeople and so from a very early age I kind of dove right into professional selling and entrepreneurship.
Speaker C:I've just always had that kind of, I guess, quality to me.
Speaker C:So I started building businesses in my early 20s and started off being a self published author trying to help business owners kind of really step into their marketing.
Speaker C:And that's a big part of what I focus on now.
Speaker C:But however, you know, being a professional marketer and in this space, you tend to follow a lot of trends in a lot of different industries.
Speaker C:So I've worked very closely with real estate professionals and their marketing for such a long time.
Speaker C:And I also myself, I just have a passion for esthetics and design and real estate overall as an investment.
Speaker C:So for any investors that are listening or anyone that wants to get into real estate investment, that is exactly what kind of led me to starting Box Lux Homes.
Speaker C:I saw from a very like early time that container homes are definitely, in my opinion, the way of the future.
Speaker C:Building with containers is so lucrative and also really green.
Speaker C:It's super hot in our space right now because they're eligible for tax credits, they're eligible for different types of government funding.
Speaker C:And people that I work closely with, investors, they love container homes because they are much quicker to build, they are a little bit leaner when it comes to cost if you do it the right way.
Speaker C:So when I saw all of these things, I saw problems that builders and investors were facing when it came to real estate development.
Speaker C:I saw problems that just everyday Americans were facing when it came to being homeowners and being first time home buyers.
Speaker C:Right now the cost of owning a home in our country is just astronomical.
Speaker C:And so I really wanted to do something to kind of help all of these groups because at my core that's what I am.
Speaker C:I'm just a problem solver.
Speaker C:So as a serial entrepreneur, when I see an opportunity and I see a way to help, I'm just naturally inclined to do that.
Speaker C:So I founded Box Lux a couple years back and it was after getting into different masterminds and working with investors and hearing their Pain points of we need something that we can build quicker, we need more, we want to have more production so we can help more people looking for homes.
Speaker C:And the really, really big thing on everyone's mind is like the housing shortage, how there's frequently like limited inventory on the market for anyone to even buy and also affordability.
Speaker C:So the housing crisis that we've all kind of seen and experienced, it really, really affects anyone being able to afford a home in the future if they are just starting out.
Speaker C:So with all that being said, it just was kind of a no brainer.
Speaker C:So the reason I started Box Lux Homes though is because I saw that I could do something very, very well in that space that no one else was doing.
Speaker C:And what that was was just marketing these concepts and these ideas at a very, just compelling and high level.
Speaker C:So being like a sales and marketing professional my entire career, this stuff comes very natural to me.
Speaker C:I understand and I know how to communicate the solution to get the sale or in this case to build a development or get investors to invest in it.
Speaker C:So I took my company on the road for a little over a year, just pitching from stages all across the country at Investor Masterminds.
Speaker C:And yeah, so today we are a full service design and build firm.
Speaker C:So anyone that is looking to build a container home or invest in a project, we kind of help with all of that from A to Z, including the marketing.
Speaker A:You know, that's so very important about you said and I can identify you with one of the things that you said earlier, that you are a serial entrepreneur and I can understand that because that's when it's part of your passion, that's what makes it really work because you are totally dedicated to what you're doing.
Speaker A:And much like you when I got involved and got interested in container homes, it's an innovative way to be able to make homes.
Speaker A:Normal homes that traditionally built are the way the economy is.
Speaker A:As everybody was starting to downsize over the last four years or so, the need for container homes is like you say is a no brainer because it's so very important to be able to go back out and almost like you have to feel the pulse of the country and the way the buyers are and what they're looking for.
Speaker C:Yeah, no, you're absolutely right.
Speaker C:And honestly Steve, that was the biggest problem I faced in the beginning and why I saw that so many developers were unsuccessful in this.
Speaker C:And the biggest key was that very thing that you just mentioned.
Speaker C:People assume that container home means small, that it means just a container.
Speaker C:So that was my first initiative, was a huge push to educate.
Speaker C:So the first thing I would do when I would get on a stage or if I was pitching a deck to anybody really a buyer or an investor, is to right away dispel that myth that container homes are just containers.
Speaker C:Because that's what people think of.
Speaker C:They think of trailer parks, they think of Section 8 housing, housing.
Speaker C:And specifically my firm, what we specialize in is we call it affordable luxury.
Speaker C:So we take pride in designing concepts and aesthetics that people would never know was built with a container.
Speaker C:And to your point, like, because people are wanting to downsize and because people are becoming much more hypersensitive and aware to things like our environment and wanting to be greener, that is not just a niche market.
Speaker C:We're seeing as marketers on a global scale that this is really becoming a movement where just everyday people, it used to be outliers, were obsessed with like being green and carbon neutral and just certain things are associated with certain types of groups.
Speaker C:And as a marketer, I can tell you that's not true.
Speaker C:Like people now with TikTok and social media, lots of information gets spread very quickly.
Speaker C:So now we've seen that like anyone that can advertise or market, they're building a construction or development as a green, energy efficient, just very environmentally friendly option.
Speaker C:That is what gets you tax credits, that is what gets you great press and pr.
Speaker C:So I saw that as a, you know, from a marketing angle and right away I led with that in our presentations.
Speaker C:But one of the first slides I show that cracks everybody up is I show a picture of a really, really dilapidated, crazy looking single container on the side of the road and it has a window in it and a door and it looks like a container.
Speaker C:So I start off every presentation right away by saying, first of all, let's get something straight.
Speaker C:This is not a container home.
Speaker C:Like these are not what we're talking about today.
Speaker C:This is not what we build.
Speaker C:And then I'll show one of our designs and how something really popular we have is like a three story walk up almost.
Speaker C:That really makes me feel like it's very Charleston and just like a very, very modern, cool and innovative way to still have space on like really small lots.
Speaker C:So we kept getting requests to build for a regular almost like odd shaped lots that you couldn't put anything else on because of the parameters.
Speaker C:But when you take a container, we just use the container as the shell and we use it as an element of our build.
Speaker C:The real total advantage here of building with the container home is that you take the container shell and you can cut off the sides, you can add more containers to it, you can build wide, you can build tall.
Speaker C:It people, it's almost like a pun intended, they're thinking inside the box.
Speaker C:But to really succeed in this space and make effective change, you get rid of the box like we, we blast the walls out, we'll, we'll make it wider on the bottom.
Speaker C:But for those really hard to build lots that no one can do anything with, we'll build up.
Speaker C:And so that has made a lot of our designs and developments super attractive, especially to real estate developers, that they often will have land and they want to know how can I money out of this piece of land?
Speaker C:Like I need to just build and sell.
Speaker C:That's, that's a lot of the requests that we would get.
Speaker C:So we would go in on those deals and bid out their project and say this is how much money you would save with us as opposed to traditional stick build construction.
Speaker C:And the reason you save money, if you do it the right way, if you work with a quality developer like us that we've spent years like researching and finding the right people.
Speaker C:If you do that and you know what you're doing, you will alleviate costs that, that you'll have on mistakes or having to replan or rebuild.
Speaker C:Because that can happen a lot if you don't know how to use a container.
Speaker C:So with all that being said, we would get a lot of those requests from developers because when you use a container as the shell, you're replacing lumber as you're framing.
Speaker C:And you being in real estate, I know you've heard all throughout the years how especially with election here is like a lot of times lumber and those essential building materials, those costs, they might go up or experience a huge shortage.
Speaker C:Those are fixed.
Speaker C:Like we only have so, so much of that at a given time.
Speaker C:But the beauty of containers and what most people don't realize is you said it in the intro and I love you for it because we do have containers literally everywhere.
Speaker C:Like we're a massive import country and also with exports.
Speaker C:But that means everywhere that we have a coast, we literally just have containers, stacks that are empty, that are piled up, that's everywhere.
Speaker C:And so you can buy them really, really cheap.
Speaker A:Looking to transform your space.
Speaker A:With over 30 years of construction experience and featured on radio and TV, Ideal Home Improvement and legacy custom homes, Azure does it all.
Speaker A:From repairs, remodeling and restorations to new builds, container homes and container pools, plus cutting edge solar systems to Help homeowners save money on their utility bills.
Speaker A:Hi, I'm Steve Dubell.
Speaker A:Let us help you design and build your dream home with the expertise that comes from decades of experience in the business.
Speaker A: -: Speaker A:Remember Ideal Home Improvement and Legacy Custom Homes AZ where your dream home becomes reality.
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Speaker A: -: Speaker C:But something that we didn't know, or at least I didn't until we started working with our container expert is that all containers, at least in our country, there's typically a seven year lifespan until it's required that the container is replaced.
Speaker C:So these things are constantly being recycled all the time.
Speaker C:So that's another thing where I was talking about costly mistakes.
Speaker C:That's sometimes a costly mistake that I will see.
Speaker C:Like entry level container builders make or people that try to do it themselves is they will go and find the cheapest containers they can because they think that the pricing is, you know, equal.
Speaker C:It's like, oh well this, this supplier had it way too expensive.
Speaker C:Like this one's way cheaper.
Speaker C:So you know, I'm just going to get this one because they're the same and they're not.
Speaker C:So the more used a container is, the cheaper it's going to be.
Speaker C:But the, I would say unsafe because what you experience is that wear and tear when it stays in that condition and it's just going across port after port, you really start to lose like the strength of the container.
Speaker C:That's why they have to be recycled.
Speaker C:Because after seven years, like there's a, you Know, a greater likelihood of it to really get kind of bent out of shape.
Speaker C:And then you don't have flat levels to anything.
Speaker C:So that.
Speaker C:That's another way it saves cost and time.
Speaker C:Is when you use container that we try to go for gently used, which is right around two or three years, you still get a huge discount in savings.
Speaker C:And they're like new.
Speaker C:They're not super old, but we'll recommend that.
Speaker C:And when you do that, you have perfect lines every time.
Speaker C:So sometimes when you get lumber and you get wood and you're doing your framing, they're warped, they're bent, they're not all perfect.
Speaker C:But for the most part with containers, the actual shell and like, the outline of them tends to be pret perfect because it's metal.
Speaker C:And for them to effectively be able to go from port to port, they have to stay in that original shape.
Speaker C:So whenever they're damaged, they typically will pull it out of circulation.
Speaker C:So anyways, not to just go on a massive rant, but there's a lot more to the industry that people don't really think about.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, the part about using it, we'll call it, like you say, gently used.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Is important because if some people, in my experience, people that are interested in container homes, they're not interested in doing a container home and then basically covering the outside and doing like stucco or anything like that, they may only want to do.
Speaker A:They may want to keep part of the look of the container, mostly outside, but some people on the inside, you know, where they want to have that more industrial look, they'll keep the container look from the inside.
Speaker A:And being able to do it when creating the outside in the design, you could do maybe a wainscot of stone on the outside, just to accent it.
Speaker A:And then you could build out the property, like with an adjoining deck or something else, which actually.
Speaker A:And if you have a large enough, like you put a big arcadia door or something in the side of the container, you could bring the outside in and the inside out, Which I know in a lot of traditional homes, we've put in these panoramic doors that are like 12ft long.
Speaker A:So you can basically expand what you start with.
Speaker A:And it all depends on the design and what you're actually looking for and what you want to do.
Speaker A:But building up and doing that, I love the fact that you could take those containers.
Speaker A:And if you really want to get into the exterior architectural look of a container home or a container community that is more than one story, you could do so many different things with 40 foot containers, combining them, decking them.
Speaker A:Maybe combine a 40 with a 20.
Speaker A:You know, I've seen square stacks of 40s and on top there's a 20 and on the, and on the third floor, technically when you're looking at it, the rest of that part that is 20ft is you know, an elevated deck so you can look and see if you have a surrounding great view.
Speaker A:You have your, your own personal deck up there.
Speaker A:So there's just so many different things that you could do in making it affordable by doing what you're doing while you're creating them and manufacturing them in a controlled environment so that this way when they go out into the field, the, the time involved that the homeowner is waiting for them and seeing what's going on with their property is whole lot less, you know, time involved and it's more cost efficient like you said.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, no, absolutely, that's a great point.
Speaker C:And you're totally spot on.
Speaker C:So the possibilities are absolutely endless.
Speaker C:My favorite designs are the ones that are very modern looking and I'm, I'm a huge fan of like farmhouse, the white with the black piping like that.
Speaker C:That's my, my favorite.
Speaker C:So a lot of the women, if we're working with buyers that are like, hey, we want to build our own home and we would love for be unique, for it to be energy efficient.
Speaker C:We, we want it to be environmentally friendly, like all of those things.
Speaker C:A lot of times buyers will want to create their own home out of this because of the unique factor and because they can really save money like long term.
Speaker C:So not even just in the build itself, but when they are more energy efficient, which truly if they're, they're built correctly, they are, you can get credits, you can get refunds, all these things.
Speaker C:So of traditional consumers tend to like it for those reasons.
Speaker C:But I have notice 90% of the men that we've received inquiries from, whether they be developers or investors, they love the look that you are describing because again, like men are very visual and they're very much set on the original concept of container homes are small and we want it to be a doomsday prepping ability.
Speaker C:So like I've had people reach out saying, can you make a single container?
Speaker C:So we came out with a line of singles because a lot of people are looking at containers as a way to add space to their existing property.
Speaker C:So whether you want rental income, you want your own office space, you want an in law suite, like it is so easy now to literally get online and special order and request one of these.
Speaker C:But I just want to make a very clear distinction because there's a lot of possibilities here.
Speaker C:But people get very, very confused.
Speaker C:What you just described is the most commonly, I would say, believed principle when it comes to container homes.
Speaker C:People assume that they are prefabricated, prefab or pre manufactured, which they totally can be.
Speaker C:And what I just described when we launched a single line, having one unit that people can purchase and have delivered to their home, we start ours at 99k and those would have to be made off site and then delivered.
Speaker C:So you're right.
Speaker C:But the true developments that, that we pitch, that we work with investors and builders on those are ones that we will build on site.
Speaker C:Because in order to have these insured and get mortgages from banks, like that was the biggest hurdle that I had to solve.
Speaker C:And it took me a full nine months of just calling bank after bank after bank.
Speaker C:And then we have a partnership now exclusively that they've agreed they will write a mortgage on any home we build anywhere in the country.
Speaker C:But a lot of banks are very skittish and scared of this concept because of what we already talked about.
Speaker C:They think container homes are prefabricated, small trailers.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And everyone knows like you can't get a mortgage on a trailer.
Speaker C:And that's what they think of.
Speaker C:They think that you're just going to airdrop a piece of crap that's, you know, you bought for three grand and you want a mortgage for 180,000.
Speaker C:So that's not what it is at all.
Speaker C:And that's why for or building someone's home, in order for us to get a mortgage on it, get it insured for them, all those things, we will just have the containers delivered to the site.
Speaker C:And we say that we're not building a container home.
Speaker C:We are building with container elements.
Speaker C:We're using the steel from the container and that makes it a traditional permanent steel structure.
Speaker C:So it turns it into regular construction versus prefab construction.
Speaker C:So that was a very small but very, very big thing that we had to learn.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's all, it's about verbiage.
Speaker A:And I know what you're talking about, the banks and stuff because they, they are looking at it and they want to lend money and mortgage companies are looking at it and say, well, I don't have any homes like say in that area that you can compare it to so they can get compatible, comparable numbers.
Speaker A:So it's just too, it.
Speaker A:Well it was in the past.
Speaker A:It was just too easy to say no so that's what they did.
Speaker A:But you've solved that problem, which is so important.
Speaker A:Important that when people because I had people call me, like, why I can't get any, you know, mortgages, you know, and I've searched and searched, and I found a gentleman who actually does that in Florida who actually their company actually writes mortgages for container homes.
Speaker A:So, again, if you're committed, like I know you are to finding solutions to these problems, because you see the vision that's that's so important.
Speaker A:We just finished an incredible first part of our Boxcar Universe series with Chloe Millard from Boxluxe Homes.
Speaker A:She shared some amazing insights into the future of luxury modular living.
Speaker A:And we're just getting started.
Speaker A:So I want everybody to stay tuned for part two, where we dive even deeper into this fascinating conversation.
Speaker A:You won't want to miss it.
