Shipping Container Cladding Ideas

Are you looking for inspiration and cladding ideas for your own container? Many of our customers have shown, cladding doesn’t have to be complicated. From natural timber finishes to full branded builds with integrated screens, cladding can help your container either blend into its surroundings, or stand out with a unique look while also improving other things like insulation or durability. Cladding is one of the most effective ways to change the look of a shipping container.
In this article we share a few real-life cladding projects from our customers who used Domino Clamps to attach their materials without causing any damage to the container. 

 

Why clad a shipping container?

Cladding is often used to give containers a more finished or professional appearance, especially for public-facing setups like cafés, events, or sports facilities. It can also help:

• Improve thermal performance (especially when paired with insulation)
• Protect containers from the elements and make them even more durable
• Turn the container wall into advertising or signage
• Comply with planning requirements in residential or sensitive areas and help blend more into the surroundings
• Create a completely new look
  

 

Check out these creative cladding ideas

Each of these container owners had their own take on container cladding, from natural timber to branded panels, depending on what they needed their container to do and how they wanted it to look.

With Domino Clamps, they were able to bring their container cladding ideas to life using the materials and designs that suited their projects best. Since the clamps allow you to securely attach almost anything to a container without drilling or welding, the possibilities are wide open.

 

Idea 1: Vertical wood slat cladding for a container project in Switzerland

Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Customer: Roger Wiedemeier
Project: Creating an entry point and a cloakroom for a site
Cladding: Wood slats or battens, vertically arranged in ‘hit and miss” style

The slatted timber cladding adds a clean, structured finish to the sides of the container. The customer also used Domino Clamps to attach a roof structure - something the cladding material alone wouldn’t have supported.

Vertical slatted wooden cladding has become a standout choice in modern architectural design, offering both aesthetic and practical advantages. Its clean, linear look adds height and sophistication to any structure, making it especially popular for contemporary buildings. Beyond visual appeal, vertical slatting encourages efficient water runoff, helping to prevent moisture build-up and reduce the risk of rot over time.

Vertical slatted wooden cladding gives this converted shipping container a clean, modern look.

Domino Clamps were also used to attach a roof structure between the shipping containers.

 

Idea 2: Branded event container with LED screen

Location: London Westfield Stratford, Manchester Piccadilly Gardens, and Birmingham Bullring (March 2024)
Customer: The Events Structure, for Pepsi Max / ID Agency
Project: Branded product sampling campaign
Cladding: External plywood cladding painted black, with an integrated LED screen

As part of Pepsi Max’s brand refresh campaign, The Events Structure converted a 20ft shipping container into a mobile sampling station, rolled out across three of the UK’s busiest city centres. To make sure the unit stood out, the container was clad in black panels and fully wrapped in Pepsi Max branding.

Domino Clamps were used to help attach the rear cladding and support an LED screen mounted to the back wall. The cladding also served a visual function, as the cladding idea here was to also smooth out the container’s corrugated surface and give it a clean look for a city centre setting and the campaign. The interior was fitted with a service counter and storage, while flags and signage outside finished off the setup for maximum visibility.

This build is a great example of how creative cladding can turn a standard container into a polished event space, and how Domino Clamps can help with modular, easily reversible installations.

The plywood cladding on this shipping container conversion incorporates an LED screen for visual impact.

The interior of the container was fitted with a service counter and storage for the samples.

 

Cladding Idea 3: Wood-clad cricket scoreboard & storage container

Location: The Walker Ground, London
Customer: The Walker Cricket Ground Trust
Project: Cricket scoreboard and storage unit
Cladding: Wood featheredge cladding & Asphalt sheet roof

This shipping container was repurposed into a simple yet smart-looking scoreboard at a community cricket ground. The natural look of the timber helps it fit into the surroundings, and hides its container entirely. The inside of the container is used to store the cricket equipment and gear. Using the outside as a cricket scoreboard is such a clever idea and really adds to the charm of the cricket ground.

Using a framing method like the one described in our framing blog, the container has been clad with pressure-treated, feather edge timber nailed to a wooden frame. This classic cladding is ideal for outdoor use, its overlapping design gives a traditional look while efficiently shedding water, reducing moisture and reducing the risk of rot. Pressure treatment adds durability, making it well-suited to harsh weather.

It’s also a budget-friendly solution compared to other cladding types, while remaining easy to maintain, if a board is damaged, it can be replaced individually without dismantling the entire panel.

Feather edge timber cladding helps this shipping container conversion fit into its surroundings.

 

Cladding Idea 4: Timber-framed container bar in Arkansas

Location: Blowing Springs Park, Bella Vista, Arkansas, USA
Customer: Mike Abbs / “The Gear Garden”
Project: Conversion of a 20ft shipping container into a beer garden bar
Cladding: Painted tongue and groove wood cladding with additional wooden features

In Bella Vista, Arkansas, Mike Abbs transformed a standard 20-foot shipping container into the "Gear Garden”. The bar serves the local beer garden at Blowing Springs Park. Mike wanted to make sure that the container blended aesthetically with the surrounding architecture and met the community's architectural guidelines. That’s why he decided to clad the container's exterior with wood; choosing tongue and groove panels for covering the container, and then adding decorative stained wood features to give the impression of a traditional wood framed building. 

Having previously used self-tapping screws for similar projects, Mike wanted to find a method this time that wouldn't compromise the container's integrity. After discovering Domino Clamps through a YouTube tutorial, he utilized them to attach timber framing and cladding without drilling or welding. He was very content that he could not only preserve the container's structure but also streamlined the cladding process.

Check out the full case study of this shipping container bar conversion here.

Painted tongue and groove wood cladding with additional wooden features gives this shipping container bar conversion a rustic but modern look.

 

Cladding Idea 5: Wooden framed storage container

Location: Lancashire, UK
Customer: Christopher
Project: Cladding of a 20ft shipping container 
Cladding: Rough sawn boards with additional wooden trim

Christopher used eight of our Domino Clamps and plywood adapters to put together this sturdy looking container clad with 150mm (6”) softwood boards. The container was brought in to be used as a storage unit at their paddock in Lancashire, keeping horse tack, tools and other equipment safe and dry. 

Using treated softwood planks such as these for cladding offers a cost-effective and sustainable way to enhance the exterior of a building; they can be easily found in most hardware stores as they have several functions in cladding, roofing and decking. They are usually pressure-treated to withstand outdoor conditions, protecting against rot, insects, and moisture. The natural appearance of softwood adds visual warmth, while the cladding itself provides an additional layer of insulation and weather resistance, improving both energy efficiency and long-term durability.

Christopher said the Domino Clamps were very easy to use during the project, and having watched a couple of our cladding tutorials, they were easily able to put together the frame, then screw the horizontal planks to the unit, to help it blend in better with its surroundings. Finally they added some Additional trim to tidy up the edges of the container. 

Treated softwood planks help this shipping container storage unit and tack room blend into its surroundings.

 

Final thoughts - What we like about these cladding projects

What stood out to us most in these projects is just how different each one turned out. Some customers used simple timber slats for a clean finish. Another customer built a fully branded activation space with integrated screens. And then there’s the cricket scoreboard, a clever and functional addition to a storage container for sports equipment. It blends perfectly into its surroundings.

The common thread? Each project started with a container and an idea, plus the flexibility to attach exactly the materials they wanted. Whether it was wood, signage, a full-screen system, or even a scoreboard, they all found ways to make their individual cladding ideas work.

If you’ve got your own cladding idea in mind, hopefully this gives you a bit of inspiration to get started. If you have any questions, leave a comment below.

Want to get started?

Check out our detailed guide that covers everything from planning to installation and helps you with a step-by-step on how to clad a shipping container.

Or check our YouTube channel for our cladding tutorials and more.