It's a space that most people don't often see when they visit someone else’s home. But it’s there, silently collecting clutter, and housing everything from old boxes of papers and holiday decorations to lawn care equipment and children’s toys. Not just a place to park a car, a garage is often treated as extra storage space, especially when square footage of the home is limited.
And for some, the mere thought of a garage makeover is a daunting one.
“It’s just an easy place to store stuff that doesn’t have a home anywhere else,” says Mark Clapper, of Susquehanna Garage Solutions (www.susquehannags.com).
It’s also a tempting place to hang onto things that are no longer needed. People form emotional attachments to their stuff, making it far easier to keep, rather than discard, items. When these factors are combined with years of home ownership and a lack of an organizational system, the task of overhauling the garage may seem like an insurmountable feat.
But it doesn’t have to be. With some expert advice and a little work, making over your garage space is possible. Your garage can function and flow better than you imagined. It could even be an extension of your home that you’re proud to show to others.
Take a look at our tips from local professionals on best garage makeover practices. Then, check out our Pinterest board to see photos of projects and find more great organizational tips.
MAKE A PLAN AND DOWNSIZE.
The first step towards maximizing and rehabbing your garage space is to make a plan by looking at the bigger picture: What do you want your garage to be? Are you hoping to more efficiently store items, or simply to squeeze your car back into the space? “A lot of times, people don’t step back and look at the space in general,” says Clapper. Susquehanna Garage Solutions co-owner Jon Witmer agrees. “Many times, people have things in their garage that they just don’t need to have,” Witmer says. So, begin by sorting through your belongings, dividing items into piles: Things to keep and store; items to donate to charities, such as Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity; and extras that belong in the trash. You could even consider hosting a garage sale.
But the bottom line? You need to downsize. “Get rid of anything that’s not needed,” Witmer suggests. “Ask yourself, ‘When was the last time you used something?’ ”
“CONTAINERIZE.”
Now that you’ve successfully sorted through things, you’ll need to assess leftover items in order to determine how they should be stored. California Closets (www.californiaclosets.com) design pro Jeffrey Orr calls this process “containerizing”: finding a way to keep items contained, protected and organized. “When you have a lot of small things, they tend to get loose,” Orr says. He suggests grouping similar items together, housing them in containers and labeling them for easy access. Bigger, bulkier items, such as children’s toys, should be stored on larger, lower shelves. And since a garage is often a large space, look at different purposes for different areas, such as sections for lawn care, bicycles, etc. Heavily used items need to be more accessible; seasonal items, such as holiday decorations, can be stored higher. “It boils down to what you want to reach on a daily basis,” Orr says. The expert notes that while they’re aren’t many specialty stores for containers in our area, there are options for buying these storage staples. Pottery Barn sometimes carries stylish or personalized containers, while hardware stores, such Lowe’s and Home Depot, offer more utilitarian choices.
DON’T CREATE UNNECESSARY SPACE.
While partitioning, or designating purposes for various areas of your garage, is advisable, one of the things that Orr doesn’t recommend is creating spaces you realistically won’t be using. For example, you may like the idea of housing a workout corner or workspace within your garage. But, if your treadmill becomes a clothes rack or workbench a clutter-magnet, you are not effectively using your valuable floor space. “Flat surfaces like this tend to collect things,” Orr says. “About 75 percent of the workspaces I see that are already in garages are often just a ‘drop point’ for stuff.”
CONSIDER TRENDS AND FURTHER OPTIONS.
If you’ve mastered the sorting and storage phases without managing to adding unnecessary space, consider injecting a bit of creativity into your garage makeover. According to Orr, a growing trend is creating tailored or customized spaces, everything from at-home studios to veritable “man caves” complete with sofas and televisions. At Susquehanna Garage Solutions, Witmer and Clapper say many homeowners are getting their garage floors done for easy cleaning purposes; a hybrid polymer coating is their most durable and popular choice. To cap off your makeover project, you might consider a larger pièce de résistance: a new garage door. “Garage doors have become the new entry way to the home,” says Dan Boarman of Central State Overhead Door Service (www.csdoors.com). “A new garage door can enhance the curb appeal of your home from the moment it is installed.” Not to mention, it can be the finishing touch to a revamped addition you’re now proud to show off to the neighbors.
