6 Amazing Garage Conversions Dreamed Up by ers

Most of us could use a little extra space — for an office, for entertaining or just for relaxing — but a number of us have the funds or room to add on to our existing homes. However there may be a blank slate nearby, just waiting to be reinvented: the garage.

These six er garage conversions have gone above and beyond the average remodel. No longer in need of a parking spot, or tired of looking at the mess that had piled up, these homeowners took advantage of the empty or dilapidated garages. The resulting dream rooms gave these households the extra distance they were searching for.

Suzanne Dingley Interiors

er: Suzanne Dingley, Suzanne Dingley Interiors
Location: Salt Lake City
Toilet size: 180 square feet, detached
DIY or professional job? The two

A brand new work-from-home job supposed that Suzanne Dingley’s husband needed a new office. Rather than cramming into their house, the couple turned into their detached garage, which had turned into a dark and filthy dumping ground for junk. They gutted the distance, exposed the rafters and pitched roof, and put in new floors and built-in storage.

Suzanne Dingley Interiors

The white and red colour palette evolved from the Ikea photograph of a London bus — a tribute to the couple’s British roots.

Suzanne Dingley Interiors

The set replaced the existing garage doors with two sets of French doors and two new windows to allow in natural lighting. The newly insulated ceiling and flooring control the internal temperature, but a window warmer and distance heater help out, too. “My husband is quite happy with his distance, especially with his short commute throughout the yard,” states Dingley.

er:Rick Giudicessi
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Toilet size: 240 square feet, connected
DIY or professional job? Professional

This 1930s garage was not just worn out and beat up; its odd design and tiny garage door made it impossible for Rick Giudicessi to park his car inside. Rather than using it for storage, then he turned it into a tiki bar with an attached terrace in which his family can amuse year-round. “When the weather finishes using the terrace and tiki bar area, we proceed inside to the heated area,” he states.

Taking the garage down to the studs and designing an open ceiling turned the bland distance into just what the family now calls The Annex. Although Giudicessi made a lot of the new space himself, all of the structural work required professional help.

New cabinetry, a bar top, a satellite TV and bar stool seats make The Annex the ideal sports bar, ideal for entertaining in rain or shine.

Michael and Kathy Brown
Location: Cincinnati
Toilet size: 600 square feet, attached
DIY or professional job? Professional

Though Michael Brown used his attached garage, it became a fast solution for some extra distance when his in-laws moved in. The house’s original kitchen was too small to sponsor two extra people, therefore Brown had the garage changed into a professional-grade kitchen, using a brand new garage attached to the side. The remodel required help from architects and contractors, but the result was well worthwhile. “We have never regretted doing this, not even for another,” he states.

Megan and Rich Hirsch
Location: Bexley, Ohio
Toilet size: 525 square feet, detached
DIY or professional job? The two

Megan Hirsch enjoys having outside parties, but her yard and main dining area were too little to contain the large groups she wished to sponsor. The garage, which opens into the house’s backyard, had plenty of room to spare. Reserving part of the street-facing section of the garage for parking nevertheless left area for indoor-outdoor enjoyable. A 14-foot watching screen rolls down within the back of the garage so that the family can host outdoor film nights and Ohio State University football parties.

The brand new black standing-seam-metal roof contrasts with the fresh white siding, placing the garage apart from the brick main house. Considering that the garage is visible in the road, the Hirsches needed something that would make an impact.

Fans, a disco ball, classic fixtures and a large dinner table set the ambiance for dinner parties inside. The Hirsches set up the hanging lantern onto a pulley in order that they can lift and lower it on the dinner table, lighting nighttime feasts.

er: Nancy Rice
Location: West Wareham, Massachusetts
Toilet size: 300 square feet, connected
DIY or professional job? Professional

Nancy Rice didn’t need a place to park her car, so she took advantage of the chance to flip her garage into her dream area: a personal library.

With the help of a contractor, she made a classic Victorian-style library, complete with floor-to-ceiling shelves along with a bank of windows with a window seat for studying. “I’m a retired schoolteacher and a lifelong bookworm,” she states. “I have always dreamed of owning my own library. I suppose it was from watching classic movies and studying British literature”

Michelle and Rich Walton
Location: Long Beach, California
Toilet size: 400 square feet, detached
DIY or professional job? Professional

Three active kids, a pool and consistently warm California weather required an outdoor hangout area for this Long Beach family. Rather than building something new, Michelle Walton and her family worked together with Royce Flom Construction to flip their garage into a joint pool house and storage space for their outdoor equipment.

“I’m from Ohio and grew up with basements. My husband is from California and states, ‘The garage is your California basement. No one parks within their own garage in California,'” Walton says.

New French doors create a pass-through in the pool into the house on the other side of their garage. Walton painted the floor together with nonskid paint, so the kids would not slip and slide while coming in from the pool.

The white, casual, beachy vibe was a given for the family. “We love the shore, and we have a great deal of surfboards,” Walton says.

More:
Watch more garage transformations from readers
Browse more photos of sheds and garages on
Learn how to get more living space in the garage

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