It's a shame that cars get so much real estate. If you're lucky enough to have a garage, we're all in favor of putting the machine on the street—or getting rid of it altogether—in the interest of having more space to live, work, or maybe even rent. Here, we've chosen 10 of our all-time favorite garage conversions:
Above: A one-car garage outside of San Francisco became a guest cottage, or "grottage," with the addition of French doors, a wall of storage space, and a tiny kitchen and bath. Read the whole story in Outbuilding of the Week: The 186-Square-Foot Guest Cottage. Photograph by Nicole Franzen for Gardenista.
Above: Model Carolyn Murphy enlisted decorator Schuyler Samperton to turn her unused Santa Monica garage into a retreat for arts and crafts. Almost unbelievably, Samperton managed to accomplish the transformation in only three days. Get the details in Carolyn Murphy's Painting Studio—in the Garage. Photograph by Grey Crawford.
Above: Melbourne, Australia-based Hearth Studio turned a garage into a small home complete with kitchen, dining area, bedroom, and bath (with green clawfoot tub). The designers managed to fit it all in while retaining the character of the garage, including its hardworking concrete floor. For more, see Outbuilding of the Week: Garage Turned Studio Apartment. Photograph by Lauren Bamford.
Above: Seattle-based design firm Graypants turned a garage into a multipurpose entertaining and lounging space for a home at water's edge on Vashon Island, Washington. The firm dismantled nearly all of the garage's original walls and repurposed them as flooring inside the new building. An L-shaped portion of the original garage remains; the aging walls can be seen from the encased glass interior. Photograph by Grant Harder via Dwell.
Above: A Portland, Oregon couple converted a garage into three distinct parts: a ceramics studio, a storage room for bikes, and a wood shop. The ceramics studio, shown through the sliding glass doors above, is partitioned from the rest of the space to be free of dust from the wood shop. Read the whole story in Rehab Diaries: A Garage Turned Studio Workshop in Portland, OR.
Above: Remodelista + Gardenista Architect/Designer Directory member Cary Bernstein Architect turned a 1908 two-story garage into part playroom, part guest bedroom, complete with a full bathroom and wine cellar (for when the kids no longer need the space to play). Read more in Architect Visit: Cary Bernstein Resurrects a Circa 1908 Garage. Photograph by Sharon Risedorph.
Above: Directory members DISC Interiors turned a backyard one-car garage into a small garden sitting room with a desk, bookshelves, reading chairs, and antique mirrored doors. See the details in A Garage Turned Garden Room in LA. Photograph by David John.
Above: Seattle-based JAS Design Build turned an old boathouse on Lake Washington into a multipurpose family center with changing room, shower, and storage for sports equipment. For the whole story, see Architect Visit: Lake Washington Boathouse by JAS Design Build.
Above: In their own home, the owners of LA-based Dry Design Studio dismantled their existing garage and rebuilt it with the same timbers, organized in a new layout more conducive to family life. Read more in Steal This Look: Live/Work Kitchen by Dry Design Studio.
Above: A Hollywood couple remodeled their 100-year-old garage to become a miniature house in full, complete with a living space, kitchen, bedroom, bath, and private patio. Read the whole story in Rehab Diary: From Garage to Tiny Cottage in LA, on a Budget. Photograph by Bethany Nauert.
Find more ways to make better use of the garage:
- Garage Envy: 10 Sleekly Styled Garages
- 10 Easy Pieces: Garage Storage Units
- Hardscaping 101: Garage Flooring
- The Studio Apartment, Garage Edition
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