Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

Private Property: 13 Inspired Garage Conversions

Search

Start typing to search...

Search
Outbuildings

Private Property: 13 Inspired Garage Conversions

July 29, 2020

I’ve been noticing quite a few garage renovations on my daily get-me-away-from-my-kids-before-I-implode walks. Makes sense. As remote learning and working continue to be the norm for many families, homeowners are increasingly desperate to carve out more private space. An unused garage, with the help of a contractor and architect, can become a stand-alone yoga room, guest bedroom, art studio, garage bar (a popular garage conversion in my town for obvious reasons)—truly, any space you can dream up, as long as your local building codes allow for it.

As for me, I’m considering converting our garage—currently musty, dusty, and highly disorganized—into a serene home office where I can work for a few hours without interruption, where I’m far away from the constant demands for snacks and more screen time (if a kid whines and his mom isn’t around to hear it, did it happen?).

Here, 10 great garage conversions from our archives to dream about:

Los Angeles, California

Writer Christine Lennon got everything on her wish list for her garage conversion: a guest bedroom, a home office, a changing area for the pool, and an outdoor shower. See Small-Space Living: An Inspired Garage Conversion that Prioritizes Smart Storage. Photograph by Stephen Paul and Paul Anderson, courtesy of Hunker.
Above: Writer Christine Lennon got everything on her wish list for her garage conversion: a guest bedroom, a home office, a changing area for the pool, and an outdoor shower. See Small-Space Living: An Inspired Garage Conversion that Prioritizes Smart Storage. Photograph by Stephen Paul and Paul Anderson, courtesy of Hunker.

London, England

Designer Mark Lewis transformed an unloved garage into &#8\2\20;suburban Edwardian&#8\2\2\1; guest quarters. See A Garage Converted into a Compact Guest Cottage, Courtesy of Mark Lewis. Photograph by Rory Gardiner, courtesy of Mark Lewis Interior Design.
Above: Designer Mark Lewis transformed an unloved garage into “suburban Edwardian” guest quarters. See A Garage Converted into a Compact Guest Cottage, Courtesy of Mark Lewis. Photograph by Rory Gardiner, courtesy of Mark Lewis Interior Design.

Studio City, California

Above: Model Carolyn Murphy didn’t renovate her garage; she simply redecorated. The transformation of the space into an art studio took just three days! See Carolyn Murphy’s Painting Studio—in the Garage. Photograph by Grey Crawford.

San Francisco, California

This remarkable transformation actually involved a dilapidated shed (and not a garage) but its design lessons can be easily applied to a garage conversion as well. See Before & After: A Derelict Shed in San Francisco Transformed Into an Artist’s Studio.
Above: This remarkable transformation actually involved a dilapidated shed (and not a garage) but its design lessons can be easily applied to a garage conversion as well. See Before & After: A Derelict Shed in San Francisco Transformed Into an Artist’s Studio.

Melbourne, Australia

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.

Los Angeles, California

In place of two cars, the approximately 400 square foot garage now has a kitchen, eating area, and bed. See more of this inspired conversion in Found Space: A Garage-Turned-Cottage in LA. Photograph by Jessica Alexander, courtesy of Allprace Properties.
Above: In place of two cars, the approximately 400 square foot garage now has a kitchen, eating area, and bed. See more of this inspired conversion in Found Space: A Garage-Turned-Cottage in LA. Photograph by Jessica Alexander, courtesy of Allprace Properties.

Mill Valley, California

A one-car garage outside of San Francisco became a guest cottage, or &#8\2\20;grottage,&#8\2\2\1; 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: 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.

Austin, Texas

A garage turned guest house has a bedroom alcove with a dormer window (above the bed) which mimics and size and shape of a kitchen window in the main house. For more of this garage, see Outbuilding of the Week: Back Alley House by Tim Cuppett Architects. Photograph courtesy of Tim Cuppett Architects.
Above: A garage turned guest house has a bedroom alcove with a dormer window (above the bed) which mimics and size and shape of a kitchen window in the main house. For more of this garage, see Outbuilding of the Week: Back Alley House by Tim Cuppett Architects. Photograph courtesy of Tim Cuppett Architects.

Oakland, California

Architect Christi Azevedo&#8\2\17;s hands-on knowledge of fabrication, construction, and materials is on display in her renovation of a dilapidated, 360-square-foot \1908 carriage house in Oakland, California. See more in A California Carriage House Transformed. Photograph by Susanne Friedrich and Henry DeFauw, courtesy of Christi Azevedo.
Above: Architect Christi Azevedo’s hands-on knowledge of fabrication, construction, and materials is on display in her renovation of a dilapidated, 360-square-foot 1908 carriage house in Oakland, California. See more in A California Carriage House Transformed. Photograph by Susanne Friedrich and Henry DeFauw, courtesy of Christi Azevedo.

Auckland, New Zealand

Designer Karin Montgomery Spath transformed a garage, for clients to live in while their house in Auckland was being renovated. “I suggested that I could make a loft apartment above the two-car garage for them to live in during the renovation, and that it wouldn’t cost much more than a rental,” says Karin.For more of this project, see Small Space Living: An Airy Studio Apartment in a Garage. Photograph by Matthew Williams.
Above: Designer Karin Montgomery Spath transformed a garage, for clients to live in while their house in Auckland was being renovated. “I suggested that I could make a loft apartment above the two-car garage for them to live in during the renovation, and that it wouldn’t cost much more than a rental,” says Karin.For more of this project, see Small Space Living: An Airy Studio Apartment in a Garage. Photograph by Matthew Williams.

Portland, Oregon

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: 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.

Los Angeles, California

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.

Washington, D.C.

Architect Catherine Fowlkes of Fowlkes Studio converted a unused garage into a guest cabana and to create direct access from the house into a large backyard. For more of this project, see Outbuilding of the Week: A Guest Cabana in Washington, D.C. Photograph by Brandon Webster courtesy of Fowlkes Studio.
Above: Architect Catherine Fowlkes of Fowlkes Studio converted a unused garage into a guest cabana and to create direct access from the house into a large backyard. For more of this project, see Outbuilding of the Week: A Guest Cabana in Washington, D.C. Photograph by Brandon Webster courtesy of Fowlkes Studio.

Find more ways to make better use of the garage:

(Visited 3,629 times, 8 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
Add to Collection
New Collection

Explore Deeper Into These Areas

Previous Post

Gardening 101: How to Prune Roses

July 27, 2020
Next Post

Gardening 101: Hardy Begonia

July 30, 2020

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

Related Stories

Read all recent posts

join us on Instagram Logo

gardenista_sourcebook

Sourcebook for Cultivated Living, sister site to @remodelista
Tag us using #gardenista 🌿🌱

Gardens & Outdoor Living

v5.0

×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.

Full Access Individual Subscription

Benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99


×
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.

Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

My Account

Your member profile is powered by memberstack