I wanted to post about my latest project. The Garage! 
I have decided to completely do over my garage since it is close to unusable right now. It is just a dumping ground for everything that needs to be stored... and I know it can be so much more. Let me give you the tour:  |
| Left hand side is lined by built in shelves. There also is a hose spigot on this wall.. since the front of the house has no external hose hookups. There is a little "niche" between the end of the shelving and a exterior access utility closet where we currently house the freezer (no I am not talking the fridge in this photo.. that is being sold.. there is ANOTHER freezer hidden in there.) |
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| Back wall. The entry door as well as the furnace and water heater take up a large portion of this wall. Plus when the van is pulled in far enough to close the garage door there is less than 12 inches of clearance at the front of the garage. It is NOT a deep garage. |
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| Right hand side. The previous owners had nail riddled 1x2s on the wall (apparently to hang stuff from) We currently tend to park on this side of the garage so we have everything pushed flush against the wall. |
Not only are the contents of the garage a mess, but the garage ITSELF is a disaster. Whoever drywalled and taped it did a HORRIBLE job. The joint compound is crumbling and the tape is peeling off. Some areas it has puckered and torn.. and none of the nail holes were ever filled.
There also are DOZENS of random nails sticking out all over the place. A lot of them are so loose they pull right out, so I have no idea what they must have held before.
And although the space is finished, it has never been painted which is another thing I want to remedy. I also hope to use a few of the ideas that I have seen on Pinterest (like redoing the entryway, since it is the door we use 99% of the time)But that is just the tip of the iceberg.My goals for the space are to incorporate 5 functional areas (besides parking the car) to fufill the needs of our household.
Area 1: StorageThis is what we mainly use the garage for now. This house has no basement, no attic access and limited closet space. We are in a moderate climate, so the garage is suitable for storing just about everything. 
This is going to be a major component of the redesign because I am going to need to create storage "zones" for specific types of things. For example: Lawn and Garden, Holidays, Camping Equipment, Sporting Equipment, Suitcases, Baby Gear/Kids Stuff.There are some great options out there, if I can figure out how to accommodate them:Area 2: WorkshopSince starting my journey into the world of home improvement, I have accumulated a lot of tools and other stuff that I frequently need to access. Right now all my tools and gear are chaotically scattered around the garage. I want to make sure I get it all organized and easily accessible since right now everything takes longer because I have to spend so much time just finding what I need. I have a mini work/saw bench from the cabinets I tore out of the laundry room. I want to make sure I accommodate that as well as storage for specific things like lumber, saw horses, paint, ladders, hardware etc. Area 3: MudroomOur house doesn't have a formal entryway. There is a coat closet by the front door, but that is about it. The coat closet is also the only closet on the ground floor so it houses all my brooms, vacuums, mops, along with coats, shoes, sporting equipment, a laundry hamper, dance shoes, school supplies... yadda yadda yadda.
I want to designate a space in the garage specifically for a lot of that junk. I am hoping to give each family member a cubby to keep all their coats and shoes and anything else that typically gets dumped either in the closet or on the floor on the way in from the garage. Area 4: Pantry/FreezerI have a small freezer in the garage that right now I cannot access. I want to make sure I plan for an outlet and ample space to house the freezer (and perhaps a few shelves for pantry items.) The kitchen freezer is busting at the seams and I would love to be able to get that freezer back up and running.
Area 5: Trash
Yes I must house my trash cans in the garage per HOA rules. Soooo... I have to take up a large footprint of the garage storing those bad boys. They should be close enough to the garage door that they are easily wheeled to the curb, but also should be accessible from the house while the car is parked in the garage. They are actually quite a pain to deal with.
The last big project I have planned is to epoxy the floor. I have been painting on it without a drop cloth just knowing I was going to upgrade it.
All of that PLUS fit in my car! No problem.. right?
One step at time.. one step at a time.
Linking up here
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Thank you for your understanding.
Argh! I hate (envy) you!!!
ReplyDeleteI so want your future garage. Good luck!
oh wow. What a project to take on! Can't wait to see the after!!
ReplyDeleteI can't WAIT for you to get done with this, since your garage problems closely resemble my basement problems also. My basement with the 1970s orange and yellow, looks-like-clown-vomit epoxy floor!
ReplyDeleteHowever, since I'm *still* not done with the kitchen (damn you, kitchen!)... I will be watching and waiting with eager anticipation.
Just love other DIYing women-- ain't no power tool gonna stop us! :)
I love the inspiration pics! Our garage is VERY similar to your before pics, so I will be watching to see what you do and what tips you have to complete the job! Good luck!
ReplyDeletetestin
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted a locker/mudroom station but felt my family room (the room right off the garage) was too small. Thanks for opening my eyes to the possibility of putting my mudroom IN the garage. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteLove your ideas. Our garage is need of a major fix-up too but we might have to wait one more year.
ReplyDeleteI love this project and will come back for inspiration, because our garage is very similar to yours and also my ideas/wishes for it resemble yours a lot! So I will see how you tackle those problems and maybe copy some of your ideas when I'll make over our garage.
ReplyDeleteJule
I'm bookmarking you. My garage looks like yours, and I have all the same "issues". We have the SAME drywall problemss (unfinished never painted, and pull out nails and all), no mudroom, have to keep garbage inside of garage, need tool storage, etc. I'll be watching, because I don't know where on earth to begin my projects, so I don't! You go girl!!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you do!! Come back and post the progress and/or finished project on Handy Man, Crafty woman! thanks for linking this up last week.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being my inspiration. I came across the picture of the garage door with shelving unit and shelf with hooks on pinterest and immediately set to work on this. Our house doesn't have a formal entry way either and the only closet has brooms and other random stuff, including the garbage can so I cant put our coats in there. The shelf by the garage door was perfect! THANK YOU!!! Can't wait to see your final product :)
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