Our Favourite Garage Conversion Ideas

Remember the days where the purpose of a garage was solely to store your car, motorbike, bicycle or personal ‘junk’ that you couldn’t bear to part with? Well, those days are literally a thing of the past with more and more people choosing to utilise what is essentially an ‘extra room’ for an array of activities that enhance their personal wellbeing and work/life balance.

Below we look at some of the most popular reasons to convert your garage and some ideas of what to include and how to go about it.

Office/Study

Since the advent of Covid 19, more and more people have been advised to work from home if they can. This has created a surge in the sale of desks, chairs and office equipment. But, what do you do when your new home office is taking over your usual living space?

To fully separate their work from their home life many people have opted to convert their garage space into a home office or study. Not only does this separate working from relaxing but also offers a suitable space for personal paperwork, bills, general filing and storage.

To fully ensure that your office/study is comfortable to work in you will need to damp proof and insulate the space. In addition, just like an employer, you need to put safety high on your agenda so special garage floor tiling to keep your floor free from dust and damp is essential.

Finally, you will need some appropriate lighting, heating and storage as well as a strong internet connection, a booster can sometimes help with this.

Gym

With the monthly costs of attending the gym ever more expensive and the onset of Covid making social distancing a daily part of our lives, many people who would previously have been hard-core gym attendees are now choosing to work out from home. A garage space is the perfect location for a home gym. You can work out at any time, day or night, you don’t have to book a slot or pay expensive fees and have no worries when it comes to distancing from others.

Most garages offer ample space for weights and machines so you can enjoy a focused work out with the equipment you choose.

Again, insulation and damp proofing are very important to make your home gym a comfortable place to work out in. Gym equipment can be built up over time but will need a sturdy, slip free, specialised garage floor tile to sit on.

Games room/media room

As technology continues to advance, many homes have multiple televisions, computers and gaming consoles. Making a media ‘den’ exclusively for enjoying various forms of media is becoming ever popular in households. Aside from insulating, heating and damp proofing your ‘den’ you may have to consider special lighting, heating and furniture to ensure your comfort whilst sitting in one place for a considerable amount of time. Specialist ergonomic chairs are perfect for the avid gamer whilst a big comfy sofa for cinema nights is ideal. Keeping your environment clean, safe and dust free can always prove to be a challenge whilst balancing this with those all-important home comforts.

A large cosy rug or carpet over some specialised garage flooring that will keep your floor warm, clean and damp free is ideal for this type of room.

Utility Room

Whether you have a small kitchen or can’t bear the noise of the washer/dryer as it is mid cycle whizzing around in the background, a utility room is the ideal solution to keep your cleaning and washing separate to the rest of your home.

Using your garage space is the perfect solution as it keeps out the mess and the noise. Many people convert their garages for this purpose and choose to house washers, dryers, fridges and freezers, cleaning materials, clothes horses, ironing boards and more.

Ideally, to transform your garage into the perfect utility room you will need a water feed into the garage. This is not only required to operate washers and dryers but also lends itself well to having a sink in your garage where you can wash off dirty boots or overalls away from your main home.

You can also install cupboards and a worktop where you keep general household tools and gardening equipment.

Some people even have an indoor clothes horse or washing line in their garage/utility room conversion if they don’t have much outdoor space or for when the weather is wet.

Obviously, it is important to make sure the garage is free from damp and that the floor is secure, level and water tight for your washer, drier, fridge or freezer to sit on as uneven floors can cause damage to these household machines over time and as there are often spillages in a utility room a clean, warm, damp free, professionally tiled floor that is easy to mop when spillages occur is advisable.

Workshop

Whether you are a keen woodworker, hobbyist or like tinkering with engines, converting your garage into a workshop where you can store all your materials, equipment, tools and machinery makes perfect sense. Having a designated space away from the home to indulge in your favourite pastimes doesn’t take too much work as long as your garage is damp free, warm and has a good electricity supply, as well as having an effective security system.

Bigger pieces of machinery will need to be fixed onto the wall or ground securely so a bespoke, robust garage tile flooring and potentially additional wall support may be required.

Bar Area

If you love entertaining or socialising as a family, there is no bigger treat than having your own space to chill out, play games or sample fine ales and the latest cocktails. Your garage offers the perfect sanctuary for this as it is often big enough to house a purpose built bar as well as a pool table, dart board, games table and more.

Insulation, heating and lighting are all hugely important for making the ideal socialising space. A purpose built bar or a pre made one will look awesome with some neon lighting and creative placement of optics. Add this to a pool table or games table and you will need to ensure your flooring is strong, durable and attractive looking for the ultimate socialising experience.

Add to this a decent sound system, a fridge for the beer and a freezer for the ice and you have your own unique entertaining space which you can use day or night to your hearts content with no ‘last orders’ being called.