For most of us, a garage is an area that gets full of all our junk and bits and bobs that we continue to make unnecessary excuses for, because you never know, that box of old lightbulbs that no longer work in any of the fittings in your house might come in handy one day, right? With new houses increasingly being built with smaller rooms, people now tend to use their garage for extra storage. But you wouldn’t use your living room purely for storage, so why give up your garage which is also a big chunk of your house?
By renting out a storage unit and using it for your sports equipment, spare furniture and tools, you open up your garage to being used for many more things – many more exciting things! Need some motivation? Check out our top four reasons to converting your garage so that you can use the space more efficiently.
FOR YOUR CAR
Maybe it’s time that you use your garage for what it’s actually intended for? Storing your car! Sure it isn’t the most glamorous option, but garages are meant to be used to house your vehicle to protect and secure it. By parking your car inside your garage, you help to prevent against theft, damage and the terrible British weather… and it could possibly even reduce your insurance costs!
HOME OFFICE
Are you sick and tired of being interrupted while you work in your kitchen? Well, why not convert your garage space into a new office? This way you may never be pestered again (unless you have hungry children as they can find you anywhere)! This is definitely beneficial if you’re a student who’s easily distracted, a teacher that has endless amounts of marking to do, are self-employed or regularly work from home. Plus, you can blare out your music as loud as you want without anybody complaining!
By converting your garage space into a private office, you are making better use of the square footage of your home, and are giving yourself a space to focus and dedicate to your work. It can also be a great place to set up a small salon or clinic; a cheap and cheerful way to test out whether you can build a client list on your own and avoid the dreaded “chair hire”.
EXTRA BEDROOM
Take your transformation one step further and make your garage into an additional bedroom. If you’re getting sick and tired of one of your family members, well send them away to their new bedroom on the ground floor!
On a serious note, if you are looking to expand your family or you are trying to give your growing kids some more space and independence, your garage is the ideal place. Not only is it attached to the house, meaning you can still keep an eye on them, but it can be soundproofed which is perfect for teenagers as it is on a different floor to the rest of the family; giving these older kids a sense of maturity and responsibility.
You can simply move the contents of the garage into a storage unit, and then soundproof, insulate and decorate the space to create a large bedroom away from the other main bedrooms – giving them more privacy and room.
Grab your partner and head down to IKEA to kit the place out and you’ve got yourself a spacious new room. Not only will your kids be grateful and you will have peace and quiet, but when it comes time to sell your house, its value could be significantly increased.
It can also be a great option for those who have elderly family members living with them. Stairs can be dangerous and often there comes a point when you may feel that you need to install a stairlift just to keep them safe. This isn’t ideal if you have a young family but what else can you do? Transform your garage! It will be an asset to your home for years to come and also give your parent a safe place to sleep.