Garage Renovation DIY- Make It Beautiful

I’ve accepted a challenge to take my garage from drab to fab! Check out the progress, and my tips so you can DIY your own garage renovation!

I’ve done a crazy thing. I joined the oneroomchallenge. Know what this is? It’s a challenge sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens where a team of designers & guest participants get a chance to showcase the rooms that they are renovating. The catch is the rooms must be finished in just 8 short weeks. Yikes! But… there’s nothing like a deadline to kick my butt into gear! Anyone else relate?! I knew I needed to do a garage renovation so this was the perfect time to bite the bullet and FINISH a room for once! So today is a first in a series I’d like to call… “My Garage Renovation”- so this is part 1 I guess? 😉

If you came here from the ORC site, hello! I’m Laurie. A home decor enthusiast and mom of three girls who believes in embracing life FULLY! We recently purchased a home on a ranch in the foothills of southern California and have spent the last year slowly fixing it up!

How do I make my garage beautiful?

I asked myself this question because of the fact that the laundry is in the garage. I have three kids so I do a LOT of laundry. And, like most people we want our workspace to also function as a beautiful space. Also, living in southern California means pretty mild weather year round. There’s a lot of people who like to renovate their garage into a multi-use room. I mean, why use (waste) all that space just for your cars… am I right?! 😉

What I plan to do to renovate my garage and make it into a beautiful space.

• Paint the floors. I can not stress this enough. Fresh clean floors will make your garage feel so much brighter. I debated over whether to use a laminate but in the end just went with a beige epoxy. No speckle finish for me either. I want my garage to feel clean, bright, simple and beachy. Sand colored floors were the most cost efficient way to go.
  
• Paint the walls. You can’t go wrong with a clean bright white. It really brightens everything up. I like using Benjamin Moore’s White Dove because it has a slightly creamy undertone giving it a warmer vibe. TIP! I suggest going with an eggshell finish or higher for your garage since it is a room that will most likely house lots of greasy things. (sports equipment, tires etc.)
  
• Bring in natural light if possible. Okay, I realize this can bring the dollars way up, but it does make all the difference. ESPECIALLY if you’re going to use it as a multi-purpose room. My garage already had two windows (lucky I know!). So all I had to do was paint the trim black to update them. Other ways you can add natural light would be…
  • Switch out your side door (if you have one) with one that has a window.
  • If possible, upgrade the overhead garage doors with one that has windows.
  • Add a skylight. Companies like Solatube provide a more affordable option by streaming in the light via a small opening they create in your roof.
  • Opening up the ceiling and painting it white obviously is a much bigger project, but the upside is a bigger, brighter feel for your garage renovation.
    
• Switch out utilitarian lights for ones with personality. These are the types of things people often overlook, and it makes such a huge difference. If you want your garage to be beautiful you need to think of it like you would as if it were your living room. Warm cozy lighting that is also functional and beautiful to look at is a win, win, win! I also plan on adding a big modern ceiling fan to this space. Since the doors on a garage are often left open whether you’re hanging out or working on a project- its nice to have a good air flow.
  
• Pick storage this is both beautiful and functional. Beauty really is in the eye of the beholder on this one. Most guys see super sleek steel storage and go all googly eyed. I, on the other hand, wanted my garage renovation to feel as much like a room in our house as it could. Mainly because this is also where my laundry will live. We decided to go with inexpensive white Home Depot kitchen cabinets! I had my handyman install them along with a butcher block counter we also purchased from Home Depot. The opposite wall will have slat wall storage. I like this idea because it doesn’t take up any floor space and it gives you more vertical space to work with. Slat wall storage is also very versatile (you can easily update it to work with whatever you need to hang), and it makes finding what you need very easy.
  
• Don’t forget to add textiles. If your garage is going to be a room then adding little things like a beautiful rug by the door to greet you as you enter, or hanging curtains over windows to soften and diffuse the light, and even using curtains or shades to disguise ugly storage- can really help to cozy up your space!
  
• Add an accent wall! I’ve seen designers using wallpaper more and more in their multi-use room/garages, and I LOVE it! What an easy and practical way to add a bit of unexpected whimsy or glamour to an otherwise very overlooked room. In my case we unfortunately have gritty orange peel walls so no wallpaper is in my future. I am, however, stenciling a cute backsplash over my laundry area with paint! It is time consuming, but the upside is I can DIY this part of my garage renovation so that is saving me a lot of money.
  
• Create zones. If you’re renovating your garage to be a multi-purpose room think about how this room can best serve you and map it out. Ours will function as a mud room (landing zone as you enter the door), laundry, storage, game room, art zone and parking when needed! Check out my floor plan below!

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Thanks so much for joining me on this renovation journey! Be sure to follow along on my Instagram stories where I show the daily progress. And also check out the ORC blog page– you will be so inspired by what all the guest participants are doing!