Find out how I turned a boring, dirty room into a multi-functional finished garage everyone wants to hang out in!
What exactly is a finished garage?
A finished garage is technically defined as a garage with drywall and no exposed beams or ceiling. Everything has been insulated. In our case the walls and ceiling were finished, but we did have to rip out part of the ceiling due to mold caused by a leaky roof. We also relocated the water heater and softener into a new shed just outside.
When we purchased this home it had been bank-owned and vacant for at least ten years. While the bones were good it was in need of some updating! We’ve added air conditioning, appliances, repaired the roof, replaced window panes, purchased doors, added landscaping, fixed dry rot damage- you name it. This home has been a huge labor of love over the past year and half!
For a list of all my best tips and tricks for cozying up a garage check out this post HERE!
One thing this home was lacking was a proper laundry room. All of the plumbing for the laundry is in the garage. Fortunately the garage is attached to the house and has two big windows- letting in lots of natural light. It also has a separate entry door allowing it to be used like a mudroom. I wanted this room to be a cozy, bright multi-use space as much as possible. We repaired the broken windows and had the trim painted black to give them a pop. All of the walls got a fresh coat of Benjamin Moore White Dove. The garage floors were painted with a tan epoxy, minus the speckles.
How to create different zones and functions for your garage.
Because the home can sleep a lot of people we decided that two sets of washers and dryers would help a lot!
When you’re doing a ton of laundry ample counter space for sorting and folding laundry is key. The butcher block countertops are from Home Depot. This home is located on an avocado ranch and is also just ten minutes away from one of California’s most popular surf spots- Rincon Point. Dust, dirt and sand are a part of everyday life here. To help with this we added an outdoor shower right before you enter. We also added shelves with a long rod so you can drip dry all the bathing suits! I don’t know about you, but I hang dry a lot of things in my home.
See below for all the links for my finished garage!
Just inside the door is a bench with shoe storage and hooks for coats and backpacks- a perfect little mudroom. To create a hang out spot we added a hand-me-down slipcovered sofa and a cozy faux cowhide rug under the window. White Home Depot kitchen cabinets were updated with a peel and stick faux grasscloth wallpaper. Along the left side of the room there is slat wall storage, a make shift art station with a fold down desk, ballet barre, fold up ping pong table and basketball hoop. The best part is all of this can be folded up or rolled away if someone needs to park in here.
Adding simple touches like linen shades and lots of plants really helps to soften this space making the garage feel more like a finished living room.
Eventually we plan to add a tv and refrigerator, but for now this finished garage is a bright clean room where you can play, draw, dream, relax, workout, do laundry, store your things and of course… park!
For the full tutorial on how I stenciled this backsplash check out this post!
You can shop my finished garage here!
Connect with me over on Instagram and for more inspo check me out on Pinterest! Have a great day!
XO,
