6 ways to make your garage more functional!

Lily Cichanowicz Lily Cichanowicz
homify Garage/shed
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With real estate prices on the rise, space is an increasingly expensive commodity. In order to adapt, we must reassess the purposes and potentials of each area within the home. In doing so, you’ll likely come to realise that there are under-used areas to be exploited. 

Much like the basement or the attic, the garage is one of those spaces in the home that is often underused. While its primary purpose is to serve as a carport, for most of us it also functions as a storage area or even a hobby room. Despite how relevant the garage is to our homes, it isn’t typically a place we consider decorating or turning into a space that is altogether more functional. This is a mistake, because there are plenty of ways to spruce up the garage and enhance its overall usefulness to your home. Here are a few of our favourites!

Use shelves to organise stuff

Placing a bunch of things in labelled boxes is all well and good, but it doesn’t exactly solve the problem of finding a spot in the garage to put them. Returning to the whole utilising vertical space concept, we recommend employing some tall shelves to assist you in this task. 

Shelves like the ones pictured here are large enough to fit all sorts of different items from paint to papers to sports gear. Everything on these shelves is neatly arranged and quickly accessible. You may also wish to install a cabinet with doors for keeping things that need to be protected from the elements, like clothes. There are also stoppers you can adhere to the shelves to keep balls from rolling out.

Use the height and create a mezzanine

If your garage is blessed with a high ceiling, we can bet it’s not being fully exploited. Mezzanines and lofts may usually be reserved for inside the home, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Installing a mezzanine in the garage can help expand its floor space. You can then use the mezzanine for storage or as a place dedicated to handiwork and crafting. 

Simply set up a table in the mezzanine, and add some shelves for storing the necessary supplies. If your band needs a new place to practice, the garage mezzanine is ideal because it will afford you some privacy and help keep the main part of the home quiet while you play. As for the storage, the mezzanine is ideal for keeping winter clothes, back-filed paperwork, and sporting equipment. Just make sure that you prepare these items properly for long-term storage against the elements.

Fix bikes on the walls

The garage is where we store all kinds of bulky odds and ends. Boxes of old clothes or old appliances end up out here. Shoes and sporting gear can become tangled and dirty over time, when careful storage measures aren’t taken. Another big thing that gets kept in the garage are our bikes. If you live in a family home where each individual has their own bike, finding an organised and functional storage solution can be quite a conundrum. 

To keep your bikes in pristine condition, many experts advise hanging them them on a rack. This way they don’t fall on the floor as you remove one of the bikes from the line of others. Plus, keeping them on a bike rack is another excellent way to maximise vertical space and to free up more of your floor for other things. Simply install hooks to the wall in your garage and hang the bikes until you need to use them!

Your car should be parked on one side

Now that we’ve covered a few ways you could more fully utilise the vertical space in the garage, it’s time to consider how to most efficiently utilise the floor space of your garage. Naturally, you’ll need to ensure there’s enough room for the car, but the car also shouldn’t take up any excess room.

One of the most straightforward ways to ensure your car is only taking up the most necessary amount of space in the garage is to always park it on one side of the room rather than in the centre. This way, you’ll free up more surface area for other important things, like housing bikes and motorcycles, as we can see in this lovely garage by Bricks Studio.

Labelled boxes for housing all kinds of stuff!

Beyond our outdoor gear and transportation vehicles, the garage can be the ideal spot to stow those extra items that are too important to get rid of, but that you don’t use very often. This could include old tax files, books, shoes, children’s toys or clothes, and items inherited from a deceased loved one. We all have these sorts of things, and over time they can ultimately create clutter in the home or garage if they aren’t organised right off the bat. 

One of the best ways to keep these items under control is to place them in boxes with labels on them. The uniformity will help to detract from the sense of perceived clutter that multiple different bins and bags can create. Meanwhile, the labels will make it easy to find what you need when the time comes.

Create space for workout equipment

Finally, if you are someone that never seems to be able to make it to the gym, why not install a home workout facility? This way you don’t have to waste time commuting to and from the gym in order to get a workout in. One common reason for saying no to an in-home gym is a lack of space. Dedicating an entire room to a home gym is not an option for everyone. You could, however, set up a workout space in the garage. 

All you need is enough room for an elliptical or treadmill, an area large enough for stretching, and perhaps a storage unit to house weights. You can simply step into the garage and start burning those extra calories!

For more inspiration on garage design, check out these 6 types of home garages.

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