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Junk-Storing Garage Becomes a Cabana Getaway
See how a family short on space swapped storage for a steam shower, a wet bar and room to play
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
While this family of four enjoyed the cozy, cottage-like feeling of their house, they knew they needed more space. "Our kids share a room, which gets pretty tight," says one of the owners. "We wanted some extra room for visitors and for when the kids get bigger." They didn't have to look farther than their extra-large garage, which wasted a lot of space on stored junk. "We wanted some breathing room since our house is small and we have two growing kids," the owner says. "We also wanted a bathroom closer to the pool and a protected space convenient for refreshments and shelter for the backyard. We basically wanted a peaceful place to hang out, a sanctuary." After the couple had architectural plans in hand, they hired Bill Fry, whom friends had recommended, to build it.
The garage structure is extra long and offered enough space for a living room with a wet bar and a full bath, though the foundation needed some unexpected structural work to support the new uses. While a full garage remains, the back provides space for the family to mix drinks, play games, read, get on the Internet, mix playlists for the outdoor speakers, have a movie night, store snacks and grab a postswim shower, indoors or out.
Space at a Glance
Location: Los Gatos, California
Size: Approximately 270 square feet
Year built: 2011
The garage structure is extra long and offered enough space for a living room with a wet bar and a full bath, though the foundation needed some unexpected structural work to support the new uses. While a full garage remains, the back provides space for the family to mix drinks, play games, read, get on the Internet, mix playlists for the outdoor speakers, have a movie night, store snacks and grab a postswim shower, indoors or out.
Space at a Glance
Location: Los Gatos, California
Size: Approximately 270 square feet
Year built: 2011
| |
The living space enjoys natural light from the large sliding doors that recall a restful Japanese teahouse.
A peek through the doors from outside reveals a light and open space as well as a view through the pocket door to the full bathroom.
A peek through the doors from outside reveals a light and open space as well as a view through the pocket door to the full bathroom.
Shelves behind the sofa provide ample space for board games, magazines, towels, DVDs and books. "I sometimes will read or watch movies out here," says the homeowner. "My kids love to watch MythBusters, read and play games with their friends in the cabana."
| A sloped ceiling creates a cozy spot for the sofa and offered the opportunity to add a skylight and a ceiling fan. |
Cleverly placed wall niches are used for storage and display.
Lots of wet feet trample through the space; these are radiant heat floors that look like wood but are actually porcelain tile.
Flooring: Parker Wood Porcelain Tile
Lots of wet feet trample through the space; these are radiant heat floors that look like wood but are actually porcelain tile.
Flooring: Parker Wood Porcelain Tile
| In the wet bar area, custom open shelving instead of clunky upper cabinets leaves things more open and makes the space appear larger. In addition to providing a spot for mixology, this area comes in handy during al fresco dinner parties. "If we have friends over during nice weather, we’ll eat out in the backyard and we’ll set up a buffet inside the cabana, which is very convenient," says the homeowner. |
| Clutter never makes it into the cabana in the first place, so open shelves didn't present the usual issues. "The nice thing is that this little cabana serves as a 'getaway' place — we don’t use it every day the way we use the rooms in our house, so it doesn’t get cluttered," says the homeowner. "The shelves have a smooth finish, so they are very easy to wipe down. Consequently, it always feels clean in this space, even when our house feels chaotic!" |
Another niche provides storage for glassware. The backdrop of mosaic tile can be enjoyed through the glasses and glass shelves.
The elegant quartz countertops were locally found remnants.
The elegant quartz countertops were locally found remnants.
Moving into the bath, a clear glass shower enclosure keeps the open feeling, making the bathroom look larger than it really is.
The shower is a steam shower by ThermaSol. The glass at the top tilts down to keep the steam inside the stall.
Tile: Tile Fantastic
The shower is a steam shower by ThermaSol. The glass at the top tilts down to keep the steam inside the stall.
Tile: Tile Fantastic
| A pony wall provides extra privacy around the commode. A mosaic tile border continues throughout the entire bath. |
A well-placed niche provides storage for bath towels.
Tip: When using open shelving in the bathroom, you really cannot go wrong with white towels.
Tip: When using open shelving in the bathroom, you really cannot go wrong with white towels.
Yet another niche in the shower provides space for shampoo and even some decorative shells.
Tip: When planning shower niches, make sure they are tall enough to accomodate your favorite products. If you like to buy shampoo in bulk, design around those tall bottles.
Tip: When planning shower niches, make sure they are tall enough to accomodate your favorite products. If you like to buy shampoo in bulk, design around those tall bottles.
| The mosaic detail continues to the shower stall floor. A bench and a ledge provide room for bottles and having a seat. |
When there's no time for the full steam treatment, an outdoor shower provides a spot for a quick rinse.
The homeowner got a little overzealous when it came to tile inside, but the outdoor shower benefitted. "I fell in love with too many types of tile, so the tile designer tried to work them all into the design — it looked pretty darn good on paper, but when the tile guy started installing the tiles, the design was very muddled and really did not work at all," she explains.
"After losing sleep over it, I decided we needed to rip out some of the tile he’d already installed and just go with a simpler design. The silver lining was that we ended up salvaging some of the already purchased, unused tile by installing it in the outside shower area, which turned out more elegant than we were planning. It was a lovely way to use the materials."
"After losing sleep over it, I decided we needed to rip out some of the tile he’d already installed and just go with a simpler design. The silver lining was that we ended up salvaging some of the already purchased, unused tile by installing it in the outside shower area, which turned out more elegant than we were planning. It was a lovely way to use the materials."
| Finally, the other side of the garage offers more play space in the form of a giant chessboard. "The chessboard idea was sparked from something I saw in a landscape book and one I'd seen at an upscale outdoor shopping mall," says the homeowner. "My kids had just begun to get into chess, and I thought it would be a fun element to add to the yard. I wanted to make it subtle, kind of like a surprise, and our landscaper did a great job with it." More: 8 Tips for Pool House Perfection Houzz Tour: A Tale of Two Pool Houses |
Ideabook published on July 23, 2012.
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- Rhoda Fry
http://billfryconstruction.com/
Thanks, Rhoda, for the fast response on the doors/windows by Eagle.
Don Porter
The amount of interest that Becky's story has generated has been quite remarkable - I've also gotten lots of questions on the individual photos. Isn't it refreshing to get the homeowner's point of view too? I thought the houzz community would enjoy that twist, so I shared our client info with Becky and the client had fun with it too!
You can find some more images of this project here:
Project: Guest House Design, San Francisco Bay Area 1
There aren't that many exterior photos because my objective in getting photos was for my website - and the main event is really on the inside! By the way, fellow houzz colleague Mark took the photos:
Project: Guest House Design, San Francisco Bay Area 2
I drew a picture of what the floor plan looks like (attached in pdf + jpg). Now that I looked at the photos, I realized that I flipped the bar window and outdoor shower. But it will give you a general idea. This was a very UNUSUAL garage - it was SUPER DEEP. There is still room for 2 cars in the garage section and my contractor husband also reconfigured some of the storage area and added a staircase to access a new loft above the cars. So there certainly is less garage storage than before - but there is better use of space there - sorry no photographs. Obviously, this concept won't work for every home.
Hope this helps!
:) Rhoda
http://www.billfryconstruction.com/
:) Rhoda
http://billfryconstruction.com/
:) Rhoda
http://www.billfryconstruction.com/
:) Rhoda
http://www.billfryconstruction.com/