Sorry, did not get what your dilemma is.

Cozy in winter, airy in summer? I hope the space is well insulated and has air conditioning, too? One window? Keeping the space light in color will help. Drywall vs. ceiling tile? Carpet for flooring? Hard wood?

If the ceiling will be used as a bedroom your window will have to be sized to meet egress requirements. Hopefully, your garage was inspected during construction and the window does meet egress requirement.

What a fun project! agree with @Kendrah - keep it light and bright, I would paint that floor in a pale blue and white large check pattern if it were me

Thank you to all the lovers! and no thanks to the haters of ‘faux’ ceiling tiles! And my ‘dilemma’?…was a break out space for dirt cheap! Still in progress but happy so far! Still a work in progress and my teens are working t w/in their budget and together to make a cool space.

And still plenty of storage above our garage!

Some details…natural cork over OSB on walls and made ‘chandelier’ to place over recessed bulb…still have to put other one up. All in so far…~ 1.5k

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Be careful with the light trim, it could be a fire hazard.

If it were to become a bedroom be aware that there must be a window of a size and configuration that will allow for egress.

Looks like a fire hazard…..also- no vents??

That looks cozy and fun. There is the lighting concern. Also, where do you live? I ask because it looks like you have no venting in the ceiling/roof. Or vents in general. That's going to get stuffy/hot as heck in the summer. And likely pretty chilly in the winter if you get a winter- you can't really run heaters if you don't have ventilation in the room. You said it's a detached garage, so it isn't running on house vents- does the downstairs have the heating/cooling system? If so, how is it getting run upstairs?

Thank you everyone. It’s a 20x12 space above a detached newly built garage in the north w lots of shade and 2 of these windows on either side for cross ventilation. Get a nice breeze through there. Entire garage is insulated with electric heat unit on first floor. Open staircase so heat rises nicely. The recessed lights are low heat LED’s on sensors and the ‘chandeliers’ are made of new flame resistant synthetic material that do not actually touch the fixtures. Though detached from main house we have this tied into our emergency service monitoring system for fire, CO and security. But truly it was intended for overflow storage and is now doubling g as a fun break out space. Took a nap in there the other day during some rain. Very cozy indeed.

And please excuse the little frog in last picture. Didn’t mean to add that to the album and not sure how to edit these posts. New to houzz!

I think that such a space can be turned into a very cool place to relax, or even to work. It can be equipped with maximum comfort and you can spend time there with family and friends.

We had such a place in the attic at our dacha and we put a big sofa and TV there and often gathered with friends there

The main thing is to insulate the attic, otherwise it will be very cold

Is there any chance you could post the garage plan you used? The exact dimensions of the single detached garage I want are 14 x 20. I would also like a loft area above that can be used for extra sleeping at the lake house or art studio. Thank you.