Take Back the Garage

Jonathan Baker November 30, 2010

I'm the creator of a lifestyle website called Simple Classic Living. It's an observational guide to style and happiness. http://simpleclassicliving.wordpress.com/

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At what point did the garage become the neglected space of unstylish storage and mess … the black sheep of the house that is sadly only good for hanging bicycles and storing gardening materials? I think the garage can mean more. Here you have a room that's dedicated to ruggedness; might as well take advantage of it! From accent colors to unique storage (read: elementary foot lockers), these seven inspirational photos will help spruce up any carport.

HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

If you want your garage to feel like it belongs with the house (and less like a place for your trash), treat it as such. The half-wall paneling and trim add a tasteful, understated accent to this garage that already has all the bells and whistles. Even if you were to take out the vintage car, hanging airplane and giant iron wheels, the color separation in the paneling still allows it to hold its own.

Dijeau Poage Construction

Not everyone can have a custom garage built for their Bentley, but there is something that can be taken from this photo: the consistency of the cabinets. If you need your garage to mostly serve as storage, make a statement by using only one style and color. This really defines what the room is meant for, and says it boldly.

HartmanBaldwin Design/Build

You shouldn’t go college-style and decorate your place with street signs, but the one room where big signage totally works is the garage. Signs just seem to make perfect visual sense when paired with industrial equipment, and I especially love how these are hanging from the ceiling. If you can’t find such memorabilia, vintage framed ads can add a similar effect.

Jetton Construction, Inc.

Having a sink in the garage (especially of that style of sink) is an elegant and practical touch. However, this is probably a bit unreasonable unless you’re building a custom home. Using tree stumps for shelving, however, is easily adaptable to most spaces and gives off both ruggedness and warmth.

Soorikian Architecture

I love the American realness in this photograph. And I think clutter can have its place in a garage as long as it's authentic, and kept to a minimum. There is stylishness to actually using your space to work. The leaning pieces of plywood, the WD-40, the squeegee: this is what American garages are supposed to be filled with.

Kerrie Kelly Design Lab

The vintage line of Porsches certainly help the aesthetic in this room, but what makes this garage pop is the red accent wall. Even if you don’t have framed photos of cars to match your luxury line of German automobiles, simply painting a wall a bold color makes you immediately notice the space, rather than avoid it.

An easy way to make your garage stand out is by using interesting or unusual pieces for storage. Enter: elementary-style metal foot lockers. I use these in my house to store magazines, books, style guides and field notes, but think how easily (and stylishly) this could be adapted to a garage.