Before and After: 3 Inspiring Backyard Garage Conversions
See how pros transformed underused structures into bright, multiuse spaces for working, relaxing and hosting guests
Looking for a space at home where you can work, play or simply relax? For these homeowners, the perfect spot was in their backyards. Their former detached garages are now multipurpose spaces that add charm and character to the surrounding gardens. They’re also designed for future needs — although none is currently being used as a full-time accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, they all can easily be adapted for that purpose in the future.
After: The reimagined garage is now an open and bright studio with a design that echoes that of the materials — wood, brick, slate and copper — found on the addition to the main house, which sits opposite the studio. Warren also repeated the aluminum-clad-wood windows seen on the main house.
He added a dormer to the northeast-facing side of the studio to add character and let in more light. “It’s a bit overscaled, for a sense of grandeur,” he says. It also is a nod to the grandeur of the curved addition on the right side of the main house. The two spaces “talk to one another,” he says.
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He added a dormer to the northeast-facing side of the studio to add character and let in more light. “It’s a bit overscaled, for a sense of grandeur,” he says. It also is a nod to the grandeur of the curved addition on the right side of the main house. The two spaces “talk to one another,” he says.
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The interior of the studio has a peaceful, gallery-like feeling with its white walls and porcelain tile floors. Douglas fir beams and wood paneling on the cathedral ceiling create an organic contrast to the room below. “We really needed a wood element to warm things up,” Warren says. Adding in the expansive views created by the large windows, the studio feels much larger than its 340 square feet.
Windows and doors: Jeld-Wen; door hardware: Baldwin Hardware; lighting: WAC Lighting
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Windows and doors: Jeld-Wen; door hardware: Baldwin Hardware; lighting: WAC Lighting
Read more about this conversion
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2. Tulum Inspiration
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman who loves spending time with her grandchildren
Location: Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: 325 square feet (30 square meters)
Designer: Abby Guild
Contractors: Mario and Marisela Arechiga of New Generation Home Improvements
Before: Seen here is the former two-car garage at the L.A. home of an active grandmother. It’s now a multifunctional space, thanks to interior designer Abby Guild (the homeowner’s daughter) and Mario and Marisela Arechiga of the design-build firm New Generation Home Improvements. The former parking spot now serves as a guest cottage, the grandchildren’s playroom and home school pod, and a laundry room and storage space. Eventually, it will be the temporary digs for the homeowner when she renovates her home.
The inspiration for the design came from a trip to Tulum, Mexico, that Guild, her mother and her sister had taken just before the project began. “We used Mexico as a jumping-off point for the design, which is worldly and full of natural, organic materials,” Guild says.
Cottage at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman who loves spending time with her grandchildren
Location: Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: 325 square feet (30 square meters)
Designer: Abby Guild
Contractors: Mario and Marisela Arechiga of New Generation Home Improvements
Before: Seen here is the former two-car garage at the L.A. home of an active grandmother. It’s now a multifunctional space, thanks to interior designer Abby Guild (the homeowner’s daughter) and Mario and Marisela Arechiga of the design-build firm New Generation Home Improvements. The former parking spot now serves as a guest cottage, the grandchildren’s playroom and home school pod, and a laundry room and storage space. Eventually, it will be the temporary digs for the homeowner when she renovates her home.
The inspiration for the design came from a trip to Tulum, Mexico, that Guild, her mother and her sister had taken just before the project began. “We used Mexico as a jumping-off point for the design, which is worldly and full of natural, organic materials,” Guild says.
After: The team reinforced the walls and poured a new, appropriately leveled concrete slab to make the space suitable for people. “It’s a challenge to convert a space that was intended for a car into a living space,” Marisela says. Pouring a new slab allowed the team to create a one-of-a-kind look for the floor. “My mother originally wanted Saltillo tile out here, but we realized it would be less expensive and easier to use the concrete to get a natural terra-cotta look,” Guild says.
Creating a light, bright space with layers of texture was a priority. French doors welcome visitors and combine with the casement windows to let lots of light into the previously dark space. The doors’ wood finish adds warmth and character.
Creating a light, bright space with layers of texture was a priority. French doors welcome visitors and combine with the casement windows to let lots of light into the previously dark space. The doors’ wood finish adds warmth and character.
Taking the ceiling all the way up to the roofline and adding skylights were other big factors in making the space bright. Tongue-and-groove paneling on the ceiling adds texture. “The ceiling is stunningly beautiful,” Guild says.
A long row of built-ins along the left wall provides storage, including bins for the grandchildren’s toys and craft supplies. “It’s easy for them to pull them out and put them away,” Guild says.
The opposite wall houses a kitchenette and the homeowner’s washer and dryer (behind the curtains). This allowed the homeowner to cross a huge item off her wish list: getting her washer and dryer out of her kitchen. A small bathroom behind the wooden doors, along with decorative touches such as vintage Mexican saloon doors, copper verdigris sconces and vintage painted tins from Mexico complete the space.
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A long row of built-ins along the left wall provides storage, including bins for the grandchildren’s toys and craft supplies. “It’s easy for them to pull them out and put them away,” Guild says.
The opposite wall houses a kitchenette and the homeowner’s washer and dryer (behind the curtains). This allowed the homeowner to cross a huge item off her wish list: getting her washer and dryer out of her kitchen. A small bathroom behind the wooden doors, along with decorative touches such as vintage Mexican saloon doors, copper verdigris sconces and vintage painted tins from Mexico complete the space.
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3. Garden Office
Office at a Glance
Who uses it: Garden designer Kathryn Everett
Location: Chevy Chase, Maryland
Size: 504 square feet (47 square meters); 21 by 24 feet
Architect: Seth Ballard of Ballard + Mensua Architecture
General contractor: Rubert Salgado of RC Construction
Before: Garden designer Kathryn Everett was looking for new office space when she realized it was right at hand in her underused two-car garage. She and her husband weren’t using the garage in its current state. Not only was it too small for modern cars, but it also had a leaky roof and structural damage from a family of raccoons that had taken up residence there.
Everett asked architect and frequent collaborator Seth Ballard to turn the garage into a space where she could work as well as meet with her two partners and her clients. She also wanted it to include a bathroom and a kitchenette, so that it could easily transform into a guest cottage if her family’s needs were to change in the future. The result is a charming office surrounded by beautiful gardens.
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Office at a Glance
Who uses it: Garden designer Kathryn Everett
Location: Chevy Chase, Maryland
Size: 504 square feet (47 square meters); 21 by 24 feet
Architect: Seth Ballard of Ballard + Mensua Architecture
General contractor: Rubert Salgado of RC Construction
Before: Garden designer Kathryn Everett was looking for new office space when she realized it was right at hand in her underused two-car garage. She and her husband weren’t using the garage in its current state. Not only was it too small for modern cars, but it also had a leaky roof and structural damage from a family of raccoons that had taken up residence there.
Everett asked architect and frequent collaborator Seth Ballard to turn the garage into a space where she could work as well as meet with her two partners and her clients. She also wanted it to include a bathroom and a kitchenette, so that it could easily transform into a guest cottage if her family’s needs were to change in the future. The result is a charming office surrounded by beautiful gardens.
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After: After working in a basement office, Everett put natural light high on her wish list. Ballard responded by adding windows and replacing the garage doors with glass-paned doors in the style of a carriage house. He also installed a Spanish tile roof to match the architecture of the main house, and added outdoor lighting with a vintage look.
Ballard helped Everett design a new patio to the right of the building as well. A French door leads out to it, and two new windows face the gardens. Two tables on the patio provide space for working or having meetings on nice days. “It’s a wonderful place for her clients to visit, and we call it the office in the garden,” Ballard says. Everett is seen here working from her new studio.
Ballard helped Everett design a new patio to the right of the building as well. A French door leads out to it, and two new windows face the gardens. Two tables on the patio provide space for working or having meetings on nice days. “It’s a wonderful place for her clients to visit, and we call it the office in the garden,” Ballard says. Everett is seen here working from her new studio.
The interior is spacious enough for desks, drawing tables, bookshelves and cabinets. A large conference table takes center stage. A kitchenette in the rear-right corner and a bathroom behind the adjacent door complete the space.
Everett is thrilled to have moved her workspace from her basement to the new garden studio. “It couldn’t be better. It’s a room of one’s own,” she says.
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Everett is thrilled to have moved her workspace from her basement to the new garden studio. “It couldn’t be better. It’s a room of one’s own,” she says.
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Studio at a Glance
Who uses it: A painter and a yoga enthusiast
Location: Washington, D.C.
Size: 340 square feet (32 square meters)
Architect: Charles Warren of Teass\Warren Architects
Landscape architect: Ryan Moody of Moody Graham
Before: These D.C. homeowners knew their tired old garage would be an eyesore in the new garden landscape architect Ryan Moody was designing for them. They also quickly realized that the building — which was too small to fit a car — could be turned into something special. “The homeowners loved the idea of transforming what was essentially an overgrown shed into a studio in the garden,” says architect Charles Warren, whom Moody recommended to the homeowners.
The homeowners wanted the reimagined building to serve several purposes. One of them likes to paint in his spare time, the other practices yoga, and they both wanted an office area. Their main focus was to create a sanctuary in the garden.
Warren kept the original garage door, which opened onto an alley, and closed off a section for storing bikes and tools. While the owners were not interested in turning the structure into a dwelling unit at the time, Warren designed it so that it could be transformed into one in the future.
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