Garage Design Ideas: What You Need to Know to Customize Your Garage
Many homeowners forget about their garage when designing their home. They think, “It’s just a garage, no one’s going to notice it.” That’s where you’re wrong. There are many garage design ideas that will transform your garage into the best part of your home.
Your garage is the most versatile room in your entire home. It could just be where you park your cars or it can be so much more. Some homeowners turn their garage into an extra living space, workshop, gym or office.
That’s why designing your garage the way you’d like is extremely important. If you don’t have any ideas, don’t worry. We have some garage design ideas to help get you started.
Know the Types of Garages
If you’re going to start your garage design from scratch, you’ll need to know the different styles available and their benefits. For instance, the gable garage and reverse gable garage slant on two sides to allow snow and water to slide off your roof, preventing water damage. Gable garages’ roofs slope on the sides while reverse gable’s slope on the front and back.
Another popular style is the hip roof garage. Rather than sloping on two sides, a hip roof garage slopes on all four sides coming to a point at the top. This makes the garage sturdier against wind, rain and snow. Also, you’ll have a taller ceiling which is perfect for lofting your garage.
Many homeowners prefer to have a flat roof garage. They’re extremely easy to maintain while still looking beautiful. You also have the option of building a deck on the roof which is perfect for hosting friends and family or having parties. Many homeowners with small living spaces choose flat roof garages so they have more room to entertain guests.
Detached vs Attached
There’s also a huge difference between having an attached or detached garage. Attached garages have one major advantage – they’re attached to your home. Once you park your car in the garage, you won’t have to walk outside to get into your home.
However, an attached garage can bring several problems to your home as well. If your garage and garage door aren’t insulated properly, this could effect the temperature of your entire house – especially rooms that share walls with your garage.
Also, when your garage is attached to your home, it can dominate the look of your home. Since it’s so big and usually front and center of your home, it become very unattractive and lower your curb appeal if not taken care of properly.
This isn’t a problem with a detached garage. You have unlimited customization options in terms of style, roof and placement. There’s no limit to what you can do with a detached garage.
If you transform your garage into an additional living space or an apartment, you’ll want the occupants of the room to have privacy. That’s exactly what you’ll get if you have a detached garage. Since it’s not attached to the home, it’s like having a guest house but the occupants are still a short walk away from the main house.
What Size Do You Want Your Garage to Be?
Next you’ll need to determine the size of your garage. There are literally limitless options on the size of your garage. There are one, two and three car garages but even those have variants. Some one car garages may only have one garage door but are the size of a traditional two car garage. It all comes down to how you’re going to use your garage.
Custom Build Your Garage
One of the best garage design ideas is to completely customize the build of your garage from the ground up. We previously mentioned that some homeowners have garages that are the size of two car garages but have a single door. That’s because it’s custom made.
That’s not all you can do. Some homeowners have four car garages and some even have “L” shaped ones. The key is to find experienced garage builders who can create your dream garage, such as Danley’s. We’ve been serving the Chicagoland area since 1959 and have built over 100,000 garages. It’s no wonder we’re Chicago’s best garage builders.
You’ll Need to Pick Your Garage Flooring
One of the most forgotten garage design ideas is customizing the floor. Believe it or not, there are a wide variety of floors you can choose for your garage. One of the most common is to paint the floor using concrete paint. This requires the least amount of work but can still look beautiful if done correctly.
Another popular garage floor option is epoxy. It’s applied similarly to concrete paint but it has some extreme benefits. For starters, it’s oil stain resistant so if you’re working on your car in the garage, you won’t have to worry. Plus, it’s very easy to clean. Just rinse it down and it looks as good as new.
If you won’t want to paint or epoxy your floor. You can always get garage floor mats. There are so many options of floor mats available including foam, rubber and oil-resistant carpet. If you’re interested in any garage floor mat style, you should check out our article on floor mats.
Those are just the most common garage floor styles used but there are so many other options. Some homeowners even tile or carpet their garage. If you need more ideas, read our article about garage flooring styles.
How Do You Plan on Using Your Garage?
How you design your garage is completely based on what you do with your garage. For instance, if you’re just parking your cars in the garage, you may just epoxy the floor and call it a day. However, things change when you convert your garage into something else.
While epoxy is great for a garage, you may want to put hardwood down and paint the walls if you’re going to create an additional living space. Perhaps you want your own personal garage bar. In that case you may want to give it a more rustic look or add sports memorabilia on the walls.
Another unique option is to make your garage a gym. That’s when you need to add various machines, treadmills and weights around the room to ensure that you’re getting a full body work out.
Even turning your garage into a workshop could be a challenge. You’ll need adequate storage (you may even want to look into roof storage), a large work bench, tools for every occation and even a car lift if you want to perform maintenance on your car.
Whatever you do with it, there are many unique garage design ideas you can try.
Don’t Forget The Outside of Your Garage
The outside of your garage matters as well. You’ll want to make sure that your garage’s exterior is made from a durable and beautiful material that can handle Chicago’s erratic weather for years to come. There’s only one option that can do that: vinyl siding.
Vinyl siding is the most energy efficient option for your garage because it has a foam insulation layer installed beneath your garage. This will keep the outside temperatures out which is perfect for keeping your garage cool during those hot summer days.
The foam layer also makes the siding impact resistant. This is because the foam absorbs the shock when your siding is hit. With hail and heavy winds being very common in Chicago, it’s no wonder why vinyl siding is the best option for Milwaukee homeowners.
Knowing how to clean your garage is also very important when designing your garage. If your garage isn’t maintained properly, all the time and energy you put into creating your dream garage would be wasted.
These Garage Design Ideas Will Help You Create Your Dream Garage
There are so many unique garage design ideas to help customize and create the perfect garage for your home. From roof styles to flooring types, you have a lot of different decisions to make when designing a garage.
Many of your decisions will be made after you determine how you’ll be using your garage. You’ll want different flooring and decorations in a living space than you would in a workshop.
Many homeowners prefer to start their garage designs from scratch because it gives them freedom to do whatever they want. If that’s the case for you, get a free quote from Danley’s. We’ll work with you to create the perfect garage for you. Then, our professional team of builders will build your garage in no time. We take the stress out of getting a new garage.
