How to Create an Outdoor Living Room with Your Garage

Combined indoor and outdoor living space is very trendy right now. Making use of your garage as an outdoor living space is a great way to give your family more room and make the best possible use of the square footage that you have. Using a garage as an outdoor living room is an easy way to totally change the function of your home and create the living or entertaining space that you have always wanted.

Getting Started

The first thing that you need to do when you’re thinking about creating an outdoor living room from your garage space is assess the space that you have in your garage. How big is the space? What is the current flooring? And how much natural light does it get? Make a list of all the changes that you want to make to the existing garage structure in order to make it a great living space. Adding new windows is a smart way to transform the garage into living space. New windows will make the space feel open and bright instead of cramped and closed. Energy efficient new windows will help control the temperature inside the room and keep it at a comfortable level.

Plan Ahead

After you have assessed that space that you have and you have a pretty good idea of what it will take to turn the garage into a comfortable living space you should think about what you want to use it for the most. That way you can design a room that will offer flexibility but will also have a purpose. Maybe you want to create a stunning indoor and outdoor entertaining space. Or maybe you want to create a new media room where the family can gather to watch movies. Another use for an indoor and outdoor living room would be a workspace with plenty of natural light and greenery. Think about the primary purpose of the room as well as other uses for it so that you can build in features that will make the room more functional.

Get Professional Help

You should always work with professional contractors, window installers, and designers when you are taking on a renovation project like turning your garage into an outdoor living room. There are a lot of factors to consider in the design of the garage space like the number of windows in the building, functional doors in the building, what the building is made from, and what materials are the best ones to use to get the result that you want. Talking to a professional will give you the insight and advice that you need to go ahead and create that outdoor living space that you’ve always wanted.

Elements To Consider

When you’re thinking about your outdoor living room and how to use the garage that you have to the best advantage there are some design elements that you should think about carefully. Some of these elements you may be able to use from your existing garage but for other elements, you may want to upgrade and change in order to improve the function of the garage and make it the perfect blend of indoor space. Important design elements that you should consider are things like:

Doorways And Windows

What type of doors and windows does your existing garage have? Using glass sliding doors and installing more windows is a cost-effective way to let more light into the garage and make it seem like a more cheerful and inviting space. Most garages have large doors that open across the entire garage space. This type of opening can be repurposed to make your outdoor living room feel very expansive and open. Installing full-length windows across the entrance to the garage with a sliding glass door will fill the garage with natural light and make it feel spacious and open. If you want to keep the existing pull-down garage door you can enlarge the windows in the door to let in more light and transform the garage from dark and dreary to bright and beautiful. You can also install other doors at other access points so that the garage can be accessed from different sides.

Flooring

The right flooring is important when creating an outdoor living room in your garage. It should be something that is highly functional and won’t get ruined if drinks or food get spilled on it. It should be atmosphere resistant in case the garage isn’t as energy efficient or weather tight as it should be.



It’s a good idea to stick with vinyl laminate flooring when you’re turning the garage into an outdoor living room or use real hardwood if you have the budget to accommodate real hardwoods and you love the elegance of hardwood flooring. But for homeowners that want to create a bonus room on a budget vinyl laminate flooring is a great choice. It’s easy to clean and it’s practically indestructible so your kids can play on it, pets can walk on it, and it won’t matter if anything spills on it. With a broom and a mop, you can easily clean up any mess that you, your family or your guests make.

Fun To Have Features

The best part of turning your garage into more functional living space is that you can turn it into almost any type of garage space that you want. With new flooring and new windows, you can turn a dark garage into a brand new light-filled oasis for you, or you can create the perfect teen hang out space for your kids. If you love to have your family over for picnics, hanging out, and other shared fun time together you can turn your garage into the ultimate party room complete with pool and other games. You can even add on a barbecue area in the back for those summer get-togethers. There is no end to the creative and unique ways that you can transform your garage into a totally new space.

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