Garage chic: Homeowners add value with flooring, storage systems, HVAC, TVs and more

What do flat tires, lawn mowers, boxes of empty flowerpots and deflated swimming pools have in common?

If you say they all often make their homes in garages, you would be right.

And in many cases, items such as these — and more — are tossed into garages in such volume that our cars end up being parked outside.

Stop the madness!

Today there are lots of ways garages can be organized so they can hold items you truly need — in addition to your cars. They can even be made to look stylish and add function to your home.

Jim Grote, co-owner of Milwaukee’s Cream City Construction, said homeowners today are paying more attention to their garages than in the past, and are making changes to them to make them more usable and more like part of their home.

“Basically, a garage is a place to park your car. But what we have been doing lately is expanding the role of the garage,” he said.

Move over, cars

“We are putting in storage areas for gardeners and woodworkers, solariums off the side (of the garage), areas for tools, and if there’s enough room we’re even adding man caves," he said.

“Sometimes people really go crazy. You can work in your garage and have a refrigerator in there and a sound system. It’s what you dream up, really.”

“People are also putting in HVAC systems that can be closed off when they don’t want to use them. When it’s hot out and you’re working on your car, you can open it up and have your air conditioning. That makes it a more usable space ... not just a storage space for cars,” he said.

David Pekel, owner of Pekel Construction & Remodeling Inc., Wauwatosa, and president of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, said he’s seeing garages being improved when those who own older homes make "changes in other parts of their homes to add square footage.

“They go to their basements and attics to maximize usable square footage. But that’s usually at the expense of something, and that something is usually storage.

“Because of this we’re seeing a trend toward maximizing the usability of the garage for more than just vehicles and yard equipment," by adding storage systems and other amenities.

He said most of the homes his firm works on are more than 50 years old and have detached garages, but that homeowners can still make simple changes to them — or change them dramatically.

Three-level garage

One unique garage he’s done here of late was originally a dairy and chicken barn that was being used as a garage.

“It had three levels,” he said. “The bottom was for storing farm implements. The upper level was for cows and chickens, and the top was a hayloft.

“We converted the lower level to a changing area for swimming. It was like a walk-out basement. The main level became a three-car heated and cooled garage space, and the upper level became a gaming and entertainment area.”

To make more basic changes to a garage, Grote said homeowners should first look at their lighting and electrical outlets.

“The biggest thing is to bring in more lighting,” he said. “Garages often have LED lighting, and we add brighter lighting as well as additional outlets, especially around work surfaces so you can plug things in.

“We’ve also been adding dedicated outlets for electric cars,” he said.

Customized storage

David Kettleson, co-owner of Closet Concepts, Wauwatosa, said that when adding storage systems, homeowners can store belongings behind doors and in drawers, or hang them on their walls to make them more accessible.

“If a homeowner has a lot of tools in their garage and they use them a lot, those people want them more accessible. Other people, maybe with kids, would want to be able to pull in their cars and not see all the kid’s items that are stored there. 

“The doors and drawers give a cleaner look to the garage,” he said. “These homeowners are also picking colors (in their cabinets) like they would in their home and are painting their walls, especially with newer homes that have bigger garages."

He said his store deals in cabinets that are mostly made of laminate and come in about 18 different colors and wood grains. “People can make them as simple as possible or crazy cool,” he said.

Start with the walls

Kevin Keenan, owner of StoreWALL, a Grafton wall organization company that works mainly with installers but also directly with the public, said it uses a system that gives homeowners “a bigger footprint on their garage walls.”    

“We supply a flat surface made of PVC,” he said. “Once that's up, you can add a variety of things. You can personalize it with baskets, bins, totes, shelves or hooks. You also can update it and modernize it over time."

What most consumers are looking for these days are ways to store items such as bikes and other sporting equipment, lawn chairs and lawn equipment, he said. But other homeowners are turning their garages into fitness rooms or spaces to repair cars.

He said storage accessories at his store can be sold individually or in packages that are put together with specific interests in mind.

Cover that concrete

Those who really want to upgrade their garages are adding epoxy floors.

Bob Wiedenfeld, owner of Garage Floors of Wisconsin in Waukesha, said epoxy floor coatings can be put over any concrete floor and that they’re so popular now that his company does eight to 10 a week.  

He said the process takes three days and that there are four separate layers. The floors can be done in a variety of colors by adding a base color along with colored “flakes.”

A single color can be used, but Wiedenfeld said most of his customers want a mix of colors to match their home.

Some also want to get creative.

“We have done Harley-Davidson floors (with flakes of black, orange and white), as well as Badger and Packer floors. We have also done colors that match people’s business cards.“

Another option is to add glitter to it so that when the sun hits it, it pops,” he said.

The process is cost-effective, he said, as in most cases it runs $5 to $6 a square foot or less (about $3,000 for an average-size 2 ½-car garage), and is easy to maintain.

Like Grote, he said he, too, is seeing consumers paying more attention to their garages and adding more amenities.

“We are seeing people trying to get rid of clutter to make their garages more comfortable and attractive,” he said. “They are adding insulation, flat-screen TVs and ceiling fans. The garage then becomes an extension of their home, and the resale value is also amazing.”

Don’t forget the exterior

Got the inside of your garage up to speed? You may also want to buff up the exterior.

Jim Grote, of Cream City Construction, said how the outside of a garage looks is just as important as the inside.

“What we’re doing for customers is making the exterior of their garage match their homes, especially if the garage is attached.

“If you look back at older homes, their garages had as much detail as the house itself. But many of the houses built in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s just had siding on them and no detail. They were considered just a place to park the car.

“Now people are sprucing up the exteriors of their garages by adding decorative doors and windows — even dormers.

“A lot of people are going to coach doors. Some are made of wood, some aren’t wood but look like wood with panels in them and windows at the top. Some also have wrought-iron straps like the old barn doors.

He said some homeowners are even adding dormers to create offices or little spaces to get away.

“We put stairs on the outside or inside along with flooring, drywall, heating and cooling systems and lighting. These are nice extra spaces and are becoming much desired spaces."

He added that changes such as these make the garage part of the home’s architecture and add curb appeal and overall salability.

“Garages have always been way down on the pecking order when to comes to renovations, but now they are moving up,” he said.

David Pekel, of Pekel Construction & Remodeling, said he is also seeing consumers building new garages that have usable second stories. 

“They can be used for workshop space, hobbies and crafts ... or more specialized storage,” he said. 

More garage enhancements

What else can you do to buff up your garage? Here are more ideas from area garage experts.

Make your rafters a place for storage. Put plywood down in the rafters so you can walk on them. When doing this, make sure the area is structurally sound.

When hanging storage units in a garage, keep them a few inches off the floor so that if you are hosing down your garage you won’t get water in them.

Do-it-yourselfers will get the most out of their garage by starting with a good cleaning out. Then take measurements and come up with a plan to create storage zones for the items you need.

Before you buy and add any storage units, make sure you’ve measured carefully so that once they’re in place, and filled, you’ll have enough space for your car.

Create areas for trash or recycling so they don’t have to be stored outside.

Some storage units are on casters and can perform double duty. For example tools can be put in units on casters, then rolled out and used as a bar top.

Garages are a great space to store holiday items, as they are used only once a year. People often store these items in large bins, so look for cabinets or storage systems that can be designed to hold them.

If you’re building a new garage, consider adding some high-end options such as a drain so you can wash your cars or a shower base or a 12- to 14-inch tub to wash pets.