Mastering Your Garage Conversion
As your family grows and kids get older, sometimes space inside the home can feel like it’s full to overflowing, especially when friends come over and add to the number of people inside. One way to add additional liveable space to your home without undertaking a costly extension is to convert your garage! It’s a great way to provide more room to your home design, while still offering independent space without changing the structure and existing floor plan. We’ve got a range of tips and ideas to help you create a living space to suit your family’s lifestyle!
Building Structure
The first thing you’ll need to add will be proper insulation, plastering to walls and ceiling, flooring, overhead lighting, and waterproofing, the latter being particularly important if you’re adding a sink or small ensuite. These things may seem costly, but will go the distance in ensuring the space is liveable and able to be utilised for years to come as a comfortable, weather-proof space. You may also need to install additional power outlets to allow for media devices, soft lighting and small appliances like fridges and heating or cooling. These things will all transform the space from an oil-stained, grimy garage to an inviting room.
Bedroom Conversion
Converting a garage to a bedroom is one of the most popular uses of the space. As children age into their late teen years, and continue to live at home with their parents into adulthood, being able to have a space to call their own is invaluable. Laying plush carpet to keep the space warm in winter, painting the walls a light neutral colour to make the room feel bigger, and adding window dressings will elevate the space to a cosy, welcoming bedroom. If you have space to install some simple shelving or a compact wardrobe system the room will be truly functional as a bedroom. Once your offspring leave the family home, the space can be used for an older family member who’s not quite ready to give up their independence. Another option would be to use it as a room for rent, creating a stream of income while still allowing both the tenant and the home owner privacy.
Office Conversion
While many new home designs offer a study nook or semi-private study zone inside, as children get older and need more room, desk space is at a premium! If one or both parents run their own business or work from home a majority of the time, you may find there’s just not enough room for everyone to work comfortably, so additional study or office space is required. Converting your garage to an office will ease the load inside, and create a place of quiet solitude for study or work. Add built-in shelving and cabinetry, a desk that spans the length of one wall to create enough space for people to work simultaneously, and even a small couch and coffee table for client meetings. You’ll have an office space that looks professional and encourages a quiet, studious atmosphere for a variety of members of the family.
Media Room Conversion
If your home design is a compact one and you only have one living space, converting your garage to a media room will give your family the chance to relax without feeling crowded. Your older teens may benefit from having a separate space where they can chill out with friends, play music in, or hold a movie night without disturbing parents or younger siblings. You may like to include sound proofing in the early stages of the conversion to ensure neighbours aren’t bothered by music or TV noise, and add thick carpeting and heavy curtains to further muffle sound. Installing a large TV, a modular couch, and a coffee table, as well as a small cupboard for snacks, a bar fridge and even a small sink area will make this the ideal set up for relaxing with friends!
Whenever you’re adding additional rooms to your home or undertaking a renovation of an existing space remember to contact your local council to check if you need to gain permits or approval before going ahead with any changes. If done correctly, a garage conversion can be a fantastic benefit to your home and family’s lifestyle! For more home design ideas and inspiration, visit the Hotondo Homes website today.
