I’ve been noticing quite a few garage renovations on my daily get-me-away-from-my-kids-before-I-implode walks. Makes sense. As remote learning and working continue to be the norm for many families, homeowners are increasingly desperate to carve out more private space. An unused garage, with the help of a contractor and architect, can become a stand-alone yoga room, guest bedroom, art studio, garage bar (a popular garage conversion in my town for obvious reasons)—truly, any space you can dream up, as long as your local building codes allow for it.
As for me, I’m considering converting our garage—currently musty, dusty, and highly disorganized—into a serene home office where I can work for a few hours without interruption, where I’m far away from the constant demands for snacks and more screen time (if a kid whines and his mom isn’t around to hear it, did it happen?).
Here, 15 great garage conversions from our archives to dream about:
Edinburgh, Scotland
Above: Thanks to modern glazing, slatted wood dividers, and custom furnishings made from a single oak tree, an architect and her boyfriend transformed the 387-square-foot former garage into one of the most well-composed—and Zen—studio apartments we’ve come across. Photograph by Zac & Zac, from Edinburgh Bolthole: A Stylish One-Room Vacation Apartment Converted from a Garage.
Above: Model Carolyn Murphy didn’t renovate her garage; she simply redecorated. The transformation of the space into an art studio took just three days! See Carolyn Murphy’s Painting Studio—in the Garage. Photograph by Grey Crawford.
