It's not always the most glamorous job but the garage needs attention too. Whether you're simply cleaning out the winter grime or creating another living space you have to realize that the garage is part of your interior.
Most garages simply need a good spring cleaning and possibly a touch up in the fall. This can simply be sweeping or hosing off the floor, hanging up bikes (or taking down bikes), moving gardening supplies, stacking pots, etc. or it can involve an entire redo of your space.
Before tackling a garage project you need to envision your dream. Is this going to be a work area for someone? What work are they doing? Woodworking projects or gardening? Is it simply a place to store your cars and bicycles? Will it serve as a storage facility for all of your holiday junk and family memoribilia? Or is it going to become an extension to your living space? Garages hold a lot of options.
Once you've established the garage's purpose you need to look at it's current status. Is your garage structurally sound? How are you currently using it? Is there enough room, do you have extra space. This is the difficult part because you have to be practical about your garage's potential.
The old saying is, you can't make a purse out of a sow's ear, well you can't turn a garage into a lavish guest room...or can you? Actually, you can. But you need to have the bones to start with. The room has to be structurally sound and as weatherproof as the rest of your home. This may mean a considerable outlay of finances. So no matter what project you decide to tackle in your garage it's important to take an honest look at the possibilities and logistics of getting there.
Once you've figured out what you want and what needs to happen to get you there, a garage project is just like any other project. The first step is removing everything and doing a thorough cleaning. If your garage has stains and other unsightly spots perhaps you want to add a fresh coat of paint. You can paint the floor as well as the walls to spruce things up a bit. Exposed beams can be painted a contrasting color to add visual appeal or you can simply spray the entire thing white to minimize your effort expended.
Cleaning is really the key to a nice looking garage. But probably equally important is adequate storage. Again, this is as varied as your garage and its possible uses. Whether you want to build an entire row of enclosed cabinets or simply tack up a couple large hooks to hang things on, you need to find the storage solution that works best for you.
Being that its a garage, you don't have to opt for the nicest or most expensive solutions. Generally, a coat of paint on a discarded bookshelf or a bureau will not only suffice but will look quite attractive. Adding brightly colored touches takes away from the object's former life and gives it room to grow. A changing table becomes an excellent potting bench with the right outdoor fabric and some green paint.
If you have a lot of tools that need storage, consider getting some pegboard and covering one wall with it. To increase the appeal paint the pegboard a bright color or let your kids have some fun and create their own mural. The more organized people in the crowd can stencil the shape of the tool onto the pegboard so everyone knows what goes where.
A garage project begins with a realistic set of goals for your space and then centers around cleaning and organizing and you can turn your garage into an interior decorating work of art.
