Garage Storage Design

3 projects to boost the value of your garage

For a lot of homeowners, their garage has become their go-to place for stashing everything but their actual cars.

But for those looking to sell their home in today's tough real estate market, or who are just looking to get the most out of the space, a garage facelift may be the way to go.

Here are three steps you can take to improve your garage:

1 tidy up -- There's no dispute among realtors and design experts: The worst condition a garage can be in, especially when you're trying to sell, is messy and disorganized.

"There's nothing people hate to see more than cobwebs or evidence of critters," says Elizabeth Blakeslee, an associate broker with Coldwell Banker in Washington, D.C. The garage should be kept in the same manner as the rest of the house, she says. Make sure it's tidy, paint the floor and garage door and keep the roof in as good a condition as the one over the rest of the house.

2 Add shelves and cabinets -- It's amazing how much more you can do with a garage and how much better it looks if you just get everything off the floor. Shelving units and cabinets, preferably made out of heavy-duty plastics can help de-clutter the space.

"Most garages are not climate controlled," says Barbara Butensky, director of marketing for GarageTek, a Syosset, NY-based company that makes custom garage organization and storage systems. "PVC (cabinets and shelves) holds up the best to moisture heat and cold. It can even take a few hits from kids' bats and toys and even the garage door."

Think you don't have space for them? Look up. Butensky says cabinets and shelves can often be installed near the celling, freeing up precious wall and floor space.

3 Renovate -- For those whose home just didn't come with the playroom, art studio or man cave they need, garages can be converted into extra rooms -- even small apartments. Butensky says some of her company's clients' projects have ranged from something as simple as painting squares for hopscotch or a shuffleboard court on the floor, to the fancy indoor rink complete with synthetic ice that a customer in Palm Beach, Fla. had installed. The key to any renovation is doing it right. Just like a kitchen or a bathroom, a garage done cheaply and without the right people involved won't attract buyers or allow you to recoup your investment if you sell, Blakeslee says.

Interior design ideas for garage

The starting point of garage design should be with an important decision on the purpose for which you want to design the garage interior. If you have a large garage space, then you can turn that extra space into something more than just a garage storage. If the area of your garage is not that large, even then you can organize things inside that garage and will be surprised to find that it provides enough room at your disposal, which can be used for some other activity. All this is possible with a little bit of garage interior design. Most of the spaces of a garage are occupied useless and unwanted things. If they are put into order, the garage can be engaged for useful activity. Use of cabinets, shelves, hooks, pegs and pegboards are some of the essential items, most commonly needed to organize the garage. Fix up some J hooks on the walls of the garage to hang heavy garden tools like shovels, hoes, brooms and mops. Small hardware materials like nails and screws can be kept in jars. You can buy a pegboard to put other tools on it. Shelves can be fixed on the walls to keep various things like storage bins. Chemical and other liquid materials can be kept inside the locked cabinets safely.

Garage Door Designs Art designs for garage doors are indispensable when designing garage interiors. There is a wide variety of designs for garage doors available in the market at an affordable price. You can choose old style or contemporary style according to your taste and requirement. The materials of garage door can range from Mahogany to Cedar to steel. You have the option to select the controller systems of the door. It can be a chain drive, screw drive or computer controlled. Among these, the cheapest is the chain drive, but it is going to make a lot of noise. All types of door solutions have in-built devices for preventing closure when its path is blocked. Thus, they are safe to use. You can innovate the doors by adding some extra windows to obtain the look you have in your mind. The options for garage floor covering is as diverse as polyvinyl to rubber to epoxy paints. The cheapest flooring option is the use of epoxy paints. It will enhance the look of your garage if you can make some designs. However, it makes the floor slippery and hence should be use if you do not require the garage regularly. Polyvinyl floor covering helps to hide all kinds of cracks and holes on the garage floor. It can also offer protection from stains, grease and other dirt that are common enemies of the garage floor. Rubber floor tiles is an ideal option if you are looking for a soft floor covering. Your choice for garage flooring should depend on the way you want to utilize the space of the garage.