Before And After Garage Makeover

Before and After Garage Makeover – a renovation project to inspire.

When I think of most garages – an image pops into my head of clutter, seasonal decor, and dirty work benches. Jeff and I love organizing every part of our home, including our garage. Our last home was a new build, so we were able to install our dream garage before we moved in.

Two years ago we bought a fixer upper and have been spending the last couple of years renovating it. We had so much to do… tear out the majority of the interior, redo the entire front and back yards, and re-configure the majority of those spaces. We weren’t able to attack the garage until just this past month but now I am happy to say that we are finished. PHEW!!

After

Before (one week prior to our redo)

This is what our garage looked like a week ago. And this wasn’t even the worst of it.. this was taken after we spent a couple of days cleaning & donating tons. Note all the stuff laying around.. including that dry erase marker.. (We don’t even have a whiteboard?!)

To give you a little insight on the real issue.. my home does not have any storage. As a matter of fact, there are no cabinets outside of those in the kitchen to speak of. There is no walk-in pantry, and my upstairs linen closet is a joke. It’s tiny! As a blogger, not only do I receive a ton of home decor items from brands that I am working with, but I’m also purchasing and redoing spaces on my own. Oftentimes all at the same time. This is a recipe for disaster if you’re a neat freak like me. To make matters worse, I can’t always shuffle things out to make room for the new items that arrive simply because I may have months of partnerships ahead of me and need to store things for awhile.

Knowing that we were planning to organize our garage in October, we let the garage go entirely this past couple of months. It immediately became the space I avoided at all costs. I never opened the garage door if anyone was around.. afraid they would think I’m a hoarder. ;) To be honest it really became fun… If something arrived in the mail I simply threw it in the garage until I needed it. Talk about a walk-in closet! It’s amazing what ignoring something can do for your stress levels. I let it all go and knowing our plan, never worried about the mess.

Our old garage after clearing everything out

As our garage redo week finally approached, Jeff and I spent a few days going through our mountain of mess and began weeding through everything. I can’t count how many trips we took with a car full of things to my sister’s house, the battered women’s shelter and finally… the dump. As for the rest of the things? All went into the house to make way for the new floor. (Soooo happy!)

So fun finally seeing the garage empty.

My dining room became the running joke whenever friends came over. If you watched my stories this past weekend then you may remember this view. It was hilarious seeing how crazy my house looked.. Once again, knowing our plan, I had fun with the situation and didn’t care. I looked at this mess as a great problem to have. We had waited two years to attack our garage. We were so happy.

The time finally came and the guys arrived to begin our new garage floor. Just like the floor in our previous garage, we decided to once again go the Epoxy route. Made for commercial garages, Epoxy floors are extremely durable and look & feel amazing. The garage in this home was over 20 years old and had seen better days. Someone applied paint to the floor which ultimately peeled up in places and if that’s not bad enough, there were oil spills all over it.

We contacted the same people who helped us install the cabinets in our last garage and they recommended the Epoxy floor company in our area. I am San Francisco Bay Area based and this is the company we used & love: Epoxy Armor Systems. Regarding the flooring, there are different color and material options to choose from.. In my last home we went with vinyl flakes in the color “Saddle Tan”. (Not sponsored).

Vinyl flakes in “Saddle Tan”

I had planned to do the same with this home until the installers recommended the new beautiful stone flake material in the color “Pumice”. I’m so happy they recommended this because I love the lighter tone! It’s perfect for our home.

Stone flakes in “Pumice”.

This is what our floor looks like finished and up close.

The final result is beautiful. It took three days in total to install the floor rather than 2 due to the fact that they had to grind off the previous paint job before applying the new epoxy.

We love the lighter gray/tan color we chose. While some days the floor looks gray, other days it appears warmer in tone. For those who have been asking about the cost of our floor.. pricing is determined on a few different criteria. You really need to get an estimate based on your own home’s needs.
If you would like to get an estimate, simply call for an appointment.

Next up… Cabinet installation!

When it came to the cabinets we decided to go with the same cabinet maker from our previous garage due to a few factors. Most importantly, we LOVED our cabinets in our last garage! For 12 years too. The cabinets come in several color choices. Of course we chose white. They are installed so that they are lifted off the floor which allows you to hose the floor and clean it easier. The cabinets are extremely strong & can hold a ton of weight. Another advantage.. they can be configured in a multitude of ways. The guys actually customize the cabinets based on your needs. You can have drawers, shelves, or hanging space for tools installed.. whatever you prefer! We had them wrap the water heater with cabinets as well as our water softener. Everything is hidden. I love the clean look.

Another feature of these cabinets is the option of adding a butcher block work station which is something that Jeff really wanted. He does a lot of the handy work and DIY projects around our home and the workbench helps significantly. Something else he loves is the cabinet space cutout that allows for his large Craftsman tool chest to sit partially hidden.

The cabinet company we used is, “We’re Organized”. They are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and a few other places in the U.S.. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, make sure to ask for Ray for an estimate. He worked on both this garage and our previous garage – he’s the best! Click here to learn more about them. (Not sponsored)

Now that the garage looks beautiful on the outside, the next step…? Organizing the interiors of all the cabinets. I’m working on this with The Container Store… stay tuned for more on that soon.! ;)

xo,
Kristy