10 Mistakes That Are Making Your Garage Unappealing

10 Mistakes That Are Making Your Garage Unappealing

You want to use your garage like you would any other “real” room in your home, but you can’t bring yourself to go in there, it’s just too depressing! If it’s such an inhospitable space, it may be that you are committing these 10 mistakes. 

1. Not Thinking About Lighting

A dark room is a depressing room, whether it’s a kitchen, bathroom or garage! Adding a window to let the sunshine in can be quite expensive and is not always possible. A simpler and more affordable renovation project is installing multiple light sources. Choose bright light fixtures and bulbs that are warm in tone for a more inviting atmosphere.

2. Not Tackling Unpleasant Odours

If every time you breathe in through your nose, the smells of gasoline, oil or rusted metal offend your nostrils, you must remedy the situation. Otherwise, you’ll never feel comfortable in this room. A good cleaning and an aroma diffuser are a must!

3. Using It as a Storage Room

Are you discouraged by your untidy kitchen drawer? Why would you feel differently about your poor garage that has inherited everything that did not fit into any of the other rooms in the house? If you have completely run out of space, it may be time to declutter. For example, there is no point keeping that box of baby toys in the garage if your youngest has just entered university!

4. Not Heating the Garage

This is probably not news to you! A cold garage in winter is no place to spend time. But of course, if it’s poorly insulated, there may be no point in heating it to make it usable. You’ll just be throwing money away. It’s up to you to find the balance that best meets your needs.

5. Leaving Things on the Floor

There is nothing more off-putting than a room in which is impossible to safely move around. The best thing to do is to keep materials and tools off the ground, leaving the floor hazard free. No room? Store your possessions elsewhere, such as in the shed or attic (if you’re lucky enough to have one!).

6. Not Taking Advantage of the Walls

There is often a lack of space in the garage, so use every available square inch. The walls can accommodate shelves, hooks and pegboards. The ceiling is perfect for storing items that you can hang such as bicycles. If your garage’s ceiling is high enough, you could even build a mezzanine.

7. Leaving It Black and Grey

“Colour please!” is what you garage is crying out to you every time to walk in. It is its grey decor is what is making it unfriendly. Give it what it needs. Get a fire-engine red toolbox, paint the concrete floor blue, hang bold vintage posters, add chrome shelves, etc.

8. Not Delineating Zones

Like any other room in the house, a successfully designed a garage is all about proportions. If the square footage permits divide the space into separate zones. For example, set up a handwashing station by installing a standing sink, with a beautiful shelf overhead and a floor mat. You can also create a gym area or a place to store your sports equipment. The important thing is not to jumble all the different uses together. This will only lead to visual chaos. Clearly defined areas will make finding your possessions easier, too!

9. Not Utilizing Storage Furniture

In a garage, there is often a wide range of screws, tools, wires and other unaesthetic items that you don’t necessarily want to constantly be looking at. Leaving them out and lying about is a mistake. The solution: there are several models of sturdy garage storage cabinets in stores you can install to keep all this stuff out of sight. 

10. Not Keeping It Clean

It is true that a garage can be difficult to keep clean. Its proximity to the outside makes it easy for dust to come in and accumulate. However, if you have it properly set up and everything is tidy, it won’t be such a hassle to maintain.

 

If you avoid these 10 mistakes, there’s no reason why your garage shouldn’t become a room that you look forward to spending time in.

RE/MAX Québec

By RE/MAX Québec

By RE/MAX Québec

A leader in the real estate industry since 1982, the RE/MAX network brings together the most efficient brokers.