When one thinks of a room representing luxury lifestyle, it’s likely their mind won’t first turn to the garage. This underappreciated space is often written off as the realm of clutter and storage, something we walk through and never walk to. But ask yourself: do you really need another space for more stuff? Wouldn’t you much rather extend the available space in your home to share time with family and friends? If you have any desire to live mindfully, with less clutter, and more luxuriously, converting your garage into a lounge might be the right choice for you.
Hardy Houseplants
The best way to make a space feel lived in is to put some live plants around the space. If you have reason to believe you will not be making use of your new lounge space every day, consider committing to some low maintenance, hardy plants to color the space. Let’s be real: we were not all blessed at birth with a natural green thumb, but there are plants such as succulents that require very minimal TLC to keep a space looking lively and fun. The cast iron plant, a green leafy plant with adorable white speckles, actually prefers low light, so it’s perfect for a garage environment. Another super independent shrub to consider is the Christmas Cactus, which thrives even in colder temperatures.
Let the Air In
The main advantages of making a living space out of your garage are ease of access and the availability of fresh air. It has all the advantages of a patio with added shade on those hot summer days, and you have the added four walls of privacy from nosey neighbors and lookie-loos. Garage door screens make the most of the space while protecting you from pesky gnats that threaten to ruin your good time.
Industrial Décor Style
Because of the closed nature of garages, you will definitely have to implement artificial lighting to make the most of your space after dark. An industrial décor lends itself naturally to artificial lighting, so it is an easy and natural fit for the sparseness of garages. Industrial styles tend to be very stripped down, giving rooms a natural, welcoming aesthetic. It’s unique and easy to incorporate. Think gold accents, black iron wrought furniture, and pops of warm color. Once you have the bare bones structure down, you can easily change color schemes and incorporate different textures into an industrial décor.
Area Rug
An area rug is essential to making a garage space feel like a part of your home. Otherwise, you risk the room retaining the vibe of the dank storage space you are trying to escape. An outdoor rug will suit the purpose just fine and will likely be hardy enough to weather the elements trampled in with foot traffic. In keeping with an industrial theme, something with a stark, two color pattern or just a solid color would fit in nicely. (Be sure to keep the colors dark, however, to keep dirt from showing!)
Patio Furniture
Luxury fabrics and high quality cushions can upgrade even the most budget friendly outdoor furniture to match the deluxe vibes you are trying to radiate in your lounge space. In the same way you would upgrade the linens of your bedroom or living room for both decorating purposes and your personal comfort, consider investing in some seriously plush furniture cushions to make your garage lounge a room you’ll actually look forward to frequenting. Grit and grime build up over time and deteriorate both the look and feel of furniture exposed to the elements, so once you make an investment in some good quality cushions, take care of them! Invest in covers to cover your furniture when the weather will be particularly humid and rainy, because your garage likely isn’t as well insulated as the rest of your home, and wash any linens you use regularly according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Keep Clutter Out
Another great incentive to turn your garage into an extension of your living space is to keep clutter to a minimum. When you reduce your garage to only a storage space, it becomes very easy to just toss whatever you don’t want to see in there and forget about it. Cordoning off most of your garage space into an outdoor lounge is a great way to keep available real estate for clutter dumping limited. This way, you will have to really consider whether the items you want to keep are actually worth taking up space on one of the three shelves you have designated for storage. Reducing clutter is great, but preventing clutter is even better. Ask yourself: do I need a garage’s worth of stuff, or can I dedicate this space to something more mindful and meaningful in my life, like hanging out with family and friends?