Did you know, nine in ten garages in the UK don’t actually house a car? If you don’t own a car or you do but you prefer to store it on your driveway, could you be making better use of those precious square inches on your premises? Today, we’re taking a look at some possible ideas for putting your garage to better use.

A granny flat

While you probably wouldn’t want yours to come with added extras like Gail Platt’s new pad in Corrie but a granny flat housed within a garage conversion can be a cost-effective addition to your property. A garage to granny flat conversion might cost you around £10,000 but you’ll boost the price of your property for every square foot added. Whether you use the extra room to house an elderly relative or a teen craving their own space, make sure you consider your lighting options well to avoid things getting dark and dingy, Vufold has some beautiful outdoor and indoor bi-fold doors that will let you welcome in the light and stop the space looking cramped.
 

A walk in wardrobe

What’s better than an extra room? A whole extra room dedicated to housing your wardrobe, of course. Make floordrobe moments and over-stuffed shoe racks a thing of the past by converting your garage space into your very own walk-in wardrobe. This kind of upgrade will allow you to bring in a level of organisation befitting your collection. Walk-in wardrobes aren’t just about keeping things pristine and in their right place though, there’s also the added benefit of having plenty of room to sashay down your own personal catwalk when it’s time to decide what to wear for a special occasion. Take a peek at this for some seriously stylish inspiration.

A hobby hub

Forget the garden shed, if you want a private space where you can indulge the hobbies closest to your heart, you should set yourself up in your integrated garage complete with electricity! Model aeroplanes, jewellery making, carpentry, furniture renovation – hobbies can help you de-stress and could earn you some extra cash too! If you plan on spending a fair amount of time in your new hobby hub, don’t forget to consider your heating options in along with sources of light and air – cold hands are less productive, after all.

A kitchen

Make cooking more than just a hobby by turning your garage into an additional kitchen where you can host cookery lessons or prepare food for your own catering business. With foodies running restaurants in their living room and the popularity of street food at an all time high you could tap up the extra space in your garage to launch your own culinary company. Failing that, you could use the garage as it was originally intended and store your own ice cream van in there. Doesn’t that sound tasty?

A gym

Do you exercise less when the weather is bad? Can’t seem to motivate yourself to head to the gym when it’s cold outside? Building your own home gym can seem like an expensive option but if you shop second hand you could kit out your own garage gym for a few thousand pounds only. To put this in perspective, the average price for a gym membership even at council owned gyms is £368 here in the in the UK, so you could have recouped your money in just a few years. Plus, there’s no waiting for machines or breathing in other people’s stinky sweat while you work out!

A games room

If toys crunching underfoot are a familiar noise in your house, perhaps it’s time to give the kids and you the ultimate luxury in the form of their own self contained games room? Along with plenty of space to store all of the toys that are currently cluttering up your living room, you could f discover some welcome quiet time for yourself too. Kitting out the space with a seating area complete with bean bags will mean children have somewhere to hang out when the British weather makes playing outdoors less than appealing. Of course, there will likely be a fair amount of work involved in kid-proofing your garage space but the positive impact on the rest of your home and your own downtime could well be worth the effort!

Do you have a garage? Do you use it to park a car in or has it become a hoarding point for gadgets and junk? Would you like to give it a new lease of life and if so, would a walk-in wardrobe or games room for the kids by more up your street?