Images by Iain Curry
Occasionally, car guys get lucky. Such is the case with Iain, whose wife was okay with the idea of converting a room in the house into a parking space, or an attached garage that is set to redefine the idea of what an attached garage is. Now the car sits in a truly proper room, and the entire scene becomes part of the home.
“It’s pretty fun, opening the door and there’s a car just beyond the living room,” said Iain.
To make it work, the concrete floor was prepared and painted with industrial-strength grey paint, the walls were treated to a stark white, crown moldings add a touch of homey elegance to the space, recessed can lights illuminate the room sharply, and vivid blue was used on the big sliding door that separates the main house from the parking room. The blue is a great idea, it’s subtly bold and draws the eye, lending a visual anchor to the space. Iain has hung two of his racing bicycles on the wall, a number of hats, some pictures, and license plates from around the world. In all, it’s a wonderfully clean environment, not overpowering or understated, but perfectly balanced, even centered in a way, thanks again to the blue door.
“I was surprised that she was interested in the idea, to be honest,” he laughed. “But it gave me a great opportunity to bring the car into the house, something I’ve long wanted to do, incorporate the home and garage into one. It’s a humble little garage, but I think that makes it even more interesting, it’s as if the room were truly set up solely for the purpose of parking a car, which is a fantastic conversation piece.”
If nothing else, Iain and his wife have demonstrated well how a single-car garage can actually be quite stylish and accommodating.
“Single car garages can be a challenge because they are so small,” said Iain. “It’s not like you have an infinite amount of space to work with, so you have to be careful in choosing the colors, and how you fill it. So many people try to put too much in too small of a space, and it ends up looking cluttered.”
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