Is your garage looking a little old, cluttered, and tired? This space often becomes a dumping ground for everything you don’t want in your house: hoses, boxes, sports equipment, tools. It can become less of a garage and more of a messy, stuffed area you pass through from car to house.
If you’re ready to clear out the clutter, we’re here for you. Here are six ways to give your garage a facelift.
1. Improve your garage door
You can either replace the door entirely renovate your current door, says Ben Pehling, sales manager at Quality Overhead Doors in Rochester. If you opt to replace it, the hot color for new garage doors is black, he says, though steel doors with a wood grain appearance remain popular too. If you choose to renovate your existing garage door, Pehling suggests adding handles or decorative straps.
Even a fresh coat of wax is a good idea. "As far as adding curb appeal, if you have an old, old door, bring back the shimmer and shine to when it was a new door" says Pehling. "Give your door a coat of wax just like it’s a car. It sits outside 24/7 and the sun takes a toll on it."
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Painting faux windows onto your garage door is another simple way to add curb appeal, and YouTube has plenty of videos showing how to do it yourself.
2. Upgrade your lighting
Lighting in garages tends to be dim. Why not brighten it up?
Any home improvement store can hook you up with interior light options for your garage. If your outdoor lighting is also old, consider a cool new exterior light on each side of your garage door to add curb appeal and after-hours visibility.
3. Add storage options
Storage bins, wall shelves, or ceiling racks add order to a cluttered space. Bike racks can give your two-wheeled units a place to reside. Tupperware bins can store balls, mitts, and other sports gear. And ceiling racks are ideal places for those random items you only use occasionally.
On the wall, add hooks for your shovels, rakes, and other things that stand up along the wall. Secure tracks to the wall studs before hooking anything up for proper support.
4. Lighten things up with a fresh coat of paint
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Bruce Struve from Struve’s Paint and Decorating in Rochester says interior paint works just fine in most garages that have sheetrock walls. If you have a space that lets in moisture, however, you might want to consider using an exterior paint on the inside garage walls. A basic color such as white or off white will brighten your space significantly, he says.
5 . Resurface your garage floor
If your cement is in rough shape in your garage, do some research on options for resurfacing your floor. Struve says most homeowners will want to consider hiring a contractor for this task. In the end, a new coat of epoxy will really brighten things up in your garage, but even a good sweep and a power wash can do wonders to brighten up your space and make it feel newer.
6. Avoid dings and dents
There are a few clever garage hacks to avoid scraping your car door or front bumper against whatever you’re storing. Attach a pool noodle horizontally on the garage wall adjacent to where you park, and you can protect your car door from banging into the wall.
Another trick is to hang a tennis ball or golf ball from the garage ceiling so you’ll always pull in to just the right spot – far enough in to close the door, but not so far you ding the front bumper on anything you’re storing.
So find a nice afternoon, open the garage door, and start checking off some of these updates. You won’t regret spiffing up this high-traffic area of your home.
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