5 Ways (Besides Storage) to Use Your Garage

If the only thing in your garage is boxes of Christmas lights, camping gear, a lawnmower, and other storage, you’re doing it wrong. Especially if your garage is disorganized and filled with clutter. This is space gone to waste. Your garage is more than a place to put outgrown baby clothes and dusty snowshoes: it is a bonus room you never knew you needed. There are dozens of possibilities for how to use this space, and your imagination is the limit. Have you ever considered putting a pool table in your garage and turning it into a game room? Or turning your garage into a gym? Or maybe a “fan cave” to display and admire your collection of paraphernalia featuring your favorite team?

With the right kind of storage system, all these ideas and more can become a reality in your garage. To get your creative juices going, check out these ideas for ways to use your garage—and for something other than storage. 

1. Home Gym

Turning your garage into a gym can help you stay fit and healthy while making the most of the space already available on your property. Plus, it’s simple to do! All you need is a few pieces of exercise equipment—a treadmill, maybe a bike—plus some free weights, a mat, and a bench. You may already have these things lying around, gathering dust or adding clutter to your living room. Bring them out to the garage, install a few mirrors and maybe a wall-mounted TV, and you’ve got a great place to work out in the privacy of your home, no matter the weather or hour. If your storage game is strong, you’ll have plenty of space to move around, plus room for a friend or partner to join you.

2. Game Room

So you’ve always wanted a pool table, air hockey table, or foosball table—or all three—but there simply isn’t enough room in the house. Your solution: put the pool table in the garage. And don’t stop there! Create a full-fledged rec room, with a shelf for your board games and puzzles and a table to play them on (or a rug to make it comfortable to play on the floor. Putting your game room out in the garage means you don’t have to worry about taking up floor space for more “responsible” things, like a home office or nursery. You’ll get room to spread out and have fun with friends and family. You may even want to install a speaker and minibar to add something extra to your parties.

3. Craft Room

If you’re more of a crafty person, you need a space with plenty of room to spread out your fabrics, warm up your glue guns, and keep your fancy scissors away from the kids. The garage makes a great spot for crafting. Get a nice long table and some shelving to store supplies, and you’ve got a great space you can escape to when inspiration strikes. If you have to leave in the middle of a project, you can leave it out without having to clean it up or worry that it will be disturbed. 

4. Work Bench

Just as a garage is a good spot for a craft room, it also makes for a great workbench. Working with wood and tools can get messy, and tools can easily get spread around the house. You’re probably already storing your toolbox and collection of saws out in the garage anyway, why not make it official and declare the garage your tool shop and workbench? Just like a craft room, you can leave projects out unfinished and come and go, working when you can. Proudly display your tools on a pegboard instead of in boxes, and build your own bench for your first project.

5. Fan Cave

We all have hobbies and interests—and some of us can get obsessive about it. Whether you’re a fan of a sports team, sci-fi/fantasy franchise, LEGOs, or other collectible, the garage may be the perfect place to set up an homage to your passion. Install shelving and proudly display all the “geeky” things you’ve collected that your partner doesn’t want in the main house. Then, set up a nice comfy chair so you can sit back and enjoy the sanctuary of your fan cave. 

Ready to build the garage space of your dreams? Make your plans a reality by clearing your storage off the ground with Garage Smart’s elevated storage systems. Learn more about our garage overhead product today.