4 Approaches To Garage Design

If you’re building a garage, you don’t want it to be good. You want it to be great. Consider these 4 approaches to garage design before getting started.

 

Garage Design Options

To get from no garage to a great garage, you have options. You can be a total DIYer, or you can hire a professional to do it all for you.There is actually a third option. Hire professionals for the tough stuff and you do the rest.

That has almost always been my approach. Especially when it comes to design.It’s easy to flip through dozens or 100s of plans in magazine or online and find something perfect, or almost perfect, for your situation. I fit in the almost perfect category, so I hired a pro.

Do Your Homework

Even if you do decide to hire a professional designer for your garage plans, you need to do your homework. If you do the heavy lifting up front, things will go much more smoothly when you are paying someone else for their professional input.

The alternative is to start from scratch and be prepared to write a bigger check in the end. Even if you have unlimited funds, it is still a good idea to do your homework before visiting a designer or architect.

4 Garage Design Options

Here are four different approaches when working with a designer:

1. I know what I want

Bring your dream garage list. Bring your sketches and mockups. The more specific you can be, the more likely you will get the garage design you really want.

2. I’m not exactly sure, but I’ve seen some things I like

Bring pictures or copies of garage plans you like, or links to websites with designs you like. Bring pictures of garages you have seen in “real life.” Call it a scrapbook, a wish book or an idea repository. Just put everything in one place and bring it with you when meeting with your designer.

If you can point to other garages you like, this will help your designer move in the right direction. If you can steal someone else’s great garage design, do that. Maybe yours won’t be the first, but it can be the best.

“Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Pablo Picasso.

3. I’m not a designer, but I know the end result I want.

Do you want it to house your cars? Add value to your home? Give you a place to do your art or store your stuff? Knowing the purpose(s) for your new garage will go a long way towards designing what you need. Start with the result you want to achieve and give your designer the freedom to help you get there.

4. I’ll know it when I see it.

This is a great approach if you want to drive your designer nuts. Or if they’re a mind reader and you are their only client. If you have unlimited time and money, go for it. For the rest of us, try options 1, 2 or 3.

HatTip to Seth Godin

Need Help With Your Garage Design?

If you need some help getting started with designing your perfect garage, I created a downloadable worksheet that is loaded with ideas and design considerations. It also includes a list of my top online resources for inspiration

You can also visit the How To Build a Garage page and follow along as I design and build my personal garage. Watch me start from scratch and move from pre-design all the way to completion.