Work from home? Transforming a garage can be easy as long as you follow these tips.
Converting the garage into a home office requires careful planning and a bit of ingenuity. A large garage can serve many purposes other than a dedicated home office and studio. It can also serve as your secondary living space or an informal hangout and homework area for your children when necessary. Here are some of the best garage home office ideas you can steal, ranging from the stylish and extravagant to the efficient and basic.
Follow these tips below!
Empty it Out
Garages are frequently used as a catch-all for everything from holiday decorations to paint cans stored for future home improvement projects. Before you can figure out how to convert a garage into a home office, you must first determine whether it is even possible. And it all starts with getting rid of the clutter! Determine what you must keep and what you can discard. Then, find a place to keep the items you need to keep. Consider purchasing an outdoor shed or installing garage shelves to help organize everything and keep it out of the way.
Survey the Space
After you’ve cleared the clutter, take a look around your garage and decide what you want and need to do for your garage-to-office conversion. Most garages, for example, have a concrete floor, some type of overhead lighting and garage doors. Paint the walls a light color for a fresh, clean look and a quick and easy facelift. If your garage has a standard door, you can give it a fresh coat of paint to give it a more professional appearance. For more involved projects (such as a new hardwood floor or overhead lighting that necessitates new outlets), you might be better off consulting with a professional like Valor Home Services.
Consider Comfort
Because garages are not year-round living spaces, you must provide adequate heating and cooling to avoid freezing in the winter and broiling in the summer. In the short term, you can easily (and cheaply) adapt to changing temperatures outside by purchasing a portable space heater, a fan and a portable air conditioner for warmer days. Long-term, you’ll probably need to invest in a more permanent HVAC system and insulation to keep the garage temperature consistent and comfortable all year.
Add Lighting
Lighting is important in the home office, and you want a good mix of task and ambient lighting. Consider yourself fortunate if you are one of the few who have windows in their garage. Proper lighting, on the other hand, is essential in a windowless room. In lieu of natural lighting, make sure your home office has lamps not only on your desk but also in other areas of your garage. You won’t feel like you’re working in a cave with the only light source right next to you this way. We suggest replacing the old garage door with translucent glass panels or sliding glass doors.
Add Security
Since your garage is the room closest to the exterior of your home, there may be a possibility of someone trying to break in, especially since your garage holds expensive office equipment like computers, laptops, printers, phones, etc. Therefore, you want to either install security features or improve the ones you already have.
Check Your Tech
If you have an attached garage, you may believe that you can rely on your Wi-Fi connection, and you may be correct. However, before you move in, make sure you thoroughly test your connection. It’s one thing to browse casually. It’s another thing entirely to have a video meeting and several open tabs at the same time. Consider that many attached garages are built with fire safety in mind, and Wi-Fi signals may have difficulty penetrating the garage walls as part of learning how to convert a garage to a home office. You may need to invest in a wired internet connection, Wi-Fi extenders or a portable hotspot.
Decorate
It is also necessary to consider what will be placed inside the room. Do you want custom built-in bookcases or an entertainment unit? Stay away from strictly contemporary or modern styles here, and a mix of industrial, farmhouse or rustic with modern finishes works best. Before you spread your wings and bring in decorative items, start with the desk, chair and shelving for all of your office needs. A neutral color scheme also reduces visual clutter and creates a cool, relaxing atmosphere in the office.
You may also want to include amenities such as television, so you can watch your favorite shows, movies and play games. Maybe you’d even make room for a treadmill to work out during your breaks! Do you require additional seating or a lounge area? You may not need to discuss actual furnishings with your contractor, but it would be beneficial to mention what you want to put in your space after the conversion is finished to ensure it is designed to meet your specific needs.
Do you want to convert your garage into an office or a multi-functional extra room? Valor Home Services is available to answer any questions you may have and will walk you through your project every step of the way. We will do everything possible to meet your requirements. You can easily book a call with our sales team through our website, or you can call us. Let’s get started on your dream space right away!
