Surprise! We’re also Building a Garage

As if two bathrooms were not enough, we are also building a garage. We take forever to make decisions around here, but it’s off to the races when we do. We had an appraiser in the house this week, and we’re crossing our fingers that the financials line up as we hope.

BHH has plenty going for it, but the lack of a garage holds it back from pricing as high as the nearby comparables. We have no plans to sell right now, but Andy is on the downhill slide towards retirement. So our decisions are beginning to reflect that. Yes, it felt weird to write the “r” word because I still feel like we’re in our twenties–ok, maybe thirties. I won’t get greedy.

Building a garage is also a decision based on function. Surprisingly, the reason is not entirely based on living in a climate with 6-7 months of winter weather, although we do look forward to not having to clear snow off the cars on cold, dark mornings.

This is our current set-up for “garagey” stuff.

It’s beautiful but not particularly functional. Technically, this space is a garage added on in the early 20th century. However, it was made for a car the size of a Model T, not an SUV. Our neighbor told us that the previous owner of our home, Dorothy, used it as a greenhouse. Her husband apparently had a very green thumb. I can only imagine how beautiful this property must have looked before we moved here. Unfortunately, gardening is not our gift.

Every year, I drag everything out of the garage area, toss about a 1/3 of it, clean the floors, and put the rest back. Then, two months later, we can barely get through the door without tripping over bikes and rakes. We do have a small shed out back, but it is falling apart, and the roof leaks. I jokingly refer to it as an EPA hazard because there are some unknown chemicals in there too.

Building a real garage and maybe a shed will give us secure, functional, and organized storage for all of our stuff, including the snowblower and lawnmower.

Garage Inspiration

We did not have to look far for inspiration. BHH used to have a carriage house, and when the estate, which included BHH, was subdivided into parcels, the carriage house ended up on our neighbor’s property. To protect their privacy, I’m not going to post a photo of it, but it’s a cutie. Building a garage with a carriage house look will fit with our house perfectly.

If you’d like to follow along, I just started a Pinterest board for carriage house garage inspiration. When I was at the Chautauqua Institute a few weeks ago, I snapped some photos of a house that caught my eye.

The details are a little too fancy (read: expensive) for a utilitarian structure. However, I can envision modifying and simplifying the design. During this pie in the sky phase of planning, I imagine our garage as a two-story building with a potential future loft apartment upstairs. I may have to pop my balloon and return to earth soon, but I’m allowed to daydream.

Here are some other designs that caught my eye.

Minus the predictable “farmhouse” details, I like the dormer and the overall simplicity of the roofline.

In the photo below, I love the charming double dormers and the split garage doors too. The design feels very classic.

The overall design of the next one feels a little too country for my taste, but I love the little cupola on top. Note to self: Start searching for a weathervane.

I couldn’t save the photo of my very favorite inspiration photo, but here is a link: Green Carriage House. Should we paint our garage red? That might look really beautiful paired with the red accents on BHH. I’ll definitely be using some old windows as long as code allows.

So, that’s where we are. I’ve started seeking bids, and that is a post for another day. There are several ways that we can approach this build, and the quotes reflect that. Since I am still waiting on bids for the bathrooms, we don’t know exactly how much money we have to spend, and I’m trying to squeeze every dollar to get a high-end look.

What are your garage must-haves? We’ll take all of your advice.