THE FAMILY SPILL-OUT GARAGE

BUDGET £50-60,000

When they renovated their home, the young family who lives in this house decided to convert the garage into a muchneeded extra living space for music practice, watching films, and to double as a guest room for visiting family and friends. Their architects, Zuhause (zuhausedesign.com), discovered that the garage was in a ‘ruinous’ state, having been neglected for years and used to store odds and ends, so most of the owners’ original budget of £50,000 went on rebuilding it and fitting it out with insulation, power and heating.

The owners wanted the building to still have the look of a garage from the outside, so as not to detract from the original style of the house, hence the traditional garage gate doors that provide privacy from the street, as well as letting light in through the windows at the top. Modern glass double doors lead out to the garden at the back.

The room opens off the sitting room via a concealed door and, to keep the costs down, has been decorated simply, with plywood cladding and engineered-oak floorboards; a calming look that gives it the feel of a garden retreat.

AFTER

Above Garage-style doors ensure the original style of the house is maintained. Left The garage was in such a poor state it needed rebuilding. Below The interior has been decorated simply with exposed brick and wooden flooring BEFORE