How to build a modern garage with lots of storage space
Five Billy bookcases from IKEA behind sliding panel curtains, also from IKEA
Hi friends! Summer is almost over and we're still fixing up our new home to make it into the ideal living space for our little family. Moving from a 543-square-foot condo unit in NYC to a 2600+ square foot home in Seattle afforded us a lot more space.
Still, we soon realized we needed more open storage space. We have a pantry for dried foods, spices, and things like toilet paper and paper towels. We have kitchen storage for cooking materials and ingredients. We have wardrobe space for our clothes. But what about for everything else? Like my mom's collection of stamps? Or my heavy textbooks? What about our winter boots, and random things that don't belong in the kitchen, pantry, closets, or wardrobe spaces? What about stuff that we don't really use much, but don't want to throw away?
See how the shelves are all arranged differently for a modern look? And see how much storage space we have for all our crap?
Billy Bookcases
The garage makes for a great storage area. Ours is an unfinished two-car garage that's like a blank canvas. The hubby wants to turn it into a "Tesla dealership" (LOL), modern looking and well lit. It will take some time before the hubby realizes his vision. The first change he has made, so far, is adding storage space against one side of the garage. The storage units are made up of five Billy bookcases from IKEA, all parked together. The hubby added a height extension unit to the top of each of the bookcases to make them all stand taller. Then he arranged the shelves differently in each of the bookcases to give the composite unit a modern look.
We chose the Billy bookcases because you can "hack" them and they're relatively inexpensive, which is great for bigger storage projects.
Shoe storage space
Shoe storage space!
Sliding Panel Curtains
The hubby installed sliding panel curtains, also from IKEA, to cover the Billy bookcases. The entire storage area looks like it's just a part of the wall (blends right in), and we still have plenty of space for our cars! We can be as messy or as neat as we'd like to be while storing our stuff, as our things will hidden from view!
Lighting
The hubby replaced the lights in the garage with commercial electric white LED flat panels. They are energy efficient and makes the garage nice and bright.
Additional touches
Eventually, there will be recess lighting in the garage, and other details added to make it into a modern-looking storage space. What do you think of our idea so far, and our Billy bookcase hack? Let us know how you create storage spaces at home!