Those of us in the industry have been saying for years that the garage is one of the most overlooked opportunities in a home. As homeowners try to reconfigure rooms, finish basements, and consider moving, a large piece of home real estate is neglected time and time again. Builders were slow to come to the realization that promoting the garage as an extension of a home sets them apart from the pack and tells prospective buyers that they are ahead of the curve. There are exceptions, of course, but generally it is the proactive homeowner or those in the garage renovation business who drive the demand. The garage is becoming an essential room in the house, an extension of our busy lives. Unless you want your wall art to consist of hose reels and bike racks, you need a garage!

This year, perhaps fueled by the global pandemic, people are taking a hard look at their surroundings. Unwilling or unable to move about freely, they are looking at ways to get the most out of what they have. The garage presents a new frontier for many of them. Traditionally used basically for storage, today’s fresh perspective has opened up all sorts of possibilities. The current speed of change extends to the garage.

Garage storage transformation has gone from nails in studs to pegboard to stacked bins and on to slatwall and beautifully finished cabinets. And while garage workshops now look good, homeowners have moved on to fresh ideas. They no longer want to dedicate space to parking vehicles so they are turning their garages into playrooms, man caves, indoor patios, greenhouses, and home offices to name just a few. But, they still need to park their vehicles and store their stuff. Enter the rise of the tandem garage where forward thinking people have figured out a way to do both – install a car lift so they can park their vehicles overhead while creating the space they want below.

Car lifts are part of the basic equipment for mechanics, but in recent years, car buffs demanded them adapted for home garages so they could work on restoring their classic cars at home. Now the trend setters want to take that one step further. Will we remember this time as the beginning of the Garage Renaissance?

The day is fast approaching when your new home will come equipped with the garage storage solution you need and the additional living space you want.