Loft Garage Projects

Artist Space

• Lofts--especially rustic ones--can accommodate artists and writers. Lay a floor of heavy-duty particle board and install a ladder or staircase for a quick way to give the creative types some extra room.

Mother-in-Law Suite

• If the garage has solid trusses and reasonable access to plumbing and electricity, you could build a mother-in-law suite with a bedroom, small sitting area and a bathroom. This guest space works for visiting family and friends, although it represents a considerable financial investment.

Storage Area

• Install a staircase and lay down some planks over the bottoms of the trusses to build a convenient storage solution. Not only can you stack boxes, you can also hang items from the trusses. If the loft is open to the elements, protect your storage area from weather and insects by tacking netting to the trusses or enclosing materials inside of sealed containers.

Game Room

• Instead of putting the drywall inside the house at risk from a game-related accident, move the billiards table or dart board to a garage-loft game room. Especially if rambunctious teenagers are at play, putting games with projectiles or heavy objects in a garage loft may be preferable to leaving them in the house, near a glass window or on a tiled floor.

Hobby Shop

• Use a garage loft as a convenient location for messy hobbies like taxidermy, wood sculpting, painting and mechanical repair.

Sheltered Garden

• If your garage loft has plenty of natural light, consider laying down planks and then installing barrels and trays to grow herbs, flowers or seedlings. Grow lamps will help with additional light, and the enclosed nature of the loft will protect the plants from most environmental dangers.

Office

• A garage loft is a solution for a home office for business owners who have client visits, like stylists or massage therapists or instrument instructors. The loft isolates the office from the house, reducing security risks.

Meat-Preparation Area

• Hunters and fishermen may find it preferable to gut, skin or otherwise prepare their meat in a garage loft to reduce the risk of contamination inside the house. In addition, a loft-based meat-processing area may allow for a built-in smokehouse if local zoning ordinances and fire code permit it.

TV Room

• For those who enjoy entertaining, a garage loft may be a good place for a TV room, especially for large events like Super Bowl parties or elaborate movie nights.