Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Spring Home & Garden
East Oregonian
Page 7C
Margaret Mayfield via AP
This Feb. 19, 2017 photo shows frosted glass garage doors on a home in Los Osos, Calif.
Garage trend? Think versatility, not parking
Monica, California, where
leftover strips of orange
kitchen counter were used to
build a striking and artistic
garage door.
“They purchased a garage
door without siding, laid
it all out in the driveway
and, using scraps from the
construction, really made a
gorgeous piece of art,” she
said. “They made it into
so much more than just an
ordinary garage door. It’s the
most beautiful garage door
I’ve seen anybody do, and it
adds so much to the look of
the whole house.”
By KATHERINE ROTH
Associated Press
The American garage is
world famous. But not neces-
sarily for cars.
Silicon Valley started in
the Palo Alto, California,
garage of the Packard family,
where Hewlett-Packard was
founded, according to the
National Register of Historic
Places. Steve Jobs launched
Apple in his parents’ garage.
And dozens of American
bands started in garages.
Amazon, Disney, Google,
Harley-Davidson?
All
famously launched out of
garages.
Garages
have,
for
generations, been places for
tinkering and creating, where
kids build soapbox-derby
cars or refinish kayaks.
Some garages are home to
small catering kitchens or
extensive wine collections,
and many feature extra
refrigerators or freezers. And
of course, they often serve as
a deep storage and workshop
space.
Designers and architects
say the idea of the garage as
the ultimate multi-purpose
room is alive and well,
and that modern garages
are finally being seriously
retooled to better suit those
myriad uses.
“When it comes to garage
design, functionality is
always key. I’m seeing a lot
more glass garage doors,
whether frosted or clear. It’s
more fitting for most modern
homes, and makes the space
more versatile because it lets
in the light,” said Jonathan
Savage of Nashville-based
Savage Interior Design.
“A car collector might
want to park in a garage
every day to protect their
investments, but I store my
wine in my garage,” he said.
Raw concrete floors are
out, frequently replaced
by more versatile epoxy or
modular rubber flooring,
designers say.
“Clients want a floor that
can be easily cleaned and
mopped, like any other room
in the house,” Savage said.
And if the garage has
windows,
he
includes
window treatments that
match those in other parts of
the house. Storage units on
wheels can be easily rear-
ranged in a pinch, he says,
and some garages include
not just refrigerators but
kitchenettes.
Margaret Mayfield, an
architect living in Los Osos,
California, keeps her washer
and dryer in the garage, with
most of the floor reserved as
a workspace for refinishing
furniture and other tinkering
projects.
Her
family’s
three cars are parked in
the driveway, never in the
garage.
Koones also said there
is greater demand now for
good ventilation in garages,
for built-in fittings to facil-
itate organization, and for
garages that are separate
from the rest of the house,
as opposed to attached
garages.
“The garage is such
a useful and important
space
in
American
culture,
and
making
optimal use of it is much
cheaper and more conve-
nient than renting an extra
space somewhere,” said
Hirsch.
WE'RE HERE
FOR YOU
St. Anthony Hospital's
nutrition and diabetes services
offer nutritional counseling
tailored to your needs, as well
as diabetic education classes
and healthy eating classes.
Art Gray/Sheri Koones via AP
This undated photo taken in Santa Monica, Calif., shows a panelized house that
was designed and built by Minarc, a prestigious company in southern California.
The facade of the garage door, a focal point of the house, was created with scrap
pieces of wood and left over quartz from the interior countertops. The house is fea-
tured in the book “prefabulous Small Houses” by Sheri Koones.
“You’re supposed to keep
your cars in the garage, but
I hardly know anyone who
does,” said David Hirsch, a
partner at Urban Architec-
tural Initiatives who splits
his time between California
and New York City.
“My neighbor uses his
for woodworking projects,
and my daughter uses hers
as a sort of casual space and
playroom for the kids. And
for deep storage. I guess
that’s another common use
for garages,” he said.
Even the carport Hirsch
designed for his own Palo
Alto, California, home — a
steel framework over a
gravel driveway — goes
unused, he said.
Sheri Koones, author of
“Prefabulous Small Houses”
(Taunton, 2016) and other
books on home building,
says garage doors are getting
more attention these days.
“Individualizing a garage
door makes the entire house
look much more interesting,”
she said, citing a recently
constructed house in Santa
Imagine the
possibilites
Christine Guenther , Nutrition services:
541-278-3235
Melissa Naff, Nutritional counseling services info:
541-278-3249
Blue
Mountain
Cabinet
Suppliers
J Jeff
ff 541
541-571-7136
571 7136 • Greg
G
541-379-1416
541 379 1416
Hermiston • Pendleton
2801 St. Anthony Way,
Pendleton, OR