Make your room work for you

• How to convert your garage
• Make your room work for you
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Careful planning is a must to avoid costly mistakes. Think about the following:

1. How will you use the space?

If you’ve earmarked the new room as an office or a hobby room, you may want to keep it separate from your main living space; if it’s going to be a living area or kitchen it will need to flow seamlessly from the rest of the house, so you may need to knock through an interior wall.  

2. Think about the door that links the garage with the house Perhaps you could widen it so your new room avoids that thin, boxy feel. French windows that open onto the back garden will flood the room with light and make it feel bigger.

3. Moving a boiler or electricity meter

Moving the boiler or electricity meter to another room adds thousands of pounds to the cost, so box them in with pale-painted wooden units. Using a pale cream colour on the boxing avoids the stark, narrow feel some garages can suffer from.

4. Use the right materials outside

Avoid spoiling the kerb appeal of your home. Bricks and windows need to be matched as closely as possible to the rest of the house.

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