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A 475-Square-Foot Garage Becomes a Flex Space for Homework and Fun

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The before: The family of four originally thought of this garage, as well, a garage. “It was mainly used for storage, so we naturally accumulated a lot of junk over the years,” Heather says. “It took us months to clean it out before we could actually renovate. But once we were ready to go, everything happened pretty quickly—the project took a couple of months to finish, max.”

The inspiration: As far as childhood imagination goes, perception is everything. A simple cardboard box, for example, can morph into whatever is necessary in order to keep a storyline alive: a spaceship, a cave, a castle. Heather had this type of child’s play in mind as she updated the garage and aimed to encourage all of the fantasies her children could conjure up with some practicalities mixed in.

“I envisioned a magical space that my girls could grow with,” she explains. “I really wanted to use bold colors like blues, greens, and reds in fresh ways, while making room for desks, crafts, and lots of supplies. I hoped it could be a place that could get messy but still look great.”

Heather remembers that as soon as she saw a green desk and red task light at West Elm, the design had found its spark. “Those pieces were the jumping-off point,” she says.

Square footage: 475 square feet

Budget: Under $20,000

“This is our go-to spot for homework and crafting,” Heather says. “My girls and I have been wanting to make scrapbooks, so on a recent Sunday we spread all of our supplies out on the floor. We were blasting Taylor Swift, and we all felt really inspired.”

Main ingredients:

Green desks: West Elm

Red task lamps: West Elm

Tall blue light: West Elm

Custom storage wall with standing desk: California Closets

Frames: Framebridge

Needlepoints: Loop

Custom shades: Everhem (the HTH collaboration with Everhem)

Red desk chairs: IKEA

Bulletin boards: West Elm kids



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