Building a Double Garage in the Apartment
We’ve had bike racks on the mind a lot lately. Maybe it’s all the signs of summer we’re getting (like the snow?). Or maybe it’s the fact that we had to walk sideways every time we were trying to get from the living room to the bedroom. Our bikes took up the entire hallway. It wasn’t impressive. Either way, we’re Hooked On them.
We had this odd space just off the hallway that is probably meant for storage of odds and ends. Call us odd, but here’s what we installed instead:
Our bikes hang on the hooks. We stand in the bathroom to lift our bikes onto the hooks, then we slide them into the little space in back. Boy, the way I describe it sounds really ghetto! The fact that I can’t even fit the entire space into the picture only adds to the effect, huh? I swear the storage is wonderful and beautiful and all that charming stuff. Plus our hallway is clear, and there is no arguing with that. Here’s Martin napping on the job again when I’m ready to paint:
For the first time in Making This Home History, an entire house project started and finished in one post. You ready for our double garage?
See! Still American. We managed to build everything on the drawer with scraps from the lumber yard and our kitchen remodel. Now we all can cross off one project before we can tear down the tarp that divides our house from construction zone and sawdusty living zone. It also means we’re one step closer to showing you our kitchen which is currently covered with a whole lot of this:
While I get back to sanding and Martin fires up the chop saw, we’d love to know how you store your bikes or favorite really big things. If you say “a real double garage”, we’ll just have to plug our ears.
(Images by Katie for Making This Home)
February 16th, 2009 at 5:32 am
very neat space! is that a folding grocery cart I see? I love those things! one reason we loved our house is that it’s in walking distance to a grocery store- and we have one too!
February 16th, 2009 at 7:42 am
I hung my bike from a radiator bar after I wrapped it in insulating tape. I was quite proud of my MacGyver skills. During the winter I’d take the bike apart and put it under my bed. In my adult life I’ve never lived in a house with a garage so I understand.
February 16th, 2009 at 7:50 am
Sehr clever. :)
I have that exact same drying rack!
February 16th, 2009 at 8:03 am
I feel very lucky we have parking in our hof! I simply have no room for four bikes! (plus sleds, bollerwagon etc)
February 16th, 2009 at 8:32 am
That looks great and what a clever idea!!!!
February 16th, 2009 at 8:45 am
I’m thoroughly impressed. We play “How much stuff do you think we can fit in this closet?” all the time in our apartment in Seattle (not because we keep acquiring things but because we just want less clutter). We’ve gotten pretty good at shuffling things around so the things that are frequently accessed are easy to get to without disturbing other stuff, but this bike “garage” is a whole new level of utility.
The most creative use of space I think we’ve had is turning four large moving boxes, which just couldn’t fit into any of our closets or under the bed, into a dresser. We stacked them, pinned a sheet around them to hide the cardboard and then draped a pretty tablecloth over the whole works. It’s now in our bedroom and actually looks nice with candles, books, and photos on it.
February 16th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Nice garage, Katie ;o) What a use of the little space that you have.
February 16th, 2009 at 9:33 am
How do we store things….? Our dining room. Yep, it’s disgusting. We’ve left all of our wedding gifts boxed up, as well as a lot of other boxes that we just never opened when we moved. We don’t have enough room (or storage) in our apt., so half of our dining room is rows and rows of boxes, and then there’s our dining table. It’s depressing. But hopefully, sometime this year, we’ll move into a house, with some space, and storage!
February 16th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Katie, you and your hubby are so creative – and doesn’t it feel so good to start and finish a project all in one day?! ;) I laughed at your comment on the crazy car photo – I threw that one in because it makes me smile – who else would’ve thought to take that photo than a 13 year old boy? Hope you have a great day~
February 16th, 2009 at 11:36 am
We have a utility room to store our bikes in, hung from the ceiling much like yours. By the way, what kind of bikes are those? I love bikes and want to learn all I can.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Love the total project from beginning to end. And I hate to admit it now, but yes, in a real double garage…don’t hate me!
February 16th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I’m having a hard time ‘getting my bearings’, but do you bikes fold…?
February 17th, 2009 at 2:06 am
That is brilliant! I am so impressed with how much you guys are doing. Would you like to come to my house and do some work? No construction, just organization. I’ll even let Martin nap. Are you guys getting as much snow up there as we are down here? It’s crazy! We got about 5 inches of snow yesterday! Awesome!
February 17th, 2009 at 5:49 am
Good idea with the bikes – looks great! I wish we had more storage, but for now we have a small garage and we hang our bikes (well, the kiddos, we don’t have any – one day!) on the ceiling on hooks as well.
Can’t wait to see the kitchen! :)
February 17th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Jo, sorry for the unclear descriptions for you. No, our bikes don’t fold… I just couldn’t fit the entire length of the space in the picture. Our walls are standard height (about 9 feet).
The item to the right of our bikes and a bike rack is our drying rack from OBI, the local hardware store.
Thank you for all the kind words about our system. Something tells me my arms are going to get really strong!
Katie
February 17th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
You guys definitely get the award for making the best use of almost no space. Every time I catch myself moaning and groaning about a lack of space, I think of you.