Table of Contents
The garage office is not the most popular trope in the world, but when implemented well, you give yourself quite the workspace. That's because one of the biggest challenges is getting out of the relaxation mindset to get some serious work done when you are working remotely in the comfort of your home.
Should you have a separate and dedicated space outside of where the relaxations are and where your mind has associated with leisure, then you find that your productivity can gain a serious boost. This is where the garage home office concept comes into the mix.
If you have a garage space that you are not necessarily using for much else, this is probably the time to convert it. Below is a look at some garage office ideas you can consider, as well as some areas you may want to think about for the conversion process.
A home office setup doesn't have to be difficult or overly complex. You just need the right collection of elements to bring it all together. The idea is that once you're finished reading here, you should have a general idea of which direction you want to go with your garage space, assuming you've chosen to make it your office.
Pseudo Bedroom Office
If you've chosen to convert your garage to an office, the last thing you're probably thinking about is making it anything like a bedroom. Certainly, this goes against the idea of leaving all the distractions behind. Nevertheless, it is one of the styles you can consider during your garage office conversion.
As the name implies, you're essentially making the garage both an office space and an additional bedroom. Realistically, you are not going to be setting up A whole slew of bedroom furniture here. Instead, you may have a bed and nothing else.
Technically speaking, the idea is to give yourself an area to enjoy downtime when you have it between your tasks. It's not necessarily for you to become so comfortable that you adopt this area and start to leave your actual bedroom behind.
Needless to say that apart from the office furniture that's going to be present, you are going to need a bed to pull this one off.
Twin Workstation Layout
This kind of garage office design is best suited to couples OR other household arrangements that see two people come together who are working remotely. In this instance, you want the garage to be set up in such a way that both persons can have independent workstations.
You have a couple of ways to go about this. First, each person can have a traditional workstation setup. This may include a home office standing desk in each space, as well as an office chair. Alternatively, you may choose to use a couple of L-shaped desks to construct a “T” shape. The idea is that both persons would use one portion of the “L” to work, and they can both meet in the middle at the other when downtime is required.
Their actual logistics for implementation should be based on what you want the workflow to look like and how well each person can avoid being a distraction to the other.
Some people can create such fun together by being in the same space that it becomes difficult for them to get any work done. If that is the case, then the twin workstation should feature separated stations.
It may also be a good idea to introduce some kind of divider mechanism into the mix as well.
Corner Desk Setup for Garage Office
As the name implies, your office space is going to be in some corner or other in the garage office conversion. Some people simply prefer to use their corner real estate, especially if they want the rest of the room for something else or if it's impossible to put the desk elsewhere.
Setting up a garage home office requires you to take some initial steps to prepare the space. For example, removing things you don't need and cleaning the garage is a big part of it.
What you may find is that some people cannot do a complete clean, removing all the equipment present. That could be because of the feasibility of doing so or you may simply have the intention to use your garage space for something else while it doubles as an office.
Nothing is wrong with any of these approaches. What is important is that you choose a desk that makes things very convenient for you. So, you may find that an L-shaped desk such as the SmartDesk corner is an optimal choice.
By purchasing this desk, you get to take advantage of its wraparound design, meaning you lose none of your tabletop real estate to the corner. Instead, you get even greater tabletop space than you would with standard office desk models, allowing you to throw on more of your office equipment than ever before.
Considering this is a sturdy desk that can handle up to 330 pounds, don't think you're going to be putting too much of a strain on this one anytime soon.
Gaming Room and Office Hybrid
Not enough people use the fact that gaming and office spaces house similar hardware to their advantage. It seems like people often try to make a space either suited for gaming or suited for office work. If you happen to work remotely and you're a gamer, why not try your hand at achieving both things?
That's the idea of the gaming room and office hybrid. Of course, it starts with getting your hands on a powerful PC. You want to be able to play the latest AAA titles after all. Of course, if it's powerful enough for that kind of gaming, then it's more than enough for your office duties.
There are a couple of exceptions to that rule. Jobs, such as video editing, for example, require powerful hardware just as gaming does. Either way, you are picking out something that helps you achieve both objectives.
Once you have your PC, the rest of it is a cakewalk. You can buy an ergonomic chair, or you can purchase a gaming chair, depending on if you want to go all-in with the gaming aesthetic.
It's recommended that you opt for ergonomic hardware instead of gaming hardware here. Alternatively, you could have both a gaming mouse and an ergonomic mouse that you switch between.
If you are going to be working for long, for health reasons, it's best to select the equipment that is built to provide comfort and help you remain in the best possible state of health.
Note that if you can afford the extra equipment, then there is another more extravagant way to implement this. You could have two separate stations. The first is a workspace and includes your desktop equipment, while the second is where your gaming rig lies.
Parents and Kids Office Space
This one is not too far removed from the twin workspace option alluded to above. Of course, the difference here is that it's not based on two adults trying to coexist by sharing an area with separated workspaces.
Instead, what you're going for here is a home office layout that is conducive to a parent and a child. Children love to get involved in things their parents do, especially those that seem like adult activities.
Therefore, when you start setting up a garage office, you had best believe that your child is going to want a workspace for school activities too. Of course, this solution here is a straightforward one.
Simply arrange the garage in such a way that you can have your workspace set up and there's a little desk and chair for your child to get through art and craft or whatever other projects and homework may come with being enrolled in school.
Apart from being a place to get some work done for the both of you, going this route can deepen your bond with your child.
Multipurpose Garage Office
Here is one of the interesting garage office ideas. The multipurpose office is more of a general category that captures garage spaces that are going to be dedicated to multiple things. Before, you saw the corner desk option that was technically multipurpose. However, the secondary purpose was nothing more than being a standard garage.
Here, your garage home office is going to double as something else apart from being a standard garage. For example, you may have a segment that is dedicated to your office layout. Additionally, there may be an area that you've decided to make into a bar.
Some may question the logic behind having a bar too close to your office space, but this all boils down to your self-control.
To decide what purposes you're going to be using the garage for, think of things you want to isolate from the rest of the house as you did with the office space. Alternatively, you can think of things that are not a part of the house that you'd like to implement.
Conversion Process for Garage Offices
Before you get the wrong idea, what you're getting below is not an overview of the entire process needed to transform your garage into an office space or at least partially make it a working area.
Instead, these are the main considerations that you want to bear in mind as you walk through the process.
Clean
In most cases, this transformation is going to require a lot of cleaning to get things started. This is especially true if your garage acts as nothing more than a storage room.
Cleaning here simply means getting all the unnecessary things out of the way and having the garage look fresh and ready to accept office equipment. Depending on what you have in mind, you may not necessarily need to shift things around throughout the entire garage.
However, wherever that is possible, it's recommended that you do so to get a fresh start on things. Depending on the equipment you have, it may be necessary to get professionals involved in this process.
Color
You may realize that your existing color scheme is not going to cut it. For example, you may have one of those colors that is conducive to boredom and slowly puts you to sleep. If so, then you may want to shift to other color choices that help to keep you alert and in the frame of mind to get some serious work done.
Assuming your cleaning is done, and you've already moved everything away from the walls, it shouldn't be difficult to get a paint job going. Again, if you don't necessarily feel like doing it to yourself or think you're up to the task, you may go ahead and hire a professional to assist you.
Furniture
You cannot have a garage office space without the proper furniture present. Your adjustable stand up desk is going to be your centerpiece. It holds all your PC equipment and peripherals. Additionally, its height adjustment feature allows you to take advantage of sit-stand sessions, which means you get to preserve your health.
You are then going to complement this desk with an ergonomic chair, taking advantage of all the adjustability features that help you remain in a state of perpetual neck and spine health.
Feel free to bring in your office accessories at this stage as they can help you to work even more efficiently than you expected.
Lighting
For whatever reason, lighting seems to be the forgotten piece of the ergonomic puzzle in any garage office. Nevertheless, you cannot work in an office space without proper office lighting. Most garages are not necessarily known for having great window placements.
Get the natural light where you can, but don't be surprised if you must get a couple of artificial light sources to balance things out.
Final Remarks
There's probably more to consider than you realized if you're interested in setting up a garage home office. It's quite the process and may even require some assistance to get it done promptly.
Nevertheless, the finished product is certainly well worth the effort. Hopefully, after having reviewed the information above about garage office ideas and elements of the conversion process, you're more prepared than ever to take this step.
Stay connected with us!
Subscribe to our weekly updates to stay in the loop about our latest innovations and community news!
Spread the word