Seven years in the making, we finally completed our garage family room conversion (without any major renovations). We had a shed built to relocate our storage and now we have this cozy pink family room to hang out in, work when we need a quiet space, and store all of our craft supplies and design samples.
Let’s get into all the details.
Basics of converting the garage into a room
I had to start with the basics (not always) nice and fun!
A long time ago, we brought the electrical system up to code and added vinyl plank flooring in a neutral, almost white color.
Then a few months ago we replaced the garage door with a waterproof, insulated option that opens French door style.
Lastly, we needed to find a way to heat and cool the space. We have central HVAC in the rest of the house, but not in the garage, so we ended up turning to Quilt, which is a smart technology heat pump that is much more streamlined and customizable than any other option I’ve seen (like a standard mini split). I loved that you could paint the front and it had a sleek, modern look.
We loved working with them, the installers they recommended were excellent, it is energy efficient and has been amazing at heating the space for the last few months we have had it. So if you’re looking for something similar, I would really recommend it.
The color palette
As we all know, I love pink. But since we chose pink cabinets and our living space is small and open with the arches we love, using pink on the walls of another space is difficult. So, I was pretty set on using my favorite color in the new family room.
We’ve worked with Farrow & Ball on a few projects and I ended up doing a color consultation because we had a lot going on (to say the least!) and I wanted a second opinion on some spaces we’re working on. He brought covers of paint and large samples of his current and archival colors. It was very helpful!
I took this photo as an example of the shade of pink I wanted and ended up choosing Pink Cup. It’s warm and perfect, we all love it.
But the real point is that a similar vintage section in that amazing chartreuse color ended up showing up on Facebook Marketplace. And I bought it! That’s where the design plan really began.
In addition to the light, bright pinks and chartreuse tones, I wanted to anchor it with some more moody blues, dark greens, and burgundies.
The furniture plan
We restarted this room for two reasons. First, Arlo is getting older and we wanted him to be able to have a space to hang out with his friends where they didn’t feel like we were on top of them. Secondly, our previous “extra” bedroom that functioned as storage and quiet space to take a call no longer exists now that we have two (surreal!) there were kids in the house so we needed a work and storage space.
We can only fit one small table in our actual dining room, so I decided to take advantage of the square footage in the garage and put a large table there that could double as a craft, dining, or games table. and a desk when necessary.
Jeff really wanted a big, comfortable couch to lounge on, so we turned the old couch I bought into a stool of sorts (which literally fit). perfectly) in the corner adding legs to raise the height and fringes at the bottom to hide them.
We opted for a comfortable “you can wash everything!” sofa in a durable hanging fabric, plus I found a cheap secondhand IKEA ottoman on Marketplace that doubles as a coffee table. I bought her a Bemz slipcover and honestly, it might be my favorite piece in the room.
Storage that hides…. More storage
While we put most of our garage storage in our new shed, there are still some things we wanted to be able to access more easily (like bikes, strollers, etc.) from the garage. So, we decided to make a room divider that would serve as storage on the side. facing the family room and hid the extra (ugly) storage behind it. Screwed to the wall and ceiling, it worked pretty well!
I chose Billy shelves with glass doors and added curtains behind the glass. The only drawback of these is that they are so tight in depth, but they fit our budget and we made it work!
We use Farrow & Ball’s new Flat Eggshell finish on the shelf doors as it is designed to be super durable but still a low sash. VERY happy with that!
We left a gap on one side to act as a path to additional storage and the garage door and since the height didn’t work perfectly and I didn’t have the budget (or skill) to build them, I simply improvised (and dyed!) curtains and a valance to fill the space around and above them. I think it softens the space a lot.
The final touches
I’ll always love a gallery wall, so we created another one around a Frame TV on the banquette. We were able to incorporate some of the pieces we picked up on our trip to France, which was fun and left plenty of room to add more.
Knowing the floors would still be a soft white, I purchased a white Sarah Sherman Samuel pendant from Lulu and Georgia for the main lighting in the space. I love that it draws attention and balances the mood of the space a little.
We added lots of little mood lighting options for comfort, an extra dresser I had (came with the nightstands I made) to act as a side table, and a cabinet that was…. It’s supposed to fit in a beverage cooler, but it doesn’t, so we’re still figuring it out.
I bought the vintage rug at a major sale and, although I don’t normally gravitate towards rugs that have medallions, the colors work very well in the space. I only know that a rug here is going to be destroyed because it is good in the backyard, so spending a lot of money on this one didn’t make sense!
And there you have it! I think this space looks and feels even better in person, but I hope this gives you a little taste of this new space that literally doubles our living space and feels like a real game changer for our family.
I finally got my pink room in this house! =)
Photos by Jeff Mindell
Design by Kelly Mindell
I received product and compensation from Quilt and Farrow & Ball in exchange for sharing my experience. All opinions are my own.
