It’s starting to become more popular for homeowners to shy away from the traditional 1-or-2-car garage and instead use an open garage plan. What we mean by that is as opposed to the typical garage structure, these “open garages” usually (but not always) have a roof overhead, but the sides are open. The garage is marked by pillars, and still typically wide enough to get 2 or even 3 cars in. Behind it, there is a traditional garage — but without the cars. Homeowners can use it primarily for storage, or treat it as a second room. The options are limitless.
Why are these types of garages becoming more popular?
In apartment complexes, open garages or parking spaces tend to be the norm. This is likely because a parking lot takes up enough space as it is, and many landlords don’t want to build a separate garage for every single person living there. Thus, it’s a lot easier on the wallet to either number spaces or tell everyone to park in the open structure behind the complex. However, this option offers almost no storage at all. People living in apartments are very much limited to what they can store in their apartment easily, and if they can’t do it, then they’ll have to go to a storage unit. It’s hard to imagine why homeowners would take inspiration from this set up.
The inspiration seems much more likely to come from the beach houses in Galveston. The majority of these homes are set on stilts because of their proximity to the water; the actual houses themselves are on the second level. As the house is elevated, it’s easy to take advantage of the space underneath and use it as an open garage. There are storage options underneath these houses as well, but having a traditional garage almost seems silly. These open garages also tend to conform to the “beachy” appearance too. Maybe people just want to bring the beach home with them!
Whatever the reasoning, you still need some kind of storage in your home, and garages work really well for that. Although you may not need a typical garage door, it never hurts to contact a garage company (like Garage Door Doctors) and ask them about garage maintenance. Just because you don’t have an electronic door doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about the rest of the space!
