Garage conversions are growing in popularity as homeowners opt to improve rather than move, according to research from website MyBuilder.
Britons are letting their creative juices flow and creating cinema rooms, offices, annexes, playrooms, craft rooms and even bars in their garages.
Susi Prudence, a 39-year-old copywriter from Maidstone, converted half of her double garage in her new-build house into a bar.
Before: Susi Prudence has a double garage and planned to convert one half into a bar
Susi purchased the five-bedroom new-build detached house in Kent with her husband, Mark, 38, in November 2017.
To start with, Mark stored his car in one of the garage spaces, while the other was used for storage.
In April 2022, Susi, who runs @houseofpru on Instagram, pursued her dream of turning one of the garages into a bar.
She told This is Money: ‘I’d always wanted a dedicated space as I love hosting and it’s so expensive to go out now.
‘I never expected to be able to convince Mark to let me convert half the garage into a bar, especially as he doesn’t drink.’
In progress: Susi’s got some trusted builders on side to help create her garage conversion
Transformation: Half of Susi’s double garage has been transformed into a sociable bar
Party time: Susi prudence pictured having a great time in her bar garage conversion
Ready to party: Susi uses lights and animal print to add hints of colour to her bar area
Outside view: Susi has bi-fold doors which open out into further seating areas for guests
She added: ‘We knew some local builders who we trusted, so they installed the bi-fold doors. Our friends at Bolton’s Interiors did all the internal work.
‘We only needed to comply with building regulations and didn’t need planning permission. In total, getting half of the garage converted to a bar cost just over £25,000. Everything was more expensive than we expected because the cost of materials had gone up during Covid’.
Susi said she kept the interior of the bar ‘pretty simple’, with white walls and grey floor tiles.
She said: ‘I use pops of colour, animal print and change the colour of the lights to make it more of a fun space than I’d have in the house.
‘The back bar is my favourite and we spent ages working out the size of all the boxes.
‘We’ve got storage within the seating areas. I really love decorating the bar for Halloween and Christmas.
‘We kept the garage door intact and stored the mechanism above it, so it can easily be converted back if we ever want to move.
‘Another bonus is that there’s a lot of insulation in the walls, so it’s always warm and there’s no noise for the neighbours when we have people round’.
I turned my garage into my dog shampoo HQ
Before: Nicola purchased her bungalow with the intention of converting the garage space
Progress: Nicola’s friend’s husband is a builder and completed the garage conversion project
Business space: Nicola enjoying her converted garage at her seaside bungalow in Kent
Design: Nicola has an antique work table down the side of the garage conversion to sit and work
Nicola Wordsworth, 57, lives by the sea in Kent with her two dogs, Bertie and Mabel.
She purchased her dream bungalow, which she calls her ‘little old lady home’, in 2022. From the outset, she knew she wanted to convert the garage into a space which could accommodate her dog products business, PupSuds.
She told This is Money: ‘One of the reasons I purchased the property was knowing I could convert the garage into a headquarters for my business. The business had outgrown my old kitchen and I desperately needed more space.
‘When the bungalow was surveyed, I asked for particular attention to be paid to the garage to ensure it would be suitable for conversion’.
Nicola’s friend’s husband is a builder and did the entire job, including the insulation, windows and electrics.
Nicola said: ‘The whole project cost me around £14,000. I hadn’t expected the costs of running all the new electrics to be so high. I also had a shed added to the end of the garage to put all my gardening bits and bobs in, so that came at an extra cost’.
Nicola chose a pared-back, industrial design for her garage conversion.
She said: ‘It’s solid and functional, industrial looking, and totally fit for purpose.
‘Everything has its place, is easy to access and easy to keep clean and tidy. I fitted it out with black open metal shelving from Ikea, a grey laminate worktop and grey terrazzo laminate flooring.
‘I have smart lighting, again from Ikea, so I can turn the lights on and off from inside the house. I also have my antique work table down the side under the window to sit and work.
‘It can get pretty busy in there when we are getting ready for shows with all the stock, gazebo and bits and pieces, but it’s a brilliant useable space. It’s hard to choose one favourite piece, but I think it’s the unfinished plywood around the windows… or the open metal shelving’.
Before moving to her seaside bungalow, Nicola never had a property with a garage. ‘If I had a normal garage I suspect I’d just fill it with junk’, she said.
Special occasions: Katrina Rohman converted her garage into The Sunburnt Arms pubs
Party people: Katrina hosts a slew of social events inside and outside her pub
Bottoms up: Katrina and her partner knew they wanted to convert the garage into a social space
Celebrations: The Sunburnt Arms pub in Katrina’s garage hosting a Jubilee party celebration
Katrina Rohman, 40, lives in Cardiff with her partner, Michael, 41, and their rescue dog, Ivan.
Katrina, a marketing manager and travel writer and blogger at Realgirlswobble.com, moved to her three-bedroom semi-detached house in August 2019.
The previous owner used the garage at the property as a workshop. It had been bricked up, so couldn’t be accessed by car.
Katrina told This is Money: ‘It was an ongoing joke when we were looking for our first home together that we’d love to have room for a pub. When we purchased the property, we knew we wanted to convert the garage into a social space for us to entertain.’
The couple didn’t use any contracted builders for the project and Katrina’s father built a storage unit, bar and seating area for the pub. The couple purchased purchased a fridge, optics, pool table, dart board, TV and bar stools. In total, turning the garage into a pub only cost the couple around £1,500.
Kat said: ‘I love the space and our family and friends are very jealous of it. It’s also a conversation starter. We’ve got a driveway, so out parking’s still sorted.
‘Being Welsh, we love the Six Nations and invite everyone over to watch the games. I do afternoon tea on Mother’s Day and our dog, Ivan, has all his dog friends over when it’s his birthday’.
My garage in Spain is an office and man cave
Man cave: British business owner Ross Jenkins lives in Spain and converted his garage into a laid-back office and man cave
Ross Jenkins, 32, owner of email marketing firm digitalme.cc, lives in Valencia, Spain, with his fiancée, 30, and their two-year-old son.
The British couple purchased their house in Valencia six years ago. It was previously a six-bedroom traditional Spanish villa, which they converted into a three bedroom property.
In March 2022, Ross decided he wanted to convert the garage into an office and man cave. He wanted to be able to make work calls in a space without any background household noise.
Ross told This is Money: ‘The whole garage conversion only cost us about £1,400 as we did most of the work ourselves. The only job we contracted out was the electrics. We used an interior designer to help us with the design, but most of the things they suggested we buy weren’t available in Spain!’
He added: ‘Getting the garage conversion has been great. It forced us to throw out a load of stuff we never used and is helpful for my work’.
Garage conversions – options and costs
With property prices increasing in many locations, more people are looing to add value and space to their homes.
A garage conversion will probably cost between £15,000 to £20,000 in most parts of the country and around £25,000 in London and surrounding areas, MyBuilder.com said.
According to MyBuilder.com, most garage conversions will not require planning permission, but you may face a fee of around £500 from your local building control unit for your application, plus an inspection fee to sign off the project.
The costs of completing a garage conversion can vary significantly and depend on things like your location and the complexity and scale of the project.
Serene: A garage converted into an office and seating space by Instagram @the_living_house
Calming: A children’s fun yet calming playroom garage conversion via Harron_homes_newbuild on Instagram
Space matters: A handy boot and coat room has been created in this garage via Fraser and Fraser Design
Functional bliss: A utility room created in a garage seen on the Swallows_in_the_window Instagram page
Beverage time: A bar created in a garage, as shown on Travelling_twinkles’ Instagram page
Big screen: A garage converted into a cinema space by Pro Assist Property Services
MyBuilder.com estimates that getting a garage converted into an office will cost at least £15,000, while changing the space into a playroom could cost between £18,000 to £20,000.
Converted a garage into an annexe, for family or friends to stay in while visiting, could cost around £20,000, while a cinema conversion is likely to cost around £17,000, it added.
Using a garage to create extra living space in your home will be more expensive if you need to remove walls to open up the space.
Andy Simms, from MyBuilder.com, said: ‘Garage conversions can be remarkably versatile, and actually extremely affordable. In terms of extending your home, it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to gain extra space at a reasonable cost’.
He added: ‘If you’re converted your garage, we’d advise to get an expert in to advise as to whether you need planning permission, what an approximate cost would be, and even give you inspiration as to what your new room could be’.
Do garage conversions help or hinder your home’s value?
Property expert Liam Gretton about the pros and cons of garage conversions
Everyone’s dream garage looks different and the issue of whether a garage conversion helps or hinders the value of a property is not clear cut, largely because people’s tastes differ.
Last year, Charlie Syson, of Chestertons estate agents, said: ‘Converting your garage into habitable living space is the most valuable conversion you can do.’
Syson claimed that while the upfront cost of a conversion could be off-putting, homeowners could increase their property value by more than £43,000 on average.
However, if you convert your garage into a space heavily tailored to your desires and requirements and go on to try and sell the property, there’s a chance it won’t be to a buyer’s taste. In some cases this could lead to a buyer requesting a reduction in the asking price to take into account the costs of converting the space back into a conventional garage.
Speaking to This is Money, Liam Gretton, owner of Liam Gretton Bespoke Estate Agent, on Wirral Peninsula, said: ‘In today’s market, we’re noticing that first-time buyers and families who need to expand their usable floor area often value practical storage options highly.
‘With increasing living costs and the need to make homes function as multi-purpose spaces, buyers are wary of sacrificing practical areas like a garage in exchange for an extra reception room.
‘Ultimately, the decision to convert a garage should be guided by the specific needs and lifestyle of the target buyer in your area.
‘For some, the added lifestyle appeal of a dedicated entertainment space will outweigh the storage loss, whereas for others, keeping the garage intact may be the more practical choice.’
Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Richmond estate agency Antony Roberts, told This is Money: ‘In London, where space is at a premium, converting a garage into living space typically adds value to a property rather than devaluing it, as long as there is still adequate parking available.
‘Many people accumulate more things than they need over time, and converting a garage is a great opportunity for a clear-out. The benefits of additional living space – whether it’s an extra bedroom, home office, or family room – are far more attractive to prospective buyers than a storage space for seldom-used items. In a market like London’s, maximising functional living areas is key to enhancing property value.’