Do You Have a Garage Work Area?

Adding a garage work area is one of the best things you can do not only for your garage, but your entire home as well. Home projects often become a disorganized mess in no time. It’s not uncommon to misplace parts and tools halfway through the job, which can wind up costing you more time, money, or even both.

Here’s a picture of an outstanding garage work area. Notice how the workbench is built-in to the corner of the space, and everything else is built around it. The tool boxes and cabinets are extensions of the garage workbench, and the rest of the components along with the color scheme make for a great-looking, highly practical home garage work area.

With any home project large or small, organization is a must. Having a designated place for not only parts and tools, but the actual work, pays immediate and long-term dividends. Obviously, there are times when you need to bring your parts and tools to the bathroom, kitchen, basement, or wherever. They might even stay there for the duration of the project, which is fine. However, having an area set aside in your garage, will help you stay organized no matter where your home project is, because it functions as both a home and staging area for your plans, tools, and parts.

What exactly does a garage work area consist of?

Well… first and foremost a garage workbench. A good, solid garage workbench is the foundation because the rest of the work area gets built around it. Where you put your workbench is critical. If your garage is small, you have fewer options, and you should consider a relatively small workbench. If your garage is huge, then of course you have more options. Regardless of the size of your garage, the workbench should be placed in an area where it won’t affect vehicles being parked or prevent people from getting from one place to another in the garage.

Once you’ve chosen where to put your workbench, it’s time to decide what goes around it. Again, the size of your garage will play the biggest role in this decision. Every garage work area will have garage tools in it, so it’s a good time to consider some of the possibilities for tool storage. The most common solution is a tool box, followed by pegboard, shelves, then cabinets. Your own preferences take over at this point. For me, a combination of the above works well. Some folks want all garage tools in their tool box(es), while others prefer them to hang from pegboard. The point is… it’s up to you to figure out what you like or don’t like.

Having a place to design, review, stage, build, and complete your garage and home projects is a great asset for every homeowner. A garage workshop also gives you incentive to fight that ever-lurking clutter by helping you keep your garage as a place for things to happen instead of a place to pile up and stumble over stuff.