Garages: not just for parked cars. All photos: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/you-have-to-see-the-441-sq-ft-garage-this-man-calls-home/
Recently, Movoto told you about a man who turned a dumpster into a luxury home. Now, meet a Frenchman who decided to transform an old garage into his own personal bit of novelty real estate.
The garage in question (called the Maison garage, if the title of the accompanying video is to be believed) is located in Bordeaux, France and is only 441 square feet in size. Most people would probably turn up their snooty French noses at the prospect of living in a tiny garage like this one — but French photographer Jeremie Buchholtz is not most people.
He and his friend Matthieu de Marien, an architect whose specialty is transforming stores, offices, and other spaces into homes, saw potential in the space, even when Jeremie’s other friends weren’t quite so supportive. They said it would be “impossible” to make the space habitable, that “there is no light, there is nothing”; Jeremie and Matthieu set out to prove them wrong.
And, boy, did they ever prove them wrong:
Buchholtz bought the property and De Marien quickly cut into the old garage to create more light and ventilation. The roof is historic and couldn’t be touched so he carved a 12 square meter (129 square foot) patio out of the small space, leaving only 41 square meters of living space (441 square feet).
In order to make the space feel larger, De Marien created a “house within a house”: one large piece of furniture that includes the bathroom, bedroom, office, closet, a sofa bed and all of the home’s storage. With everything contained in this large furniture box, the rest of the home was given more breathing room.
The best part? He transformed this garage into a wonderful home for half of what he would’ve paid for a home of equal size within the city, which would normally run around 80,000 euros ($110,280). For a more in-depth look into this fascinating property, please view this YouTube video.
A view of the patio.
The "home within a home" furniture built by De Marien.
The moral of this story: Keep your garage clean — that way, you can rent it out and make some extra cash! Seems like a pretty decent way to bring in more income in this economy. Oh, and thanks to The Blaze for reporting on this fine garage home. (They must really like these “ugly-duckling-to-beautiful-swan” kind of home stories because they, once again, are the source of this article.)
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Stephanie Huskey is the resident real estate blogger for Movoto and thinks this is a great idea for broke college kids who want their own space but can’t afford to move out — so long as their parents are cool with parking in the driveway. Interested in getting her advice on your blog? She’s currently seeking guest blogging opportunities so she can share her knowledge with new communities! You can find her over here at Elance.com.
