Garages are for more than just cars. These homeowners converted theirs into a ceramics studio, basketball court, and a home office.

When Jenifer Baldwin moved into her newly built Pennsport home in 2016, it came with an attached one-car garage — but there was no way to get a car inside.

“The builder put in a wall instead of a garage door,” recalled Baldwin. “My suspicion is that the street is so tiny that no one could have successfully parked in it.”

Baldwin was fine with that. With a little bit of reconfiguring, she created a ceramics studio, which was especially helpful once the pandemic hit and she could no longer go to the community studio.

The makeover required some work. She needed to seal off the HVAC vent to prevent dust from traveling into the house and add a new vent to the outside. She installed electricity for her kiln and modified the water line to the outdoor hose to allow for a sink.

The studio has windows to let in fresh air, and while she doesn’t have heat or air conditioning, she’s able to work throughout the year. In fact, the space has worked out so well that she reduced her hours as a university librarian and has started her own ceramics company, Jenifer Lee Baldwin Ceramics.

“It can be isolating working on art all day by yourself, but I have a window and a bench outside and my neighbors walk by when they walk their dogs and we chat,” she said. “It’s a nice way to engage with the neighborhood.”

Homeowners like Baldwin who don’t mind parking their cars in the driveway or on the street, have found creative ways to repurpose their garages: in-law apartments, home gyms, offices, workshops, man caves, and laundry rooms, to name a few. One enterprising family even turned their garage into a basketball court.

Whether looking to repurpose the garage completely, or adapt the area above a garage, homeowners are finding a better use for the space. Searches for ”ADU” — accessory dwelling unit — and “garage conversions” in the first quarter of 2023 were up nearly 23 times from the same period a year before, according to Houzz, a design and home improvement website. Searches for ”ADU over garage” tripled during that time.

Depending on what you want to use your garage space for, the conversion can be as simple as bringing in gym equipment or a tool bench, or as complicated as creating a small apartment complete with a kitchenette and bathroom.

“Any residential space has to be heated, and usually the client wants cooling as well,” said Shila Griffith, owner and principal designer at SG23 Design in Riverton, N.J.

Most garages are built on cement slabs, which can make jobs such as installing HVAC challenging. You will also need to insulate the space to keep heat in during colder months and, if you have plumbing, prevent the pipes from freezing.

There are two schools of thought on keeping or replacing the garage doors. Because garage doors aren’t insulated they need to be properly sealed if you opt to keep them. If you replace the doors, you’ll need to find a way to match the façade to the house.

“But that cancels any way that it can ever be used as a garage again,” said Brittany Hakimfar, founder and lead designer at Far Studio in Bryn Mawr. “That inhibits you in resale when the house doesn’t have a garage and may not be as valuable.”

To bring in more light, existing garage doors can be replaced with glass doors, which can also make them a feature rather than an eyesore.

As with any major construction, a garage conversion will require permits. The inspections that come with the permitting process ensure that all your systems and clearances are where they need to be, said Griffith.

While the cost of a garage conversion is specific to the scope of the job, adding drywall, insulation, HVAC, and electrical work will cost about $50,000, said Hakimfar. Adding other high-end elements such as a bathroom will considerably increase that cost to $100,000 or more.

During COVID, when Paul Markowich began working from home, he needed to find a dedicated space for an office.

“We were fortunate to have an unfinished space above a detached garage,” he said.

In the fall of 2020, he and his wife, Ashley, created a private, comfortable office that the rest of the family could also enjoy when he wasn’t working there.

He served as general contractor, hiring a handyman who added electricity, an HVAC system, and drywall, and then called on Far Studio to help with the décor. The project took about two months. They kept the existing exposed beams, which gives the room character, and makes a great Zoom background, Markowich said.

He’s now back in an office for his job as a financial adviser, but during the pandemic, the space was invaluable.

“It will be nice seeing how it evolves in the future as an extension of the house,” he said. “Our kids are 11 and 6 years old, and this will be a beautiful space for them to have their friends and watch TV, and have their own privacy.”

Though more popular than ever, garage conversions aren’t new. About 10 years ago, Rotelle Studio(e) converted a three-car garage into a sports court.

“The homeowner wanted to integrate a basketball court into their residence,” said Blake Hurst, architectural designer for the Chester County-based builder. “We chose the footprint of a three-car garage because the sizes were comparable to a basketball half-court.”

They added a third zone to the HVAC system and faux garage doors to unify the look to the rest of the house. Though they couldn’t add windows on the walls directly around the court, which might be hit by balls, they added windows toward the top of the 30-foot-high roof gables.

The basketball court is sunken to basement level and is connected to the house through a finished game room in the basement and a playroom on the first floor.

“The most essential part of the process, especially if renovating an existing structure, is to not forget about insulation and HVAC systems,” said Hurst. “If these are not accounted for, no matter how pretty or unique the space is design-wise, it will not be enjoyable.”