Actually, it was decided for me. My aging mother had lived alone for 20 years since my father's death, but a series of strokes had left her debilitated. By 2013 she could no longer drive, so I had to commute 35 miles each way to take her to hairdresser appointments, doctors' offices, grocery stores and the like. In order to keep my mother out of institutionalized living as long as possible, I decided to convert her one-car garage into a caretaker apartment, complete with its own kitchen and bathroom. I would move into it myself to start, then turn it over to a health care giver when my mother's care demanded it. Right now I'm living there myself, rattling around in all 360 sq. ft. of it.
Already in place was a 15' x 24' concrete floor, a roof, two windows, a back door and a 9-ft-wide garage door opening. Three concrete steps led up and into the dining room of the ranch style house to which the garage was attached. A glance around the existing space was not encouraging.
There were a number of challenges. The garage was built as a car port in 1958, so there was a perimeter wall three cinder blocks high on the back, front and side of the garage; instead of reframing the walls above the cinder blocks to hide this feature (which would have reduced the upper interior space), I decided to drywall the short wall and run a wooden shelf along the top of its entire length. This turned out to be perfect for books, small baskets, bowls for holding keys, etc. See right side of photo at top of post.
Floor plan options were limited by the fact that all the plumbing had to be on the "house" side, which featured three concrete steps up to a door opening into the L-shaped living/dining room of the main house (see horizontal photo above). My budget would not accommodate relocating those steps, door or any of the windows. There was only 5 feet 9 inches of space between the concrete steps and the back wall of the garage (measured before any framing or drywall), and the rear door was hinged 4 feet from the corner. That left a net space of 3' x 5' for a bathroom -- impossible. I had no choice but to bifurcate the bathroom into a toilet and vanity in the 3' x 5' space and a 3-ft. square stall shower on the other side of the steps. Code required 19 in. of clearance between the toilet and a wall, so my only option was a corner toilet. Immediately to the left of the shower was a 4.5 ft. wide kitchen*, plus a 6 ft. wide closet that ended right at the front door.
*Good thing I'm not a cook. The "kitchen" boasts a 2-burner cooktop, an under-the-counter refrigerator, a stainless steel sink and a 15-in. wide drawer stack. No cabinetry above, just three full width wire shelves.
Here's a look at that wall:
I was blessed with 10-ft. tall ceilings, so there was room to place a built-in 2-door storage cabinet above the closet. Speaking of doors, I had to scrap my original plan of outfitting the garage door opening with French doors. I went with a three-door plan, because the only spot to place a dining table was directly in front of the center door (painted black on the outside), which I concealed with brown suede drapery panels.
Since code required a 36-in wide front door, I had to have all three of them custom made. The center door is 36-In. wide (for moving furniture in and out), but the flanking doors are only 32-in. wide. See photo at top of post.
A further problem was that my large 8-ft. long sofa had to be placed on the wall opposite the stall shower. In order to conceal the shower, I placed a sliding wooden door on a track in front of it. When I slide the door to the left to use the shower, the door covers the kitchen area. I hung a box-framed David Hockney poster on the sliding door, so there's a nice focal point across the room while seated on the sofa (drawing the eye away from the kitchen space -- hey, it works).
That huge sofa also overlaps the window on the long side wall by 24 inches, so I centered a piece of black & white abstract art with a 4-in. wide black wood frame above it. Again, the boldness of the image and frame draw the eye away from the window to the left of the sofa.
To conceal the enormous circuit breaker box to the left of where my bed is placed, I bought an English Regency mirrored screen. Because the panels are hinged, it's easy to access the circuit breakers when the need arises. The bed and mirrored screen were the only new items purchased for this apartment.
I have everything I need -- a place to work/eat (the single pedestal table is 3-ft. round), a place to sleep, and a spacious 13' x 14' living area incorporating a 9' x 12' rug. It's a bit like living in a hotel junior suite, and in the year and a half I've lived here, I've never felt cramped for space.
Astonishingly, Mr. Savopoulis came in a few hundred dollars UNDER my $30,000 budget, and I could not find one item to place on a punch list. I had to pinch myself. There were compromises, however. I had wanted radiant heat under hardwood floors. Too expensive, so I have three electric baseboard heaters.
Plumbing fixtures by Moen, pendant lighting by Restoration Hardware, table lamps by Chapman. Case goods by Baker / Barbara Barry and Milling Road. Daybed from West Elm. Mirrored screen from Restoration Hardware. Ottoman by Hickory Chair. Custom made sofa & chair.
Oh, and I have a real granite counter top in the kitchen: 24" deep by 15" wide.What luxury I live with.
The next renovation was updating the original 1958 bathroom in the main house:
just 5 ft x 7 ft
original tub & sink; original wall and floor tile
Total gut job:
Added 2 feet to the dimensions by expanding
into the hallway (exposing hardwood under carpeting)
New dimensions 5 ft x 9 ft:
Moving on, I refurnished the master bedroom
in the main house.
Except for the Barbara Barry designed double-X chair (Baker Furniture)
everything was purchased from local antique stores
at true bargain prices.
I was able to incorporate personal items purchased during
years of travel and placed in storage.
Some of these possessions I hadn't seen in over 20 years.
The only holdovers from my mother's furnishings were the draperies and the brass trash can.
Eventually I'll paint the walls a dusty sage green.
New Rear Patio & Porch
Nifty! The rug looks familiar...
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