It's finally here, the day I get to share our garage makeover reveal with you. This project took a lot longer than we anticipated due to delays with materials and summer plans, but in the end it has all come together beautifully. Check out this before and after to see a truly amazing transformation. 

Some things I learned doing this reno:

1. Renos ALWAYS take longer than anticipated. Even small projects have delays, so you just have to roll with it. I try to remind myself that we are incredibly fortunate to have a place to renovate, and the means to do so. 

2. Making reno choices is really hard. Who knew? As someone who hasn't done much of this stuff I found it really tough. There are so many choices for finishes, colours, textures...plus the budget! I was so happy to be able to bounce ideas off of our friend Krista of KMSalter Design & Diana at The Garage Door Depot. I now know why people hire designers, especially on big projects. Thanks ladies!

Here is my original inspiration from earlier this spring:

Looking out on our backyard now brings me the biggest smile. The garage turned out better than I ever could have imagined.

Not only is the garage beautiful and totally changes the look of our yard, but the garage door actually works! Like really really works. It's almost effortless to open and close, which makes it way easier to clean up the kids toys and bikes at the end of a long day. I know I sound like a nerd, but I love this door. I was so impressed by The Garage Door Depot's customer service from start to finish. The way they helped me design, measure and tailor the door to suit our needs was amazing.

Originally I was thinking of a pretty basic door, but after looking at the options and chatting with Diana I decided on a gorgeous carriage style door (Acadia North Hatley by Garaga). I figured it's an investment and something we will be looking at for a long time (comes with a limited lifetime warranty after all), so we should go with one that we love. I'm obsessed with all the little details on this door. The windows, iron handles and hinges give it such a classic look. Plus I love that it's Canadian made.

I usually enjoy a good DIY, but our new garage door was one thing I definitely wanted professionally installed. There is something about a large piece of metal suspended from the ceiling that makes me vote for a pro. The installers with Garage Door Depot were incredibly knowledgeable and worked efficiently to get our door installed and ready to use.  Plus they cleaned up the area before leaving. I know that sounds silly, but as a busy mama who is always cleaning up after someone, I aways appreciate when in-home service providers leave the space as they found it. *If you're in need of a new garage door mention With Care for 10% off Insulated Garage Doors with The Garage Door Depot Toronto

We debated simply painting the metal siding on the garage, but after learning how much work was involved for a short term fix, we decided to change up the siding and go for something eco-friendly and local. We chose Canadian-made stained wood siding from Maibec. We eventually want to refinish our screened in porch at the front of our house to match and wanted the classic look of wood, without all the the upkeep. This stuff is warranted for rot for 50 years, and the stains are warrantied for anywhere from 8-15 years depending on what you choose. I absolutely love this natural tone charcoal grey that we picked to compliment the existing brick facade of our home.

Please note that we installed the siding ourselves because of our budget, and because we're those kind of people ; ), but if it's in your budget, I would always recommend hiring someone for large jobs like this. Especially with kids under foot. If you are someone who likes a challenge, is handy, has the right tools, a little help, and some extra time, it's doable (make sure you choose the em+ installation system if you're going DIY and read through the whole installation guide so you can plan your project). We hope to do the front of our house next year (ahh it would look gorgeous!), so maybe I'll write out a little DIY guide if we do.  

For now I'm just excited to enjoy time in our backyard and smile at this beauty of a garage...and maybe start dreaming up ways to make the inside prettier and more functional. I can already hear Brian (my partner) rolling his eyes from here ; )

If you're planning a garage makeover don't hesitate to get in touch, or check out some of the amazing products and services I used below. 

Care

In this Post:

Garage Door Depot Toronto (Mention With Care for 10% off Insulated Doors): Acadia North Hatley Garage Door by Garaga     |     Maibec: Coastal Charcoal URBAHN Brushed Wood Siding in Rabbeted Bevel     |     Plant World: Hay Bail, Planters, Pumpkins + Wreath     |     Wayfair: Goosneck Light Fixtures

*This is a sponsored post which means I was provided compensation and/or product for this post. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. I only partner with products and services that I genuinely love and want to recommend.