Collection by Danielle H
Garage
When the team chose to preserve the function of the rolling garage door, it proved to be one of the biggest design challenges of the project. Says Garcia, “We didn’t want it to roll back into the new living space because it would limit our lighting options for the room.” Thus, an unconventional exterior-track rolling door was conceptualized that would not cut into the interior volume. In the backyard that was preserved in the remodel, an olive tree provides natural shade. Maintaining the outdoor area was especially important to the kids as a play area, and Anthony, an avid cook and gardener.
Schaer replaced the garage’s crumbling wooden posts with an earthquake-resistant steel frame. He also excavated beneath the building, establishing a basement level for a workshop, storage, laundry, and water heater. The earth removed in the process was shoveled into concrete “boxes” in the yard. These form a raised terrace from which you can see the Olympic mountains.
BEFORE
After being used as an auto repair shop, the garage had been subdivided to include a dark storage area with an unsettingly low ceiling. Schaer opened up the space, replacing the collar ties in the rafters with a sloping triangular plane that Schaer says “draws the eye from one end of the space to the other, increasing its perceived size.” It’s also utilitarian, providing natural ventilation by funneling hot air up through a triangular vent window.












