Garage

A utilitarian core contains the kitchen, bathroom, closet, and loft ladder. The kitchen’s walls are clad with recycled wooden boards trimmed with horizontal battens that hide the oven and refrigerator from view.

At left, steps lead up to a sleeping loft. In the bathroom, Schaer installed a salvaged clawfoot bath and toilet and marmoleum click floorboards. Wainscoting on the walls adds a delicate touch.

A triangular, open room beneath the gable roof provides a cozy space for sleeping. “The loft’s continuity increases the perceived size of the interior,” Shaer says.

A view of the new screened porch from the driveway. The light is the Factory Modern No. 6 Outdoor Sconce from Schoolhouse Electric.

Carstensen updated the deck, replacing the vertical posts with screen to create a more open feeling.

Carstensen landscaped the backyard and added a simple fire pit circle with chairs. He updated the deck, replacing the vertical posts with screens to create a more open feeling.

The new dividing wall was sheathed in sanded pine plywood and includes a door for easy access to the other side of the garage.

What Carstensen saved on labor costs he was able to put into furnishings. The interior of the screened-in porch is outfitted with a mix of furnishings, both vintage and new. He purchased the vintage Malm fireplace in Los Angeles on a work trip and had it shipped to Portland. The rug, shelf unit, and loveseat are all from the locally-based Schoolhouse Electric, as are the ceiling lights: Factory Light No. 7 in Green.

Carstensen landscaped the backyard and added a simple firepit circle with chairs. This seating area merges easily with the new screened porch.

When Libby May and Eoghan Mahony purchased a 1950s post-and-beam house in Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Canyon, they envisioned someday transforming the garage and adjoining workshop into livable space, with an office for each of them and a family room they could share with their sons, Wes, 14, and Duncan, 10.