Your garage: the final frontier

Our home includes three big and busy kids. I’m always looking for

extra space to put them and their teenage entourage. I also covet

extra space for their activities like Playstation, and space for

keeping cases of drinks cool. Basically, I need space for lots of

bodies to make another part of my house dirty.

I know, I know, when they’re gone, I’ll miss them. In the

meantime, I need to find a way to cope with them.

So even though I love them madly, and love their friends as well,

sometimes they just need a place to hang that’s off my beaten path. A

place where the Doritos dust won’t get wiped on my sofas. A place

where they can scream and yell and I won’t shoot a dirty look their

way.

And where does a person find such a place in their home sweet

home? In our world, the space is the garage -- the husband’s inner

sanctum. Hubbie’s sanctum versus wife’s sanity? I think you know the

answer.

So, with plans in hand, the garage has become something of a teen

nirvana. When we added the pool in the back yard and moved the garage

forward, the garage became a part of the house, literally, and not

just for the tool bench, or the TV that has ESPN going nonstop.

The garage became a place for the kids to have fun. The garage now

hosts an air hockey table; a Foosball table; a karaoke machine;

darts; a TV; and a fridge, in addition to the requisite tools and

storage area. And since all of these activities can be loud, or loud

and bad (karaoke), insulation is important.

Before all the city inspectors get their knickers in a twist, the

garage is in compliance. It has room for two cars, the appropriate

electrical, and setbacks in sync with codes. It’s just that I like to

park the kids, not the cars. It has bright colors, weird traffic

signs (love that EBay), a big chalkboard wall, and enough bottled

water, Diet Coke and root beer to go around.

Remember those things you said you’d never do ... before you had

kids?

I used to think I’d never feed the kids cheese puffs or carbonated

beverages or have bright plastic toys. Oh yeah, and I’d never use

food as a bribe for potty training (love those M&M;’s) and the kids

would always take a nap until they were 5 years old. Can you hear my

laughter?

Sometimes, you need a place to let your hair down. And the garage

is a great spot. I even sneak out and catch a tune or two on the

karaoke machine. Does your garage need to multitask? You can

incorporate a variety of functions. If you do laundry in your garage,

think about getting the under-counter washer/dryer models. They allow

for extra counter space on top for laundry baskets, an ironing board

or hampers. Or, you can defer to the kids and add a television and

X-Box. It’s just a matter of priorities.

I like using laminate surfaces (like Formica) for counters and

storage cabinets; it lessens the need for maintenance. Laminates come

in dozens of colors. My neighbors thought I was crazy when our garage

built-ins were installed. We have yellow, green, red, black, all in

great quantity and all very ... shocking. Kind of looks like a

Jamaican bobsled.

Am I nuts? You bet. Do we have fun? You bet. Will I always use my

garage as a home for raging hormones? Probably not. But for now, it’s

good. And if you have lot of young, big bodies in your home, it could

be good for you, too.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Saturdays.