This Dusty 1950s Garage Transformed into an Airy, Modern Kitchen

When Anna Baggett, a city planning consultant from Atlanta, and her sister broke up with their respective long-term partners, they still wanted to fulfill their dreams of home ownership. So they found a home with a large, 340-square-foot garage in the backyard.

The duo decided to work with SketchHaus to turn the (spider- and cobweb-filled) garage into a tiny home. The kitchen, in particular, truly stands out. 

“My current boyfriend and I love cooking, so it was important that the design incorporated a full kitchen — even in such a small space,” Anna explains.

She combined gray-green IKEA cabinets combined with warm butcher block counters and open shelves up top to keep the space light, airy, and warm.

The IKEA custom cabinetry came in clutch when putting the now-unrecognizable space together. Unfortunately, the original kitchen measurements were incorrect (Anna recommends always measuring twice!), but her contractor was able to fit a custom-sized IKEA corner cabinet to complete the design. Of course, that wasn’t the only bump in the road. 

Originally, Anna sourced a French door-style KitchenAid refrigerator from Facebook Marketplace, but the joy soon fizzled when the fridge stopped working. Fortunately, Anna still saw the bright side: “I replaced it with a smaller, vintage-looking refrigerator that fits the space much better, and it also left room for a taller cabinet that I use as a pantry. It was all for the best that I got a lemon!”

The original East Atlanta garage was built in 1950, but you’d never be able to tell, as the space is so modern now. The materials cost only around $5,000 as much of it was sourced from IKEA (like the cabinets, countertops, sink, and range!), or shopped secondhand in places like Facebook Marketplace and Lifecycle Building Center. 

What Anna loves most is the kitchen’s spaciousness — even though she’s living in limited square footage. “It’s still not ‘big’ by any means, and I had to include some more functional elements, like the bar above the range, interior cabinet organization, etc., to get the storage right,” Anna explains. But she made it work. To see more of this wonderful home, visit the full house tour on Apartment Therapy here. 

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: This Dusty 1950s Garage Transforms into an Airy, Modern Kitchen You Won’t Recognize