Your Garagenous Zone: Innovative Ideas for the Garage [Paperback]

Bill West CRS (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Not simply a storage unit or holding space for cars, the garage is reconceived in this innovative design book as a "flex" space for family members that can be clean, organized, and functional (and still house cars). Wall organizers, garage cabinets, and an ergonomically designed workbench are among the suggestions described and illustrated through a case study of how one family reinvented their garage from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. Creative ideas for making the garage into a multipurpose room include placing a television on a wall swivel and moving the treadmill into the garage to create a family gym. Feng shui tips, an overview of garage-design trends over the past 100 years, and speculations about how garages will look in the year 2020 provide a revealing perspective on the importance of transforming the dark, dingy cavern in American homes into a bright, desirable living space.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Innovation comes in many forms and guises, many from unlikely sources. Here, a Colorado realtor fuels any home owner's imagination by finding space--and occasional beauty--in an organized garage. Included are both psychological and resourceful prompts, from the nine objectives of a great garage (beginning with "when in doubt, throw it out") to more than 25 manufacturers of various uncluttering items (for instance, wall systems and epoxy coatings). Along the way, he helps a Colorado family remodel their garage; provides quick tips (ladder storage for one); muses about the place of feng shui; asks a number of architects to contribute layouts; and adds a few historical notes, such as trivia and famous car spaces (Walt Disney and Steve Jobs of Apple started in theirs, to mention two). Innovation that overlooks occasional turgid prose and fuzzy photographs. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"West . . . preaches the gospel of organization." --"Minneapolis Star Tribune

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Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Paragon Garage Company, Ltd. (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967587506
• ISBN-13: 978-0967587509
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the price - any price, April 21, 2006

By 

Book Carpenter (Catskill Mountains, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Garagenous Zone: Innovative Ideas for the Garage (Paperback)

My garage is a mess, and I was hoping this book would give me ideas for getting it organized. It gets off to a great start, but that's as far as it goes. For example, it says that when the garage is a mess, you cannot find things and have to go out and buy replacements - all too true. It also says that you must throw things away - of course.

The problem is, when it comes to making the garage nicer, it refers the reader to sources for expensive storage cabinets and floor coverings. I do not want to spend $10,000 re-doing my garage, nor do I want to install thousands of dollars worth of cabinets.

The "ideas" presented in this book consist mainly of lists of expensive suppliers. I would have preferred plans and ideas for do-it-yourself storage and shelving.

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Useless. Nothing but a pack of Product Reviews, October 1, 2005

By 

x - See all my reviews

This review is from: Your Garagenous Zone: Innovative Ideas for the Garage (Paperback)

(...) Looking for help in organizing my 2-car integrated garage for use as a working automotive shop, I found this book nearly useless for anything remotely connected to design, layout, work flow, functionality, efficiency, automotive equipment,
energy and utilities requirements, etc.

If you're looking for one guy's personal "I tried this product, and it's good!" This may be the book for you.

But you don't need to buy it.

(...)

Do I really need to know that StoreWALL come with zinc plated, rust resistant screws" in 1-5/8" and 2-1/4" lengths?

The first quarter of the book centers around the author's "Nine Objectives for a Functional & Organized Garage". It lists such
mind-blowing concepts such as:

"When in doubt, throw it out"

"If it's on the floor, it's time to store"

Is he kidding me?

If I wanted to do a "Clean Sweep" show and get rid or everything I want to organize, store and find, Yeah, sure, I could buy one of the featured $2,000 "wall systems" to house two pairs of skis.

No kidding. If you have nothing to store, organizing life becomes so simple. But would you spend for melamine cabintry for holding and hiding next to nothing?

The middle, and bulk of the book is product-by-category reviews. OK, so I learned there are two "environmental friendly, water-based" epoxy floor coating alternatives to the highly regarded (and less expensive) U-Coat-It epoxy.

The last third of the book is cheap fluff about Feng Shui-ing you garage, the history of garages (who cares?), famous garages (Apple Computer was started in a garage. Big deal -- so is my race car!), and West's sure-to-be-famous: "My 2020 Vision of the Garage for the Future"

(Hint: It's going to take on more importance in the minds of the future-family)

The book's best feature is its photographs. (Showing space after space of glittering slat-wall and shiney cabinetry -- all holding next to nothing. Of course, THAT will look neat and tidy). You might glean a couple of storage product ideas you didn't know about before hand.

Tell me where to place my 20-gallon parts washer, plumb the space for shop air, which floor coating stands up best to my heavy floor jack rolling across it.

(...)

Now I want to get back my common "Cents".

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Frontier, January 30, 2006

By 

Amy Campbell "Amy Campbell" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Your Garagenous Zone: Innovative Ideas for the Garage (Paperback)

Whether you're a do-it-yourselfer or looking to get into the garage storage and organization biz, Your Garagenous Zone by Bill West has it all. Believe me, I've looked. As editor of Professional Door Dealer magazine, I am forever on the look out for innovative ideas, products, books and articles. When I came across West's book, the garage storage and organization industry was just beginning to make a ripple. Now, it's become a billion dollar industry.
West takes the readers through the evolution of the garage--from one-piece garage doors to today's high-use garages outfitted with everything from hooks and cabinets to shiny epoxy floors.
In chapters such as Reinventing the Garage: How to create the Garagenous Zone model, West offers nine objectives as the foundation to creating a functional and organized garage. He also features a wide range of products from garage storage organization manufacturers such as GarageTek and Gladiator, two of the biggest. Months of product research are done for you. West outlines product information, gives you contact numbers and even includes quality photos.

Overall, West demonstrates just how appealing a clean and organized garage can be. Chapters on famous garages, garage trivia and Feng Shui are nice bonuses. If you're looking for information on how to create the ultimate garage, look no further. And if you're on the hunt for a new profit-maker, put this title your business plan.