Despite its exotic French name, the garage has often been the most prosaic part of a home, the site of industrial grime and clutter. But a sea change is upon us. "The garage is now a considered space," says architectural designer Jessica Pell, founder of Manola Studio in Los Angeles. "People are doing more millwork and giving them better finishes, so they're more like flex areas." Whether it's a home gym or home to the car of your dreams or both the garage no longer has to be grungy.
The rise of electric vehicles (EVs) dovetails nicely with the evolution of the garage into a more meaningful place. EVs don't emit fumes, and their motors don't use motor oil, so you can bid farewell to unsightly oil stains on garage floors. "The same reasons why EVs are better for the environment are also why they are cleaner at home," says Eric Sweet, the cofounder of emeraldECO, a San Francisco Bay Area company that retrofits homes with all-electric systems and solar panels.
This story is from the October 2024 edition of Elle Decor US.
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This story is from the October 2024 edition of Elle Decor US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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It was all about the green curtains. In 2008, to my great surprise, I was offered a ninemonth fellowship based in New York City. I had lived there twice before, both times unsuccessfully, meaning I had failed to create any kind of significant social life, and so this was a chance not only to do research for my new novel, but also an opportunity to get things right. I swore I wouldn't let the city break me a third time.
And How! - Decorator Nick Olsen transforms a Sag Harbor home into a Hamptons retreat with an irreverent humor.
If you must go to the Hamptons, however-because it is devilishly good fun, after all-you may notice an apparently modest, low-slung cottage on Sag Harbor's Main Street and think, with a comfortable sort of feeling, Now that is how a house should look. Nestled amid the Botox bars, helipads, and club-staurants, it could almost set the sordid world aright both a rebuke and a solution to the chaos that surrounds it. A real home.
