This Bare Garage Became a Workshop With Tool Storage, a TV, and Retro Lighting
Bare walls and a salt-damaged concrete floor left this two-car garage with little beyond parking space. The footprint was large enough for a workshop, but storage, work surfaces, lighting, and a finished floor still had to be added.
Reddit user u/Skeletor1121 shared the garage as the project progressed from an empty shell to a workshop with Husky cabinets, a movable worktable, a TV, bulk storage, and a retro VHS-inspired finish. The floor came first, followed by the equipment and the darker design seen in the final photos.
Salt Had Taken a Toll on the Concrete Floor
The original garage had finished drywall and electrical service in place, but the concrete showed patches of worn surface across both bays. Dark marks and rough areas extend from the entrance toward the back wall, with some of the worst wear visible near the center.
The owner traced the pitting to salt and chose to have the floor finished by a professional. That addressed the damaged surface before cabinets, tool chests, and other workshop equipment went into the room.
Gray Flake Coating Covered the Damaged Concrete
The next photo isolates one of the biggest changes. A gray flake coating now covers both bays and continues onto the raised step at the side door. Expansion joints remain visible, but the patches and worn areas from the original floor are gone from view.
At this point, almost everything else remains untouched. The walls are still pale, the garage doors and openers remain in place, and the charging equipment stays on the back wall. Doing the floor before filling the room also avoided having to work around cabinets and benches later.
First Pieces Kept the Setup Flexible
The workshop began with separate pieces rather than a wall of built-ins. A tall black cabinet and white rolling tool chest provide enclosed storage, while a wood-top Husky table on casters creates a work surface in the middle. The chest freezer and charging equipment still occupy the right wall.
Casters matter in a garage that may need to switch between projects and parking. The table can sit in the center when access from both sides is useful, then move toward a wall when more floor area is needed.
Storage Moved Onto the Walls and Up Toward the Ceiling
A later stage shows how much equipment could fit without building across the garage floor. Black Husky cabinets form a work zone in the back corner, while a tall rack beside them uses vertical space for rows of matching black totes. The owner said the rack came from Costco and the totes were purchased from Home Depot online.
Long-handled tools stand at the far left, and the white rolling chest moves beneath a wall-mounted TV. Most of the storage now sits around the perimeter, leaving the coated floor open between the garage doors and work area.
TV Wall Added a Second Use to the Work Zone
The TV sits above the white tool chest rather than taking up its own cabinet or stand. Across from it, the movable wood-top table and folding chairs give the same area a second role beyond tool storage.
Black paint has also reached the ceiling and cabinet wall by this stage, while the TV wall remains pale. That contrast makes it clear how the room was developed in layers rather than completed as one installation.
Black Cabinets Became Part of the Background
Once the surrounding walls went dark, the tall cabinets, lower drawers, and tote rack receded into the background. The white tool chest and pale wood worktop now provide the strongest contrast, with two metal stools replacing the temporary folding chairs.
A red light line runs across the storage wall and continues behind the TV. Instead of adding another fixture at floor level, the lighting follows the perimeter above the cabinets, where it remains visible even when the work area fills with equipment.
Retro Graphics Finished the TV Wall
Wide diagonal bands now cross the wall behind the TV, shifting from dark gray to pale gray as they move toward the right side. Short illuminated lines cut through the darker section, while another light forms a rectangular outline beside the screen.
The owner described the target as a retro VHS graphic feel and said the stripes were mapped with painter’s tape and a level. The colored lights are Govee products installed with extruded aluminum track; the TV also received Govee backlighting. For the main work lights, the owner reported three 8-foot Hyperlight fixtures rated at 10,500 lumens each.
Same Garage Footprint, Far More Uses
The side-by-side view shows what stayed as well as what changed. Garage doors, side entry, and overall footprint remain, while the worn floor and bare walls give way to a coated surface, tool storage, worktable, seating, TV, and dedicated lighting.
The finished room still reads as a garage because none of those additions required enclosing a bay or building a permanent room inside it. Storage hugs the perimeter, the main table can roll out of the way, and the center remains available when the workshop needs more floor space.
Image credit go to reddit u/Skeletor1121.