Garage built for future expansions
Upon relocating from the San Francisco Bay Area to South Florida, my new bride, Jill, and I decided that we would customize our new home to our individual tastes. Our division of labor would be that I would have full responsibility for the garage, and lovely Jill would have domain over everything else. Seemed like a fair trade and approximately one year later, we have both been very pleased with this partnership.
West Palm Beach has earned quite the infamous reputation for decadence and indulgence. World class accommodations began with the famous Breaker’s Hotel, a turn of the century getaway for the rich and famous that largely put West Palm Beach on the map. The Kennedy Compound (aka the Winter White House) was established here and even Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which boasts no fewer than 58 bedrooms, has also called West Palm Beach home. Leisure activities include such events as the US National Croquet Center, the World-renowned International Polo Club, and, of course, the Trump National Golf Club. Finally, the Yacht and Boating scene is so enormous that a proper description would detract from the topic at hand… which is garages.
Therefore, I decided that we need to go ‘BIG’ so in the earliest stages of planning, it was decided that the Garage would be anything but a ‘storage’ area for automobiles but instead would strive to be a sanctuary for ‘gear-heads.’ It’s a 2,000-square foot facility with 30-foot ceilings (for future stacking possibilities) with windows designed to have an open view of the water and beach. The flooring chosen was 12-inch by 12-inch porcelain tiles arranged in a very traditional checkerboard pattern. Interestingly enough, these proved very difficult to source. Perhaps due to the fact that tastes have changed so dramatically from the not so recent past that major distributors have been reluctant to stock them? Acquisition required finding two different sources and a six week waiting period. However, most would agree that they are an integral part of the overall look and worth the effort and wait. From there, extensive use of Diamond Plate for the cabinets, steps, and moldings seemed a very natural choice. These were complimented by black marble countertops and stainless steel sinks and hardware. Next up was 30-feet of custom designed and built aluminum and glass enclosed shelving which was employed with the purpose of storing about 100 1/18 scale die-cast cars, diorama, and miniature racing scenes.
From this very traditional starting point, some modern accoutrements were added. Audio/Video accoutrements include a 55-inch LCD TV and a 13-speaker Bose stereo installed in the ceiling and driven by an iPhone remote-controlled Sonos head unit. Safety and surveillance is managed by a WPS six-camera system with more than two years of video storage capability that is also iPhone-controlled and accessible anytime/anywhere. Given the South Florida location, a dedicated central AC system and heat exchanger was installed and driven by a NEST control system so that temp and humidity are only an iPhone click away. Note: the author is an executive at Apple, Inc, hence the consistent references to iPhone control systems. (ed. Tell them you saw it in Garage Style!) Of course, no garage would be complete without a beer fridge (which looks like a rolling tool chest) or a coffee table – which is actually a Hemi engine block. Above and beyond these descriptions, the most defining feature to most guests who visit the garage is the Wall Decor. It’s quite an eclectic mix of custom banners and photographs from past events as well custom signage – almost all of which was sourced from advertisements in Garage Style Magazine!
I’d like to pass along a special word of ‘thanks’ to advertisers in this fine publication of which I am a satisfied patron: Autobooks-Aerobooks, Griot’s Garage, Reedyville Goods, Battery Saver, and in particular, GarageArt.com.
Finally, this garage was aptly named “Gas Monkey Garage” owing to its playful and traditional nature and as a compliment to my favorite TV Show – “Fast and Loud.” On the opposite side of our front entrance, there is a twin to this garage of exact same proportions that I am just starting to coat with my imaginative juices. This one has already been christened as “Garage Majal” and will be the ‘ID’ to the “EGO” of “Gas Monkey Garage.” I’ll need about another year, but I as a faithful reader and fan of Garage Style, I hope to provide anyone who may be interested an update on that one and moreover, look forward to seeing other reader garages for inspiration!
