Where better to live for a motorcycling enthusiast thanin a converted garage? Biker Spencer Steed and his fiancée Alex Tovey, both law students, couldn’t resist the opportunity to live here. But as first-time homebuyers who planned to marry in the fall of 2013, they wanted to make this downtown Salt Lake City space more comfortable. Industrial design enthusiasts will find plenty of original industrial-style interior design ideas. In keeping with the space’s original industrial look, the couple added machine shop-style decor, rough-hewn salvage, and unfinished surfaces to create a space that felt industrial but still felt like home. Alex and Spencer did their best to incorporate homey elements while preserving and celebrating the industrial feel of the space, as seen in this photo of their garage-cum-dining-room. “The appeal of living in an old garage and designing it from an aesthetic standpoint was fun and different,” says Spencer. "We will probably never live in a place like this again in the future. This is the first place we ever lived together that we will always remember."
The bedroom maintains a bold appeal, grey wallscinder block, concrete floors, and exposed rebar. An American oil sign was left in the space when the couple moved in. Corrugated fiberglass panels attached to plywood on a steel frame make up the bedroom walls. A steel closet door slides on a track in the ceiling. “Our favorite place is the bedroom,” says Alex. “It’s the most comfortable little place in our house where we can relax.”
Alex and Spencer sanded down old military boxes found online, coated them with polyurethane varnish, stacked them on top of each other, and added empty baskets to create a chest of drawers.
Materials for finishing works – onlyprimer and filler. Raw and unfinished surfaces define the overall style of the home. Spencer bought the ram's head from a local taxidermy shop.
The steel surgical sink isthe centerpiece of the bathroom. To contrast with the steel reinforcement, Spencer brought in various wooden objects, like the military boxes that stand in the bedroom.
The entryway's vibrant decor elements—red drawers and an American flag (a gift from a friend)—are contrasted with the muted tones of the cement floor and steel door.
Spencer welded together two bus seatstheir grandfather and placed it as a bench in the entryway. The shoe rack is a few reused shelves that the previous owner of the space left behind. Alex and Spencer credit the former owner for bringing much of the aesthetics to the space.
A large dining table dominates the area.former garage. Sliding doors open the space to the courtyard. Spencer also uses the space to fix his motorcycles. “It’s the perfect distraction from the housework,” he says.
Alex and Spencer use most of the design items and furniture in their everyday life from military surplus stores and scrap metal warehouses.
Spencer made the coffee table from reclaimed wood and painted it.
A large rug defines the living room's open-plan layout. A friend of the couple's who works for a custom furniture company brought them a side table.
This metal table was purchased through private online classifieds for $17.
Plywood bedroom fence forms wall of simplekitchen. Vintage accessories - a large mirror and an antique sign - break up the style. The industrial sink and counter were salvaged from a takeaway restaurant across the street.
The previous owner installed a lamp from a dentist's office above the kitchen table.
Harsh industrial interior of a dwelling in an old garage
