Garage barrage
A company restores cluttered garages
into neat places for cars as well as
all the boxes and gear
What festers in this part of the home seems to have a life of its own, breeding boxes of forgotten objects that multiply and swallow up every inch of space until one dare not enter for fear of being engulfed as well.
Call it the original Monster Garage, a beast that squeezes the automobile out of its rightful place, relegating it to the driveway or street.
Stephan Edwards, owner of 1 Hot Garage, a new kid on the block at the Home & Garden show, which began yesterday and ends Sunday, hopes his company will tame the unruly creature, restoring garages to their original purpose.
"It doesn't matter where you live," said Edwards, "whether you're driving by a home in Kalihi where our offices are or by one in Hawaii Loa Ridge, garages (and carports) in Hawaii don't look much different on the inside."
Homeowners have been focusing remodeling efforts on their home interiors, shoving unused or excess items into the garage for safekeeping. Considered an afterthought, that space becomes an unorganized mess of mix-matched shelving at best.
1 Hot Garage has solutions for storage from modular cabinets to wall systems and flooring.
"It's always been thought of as the big storage room," said Edwards. "People have dishware, old toys or boxes of clothing they plan to get rid of at a garage sale, but they don't ever have that sale. Or they're always trying to maximize space, so if they're not using it for storage, it's for barbecues. ... Sometimes the TV's in there," transforming it into a den of sorts.
In some cases the garage serves as a showroom for collectibles and hobbyists, said Edwards. The '63 ragtop Bug he affectionately calls his "toy" inspired cleanup of his own garage, which led to his founding the fledgling 1 Hot Garage, an offshoot of family-owned and operated Systems Center Inc., now in its 28th year. (His parents, Bill and Joyce Edwards, started the firm, which provides organization solutions to businesses, and received the Small Business Owners of the Year award in 1993.)
Edwards realized that commercial industry products crossed over nicely into his garage for hiding such things as tools, kids' toys, vacuum cleaners and "whatever else you don't want in the home but need to have nearby."
When Systems Center clients started tapping him regularly for home-garage help, "this evolved," he said. "We created a residential division, and our goal is to create a great-looking, organized and functional garage."
The interior of this garage features 1 Hot Garage's modular flooring made of polypropolene available in the colors shown (inset).
ALTHOUGH THE GENRE and company are fairly new -- "the Yellow Pages doesn't even have a category for us yet; we're the first one on Oahu" -- Edwards seems to have filled a niche, and the business is taking off, literally, to the mainland with another branch starting up Portland, Ore., and San Diego, Calif.
Product offering "is huge," he said, with items outnumbering those of standard home-improvement stores or organization mail-order catalogs.
"(Do-it-yourself) store products are proprietary, you have to use their accessories, whereas we have more resources," said Edwards. "We offer our expertise with years of experience in organization systems and custom-fitted cabinetry and accessories from top to bottom."
Therefore, a concrete slab gets as much attention as the inside of the home would, with flooring that can withstand the grit and grime of any garage grease monkey. Not only is it utilitarian, but "it looks hot," said Edwards. "It's what's used on the flooring at car show exhibits to make the car pop."
Homeowners can install the modular flooring system themselves. Made of high-impact polypropolene, it requires no adhesives or epoxy and is environmentally safe, he said. "People who are renters can remove it and take it with them."
Edwards estimates the cost at about $3 to $4 a square foot for a standard two-car garage.
Typical challenges his clients face are insufficient space and the need to have belongings concealed and off the ground.
"They want something that looks good so when they're out there washing the car, they're not embarrassed because the garage door is open."
If you're the proud owner of a cherry sports car, a clean and organized garage, where all clutter is behind closed doors, can become its showroom.
Cost for organizing an entire standard two-car garage can range from $1,500 for a basic shelving and cabinetry system to $8,500 for the whole shebang. "You can get really elaborate with flooring, cabinetry and accessories, but our stuff is proven in the commercial industry. It's not lightweight," Edwards said.
Scott LaRue, of Kailua, a client who got to know Edwards through Systems Center, is patiently awaiting installation of his system in a week.
"Usually a three-car garage ends up being a one-car garage," said LaRue, a commercial insurance broker who uses his garage as a combination workshop and storage space for "toys, whether it's water sports gear, motorcycle or fishing stuff."
LaRue said he finds that "the garage starts off organized, but slowly over the years it gets messier, and this system will allow me to organize and stay organized ... I hope," he said with a laugh.
The industrial-grade material won't corrode in spite of the salt air typical of the Windward side, something he found a plus.
Edwards said one doesn't have to outfit an entire garage at once, but can spend a few hundred dollars and build from there; it's fairly simple to add on a little at a time with an end result that will make any homeowner proud and perhaps triumph over the garage beast.
Check out 1 Hot Garage at the Home & Garden Show at Blaisdell through Sunday; or call 843-8011 or go online at www.1hotgarage.com.
On the house
What: 27th Annual Home & Garden show, featuring:» The latest in home-building, remodeling, designing and gardening.
» Special presentation and book signing 3 p.m. Sunday on traditional Hawaiian lei by master lei maker Marie McDonald and Paul Weissich whose book "Na Lei Makamae," focuses on this art form.
» Product demonstrations with the latest home and garden tools and appliances.
» Cooking demonstrations with the latest kitchen ware.
» Entertainment featuring Koauka (Sunday).
» Lots of shopping at bargain prices!
» Free massages for fathers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Father's Day, Sunday.
» Grand prize drawing of more than $8,000 worth of furniture from Hawaii's newest furniture store, Pure Pacific Hawaii.Where: Neal S. Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall
When: 5 to 10 p .m. today, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. tomorrow, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Cost: $4 for adults; $3 seniors and military with proper ID and children 7 to 12; children under 7 free.
On the web: www.pacificexpos.com
Click for online
calendars and events.
