Organized garage no longer just a dream

OK, hands up all those who have partners with projects cluttering up family space. My husband has an old 1967 BMW motorcycle that he is restoring. It is the love of his life -- or so it appears -- and it lives in various pieces at one end of our basement recreation room. My home office was located nearby until it became impossible to approach the desk without incurring grave bodily harm. My dream is to have an amazing garage, and lose him to it.

Organization and storage solutions have become big business. Products designed for an outdoor workroom or garage must be tough. In areas of North America where climate changes are extreme, materials must be able to tolerate very cold and hot temperatures without cracking or buckling.

I came across a system of modular steel cabinets that have both the modern design and practical elements to transform any cluttered, overstuffed garage. Units are sold separately, so you can add storage as your needs change and grow. Drawers and shelves are designed to hold heavy tools and garden equipment. Wall systems keep everything off the floor.

Another design caught my eye, possibly because of the bike parked on its floor in front of the cabinets. This modular system is made from resin. Molded in two tones with curved detailing, there are cabinets, shelf units and floor boxes designed to fit together just as the steel cabinets do.

If you're interested in updating the garage floor, you have a few options. PVC tiles (in the garages shown in the accompanying photographs) are interlocking with a stubbed surface. They come in bright colors as well as gray and black, and are made to withstand the weight of a car (or bike). You can order different colors and make up a pattern.

Also look for PP (polypropylene) perforated floor tiles that click together for easy installation and do not crack under extreme cold.

Visit www.angel-wings.ca to see the imaginative uses for these modern storage solutions and floor tiles. With all the good-looking and practical solutions, I predict a mass move to the garage. I hope my husband reads this column.

DEAR DEBBIE: We have been working on an addition to our cottage, and it's complete except for the stairs up to the loft. We built the stairs with plain boards for the treads and risers, rounded off the edges and then drilled in lovely ash spindles and handrails. Any ideas on how to finish the treads and risers so they don't take away from the ash spindles and railing? -- Donna.

DEAR DONNA: You can paint the treads to look like ash. The cottage is a great place to experiment; work on a spare board until you get the right color and shading. Use porch and floor paint, as it will take a beating.

Prime the boards and paint two coats of gray/brown as a base. Let dry. Then, using just a small amount of paint on your brush, dry-brush a pale gray over the surface, always dragging the brush in one direction, with the grain of the wood. This will add the depth and shading of real wood grain. Apply two coats of flat varnish to add another protective layer. (Gloss varnish is too slippery for stairs.) Varnish the spindles and railing too.

Debbie Travis is a columnist for King Features Syndicate. E-mail questions to her at house2home@debbietravis.com.