To some, a garage is where you park your cars or store old collectibles. For Holly Smith, Jim and their two Doberman pinschers, a garage holds greater potential. The family lives in the scenic outskirts of Grove City. And although the house is only about 15 years old, the duo decided it needed some freshening up.
“We (decided) … let’s make this house the way we want to make it,” Smith says. “We aren’t moving any time soon.”
With the help of the locally-based and family-owned business AIS Renovations, the couple added a large bathroom, a spacious walk-in closet and a brand-new master bedroom with a walkout balcony. The Smiths wanted to keep the additions within the confines of the original floorplan as much as possible, so they had to think upward, not outward.
“We added a second story to the garage, which basically would be the equivalent to a mother-in-law suite,” Smith says.
AIS started by demolishing the garage roof and reinforcing the new weight on the first floor. The garage was also expanded five feet so larger cars could fit.
“The most important part about anything is building (an) addition that looks like it’s always been there,” says Parks Davis, director of operations for AIS. “That it doesn’t look like an addition. I wanted it to flow together so if someone comes up and sees this beautiful new home, it looks like (the additions were) there from the very beginning.”
AIS also added one important utility to the garage: a custom dog shower. Vulcan and Axl are Doberman pinschers that could never fit into a standard sink, let alone a bathtub, comfortably.
Even though it’s a dog shower, Smith notes that the area is also useful for washing off muddy boots. A hand-held nozzle sits above a six-by-six-foot base, which is surrounded by three walls made of corrugated metal.
“Vulcan is perfectly fine with it. Our younger one (Axl) doesn’t understand what’s happening,” Smith says. “So AIS added a hook so that I can put a leash on them. They stand still as much as I can make them stand still.”
The project started last September and was completed in March. Along with the dog wash, Smith’s favorite part is the walkout balcony. She loves sitting down with her husband after a long day and watching the sun set over their wooded property.
Brendan Martin is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
