Life in the garage has its compensations!

Ask many motoring experts and they will tell you that last thing you should do with your car is put it in a warm garage when the weather’s cold.

And as there’s definitely no need to wrap up the car in summer, what should you do with the garage space instead? Well, live in it is one answer, especially where it can be incorporated into the main house.

With many of the 1930s homes built in the Cosham area, that’s highly feasible, as two houses just onto the market with Town and Country Southern estate agents clearly illustrate.

Back in the 30s, having a garage was both a status symbol and a necessity if you owned a car (maybe also if you didn’t, as you could always infer one lurked behind the close garage doors!). Cars back then were fragile, prone to fits of mechanical illness in cold, damp weather, and likely to rot because some of them, far from being made of steel were in fact made of fabric stretched over a wooden frame.

Nowadays, cars are more durable and probably less in need of inside space than the modern families who now occupy these stylish houses with their catslide roof, bay fronts, and half timbered decoration.

“The first of these houses, in Lodge Avenue, has retained its separate living rooms downstairs although the creation of a dining room in the former garage has enabled the original dining room to become a family room so more versatile,” says Colin Shairp, of Town and Country Southern.

“There are three bedrooms on the first floor plus a bathroom with both bath and shower cubicle to complement the en-suite to the second bedroom and the loft space has been opened to create a master bedroom with a large floor area, en-suite shower room, and access to eaves storage.

“The second property, Dolphin House in Havant Road, still has a front sitting room but across the rear is a kitchen / dining room while the garage has become a study with a utility room behind. On the first floor there are four bedrooms, the second with en-suite shower, and a family bathroom with both a bath and shower cubicle. As yet, the loft space has been left intact but other properties readily reveal that this could have potential, subject to consents.

“Ideally for families, both houses are close to schools and local facilities and also boast ample rear gardens to offers play space for children.”

                                        

 Guide price for the Lodge Avenue property is £525,000 (EPC Band E) while Dolphin Hose has a guide price of £550,000 (EPC Band D). For more information, contact Town and Country Southern on 023 93 277 288 or email sales@townandcountrysouthern.co.uk

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