Let's face it: In many houses, the garage is nothing but a waste of space. Originally built to serve as a covered parking space for a vehicle and to provide some storage area, most garages gradually degenerate into a collection of disorganized piles of stuff. The car is usually the first thing to get crowded out of the garage. Once that's achieved, the storage capabilities seem endless and it's all downhill from there. After a while, a mommy pussy cat would have trouble locating her kittens in the mess.
     It doesn't have to be that way, though.
     In fact, some people manage to keep their garage neat and tidy for years all on their own.
     For the rest of us, however, there is the Garage Project. Sharon Blum and Tom Brandt opened what they call the "complete garage interior design center" on University Avenue in Middleton about six weeks ago.
      Their Professional Background is in garage door installations, but Brandt was beginning to feel a bit too old for that line of work. They started looking for different business opportunities and suddenly realized that it had been there "right under our nose" all the time: complete garage remodeling.
      "We did some research and discovered that most people's garages are a big mess," Blum says.
     The Garage Project offers a wide range of products and services although the main focus is on redesigning whole garages.

     "People can come in, tell us what they want and we will show them a number of design options through our CAD-programs. We visit their home, take measurements, give estimates and make any changes they want us to make," she explains.
     The designs include flooring, storage cabinets, lighting, doors, walls and any number of accessories. And of course garage doors. Cabinets come in many different sizes, colors materials and price ranges. Floors can be slip resistant, oil resistant, chemical resistant or all of those. Store walls can cover just one wall, part of a wall or the whole garage.
     All the materials, accessories and furniture available at the Garage Projects have been especially designed for garages. They resist humidity, cold and heat and can be hosed down.
     The Garage project can not only satisfy most needs, but also most bank accounts.
"A garage remodeling can cost as little as a couple hundred dollars if the customer just wants a piece of store wall and accessories. But it can also go up to $25,000."
     Items like the store wall are modular, so garage owners can add more as time, need and budget allow.
     The Garage Project is located at
6661 University Ave in Middleton.
Telephone 824-9802
www.thegarageproject.com